Charlie’s Place opened about three weeks ago in downtown Selma offering classic American food to the community. 

Charlie Morgan, family, friends and others officially celebrated the opening Saturday with an official ribbon cutting before opening up for lunch.

Morgan said since opening business has been good and the community is enjoying the food and the atmosphere of the restaurant.

“They tell me the food is great, the scenery is unique and they love the restaurant,” Morgan said.

He said he’s excited not only about the future of Charlie’s Place, but also about the future of Selma.

“Selma has a way to revitalize and I’m getting in on the ground floor,” Morgan said.

“We are in the arts and entertainment district and we see a lot of things that are about to come to the community. We are just glad to be a part of it.”

He said he wanted to share his hobby of grilling by introducing a new restaurant in the area and giving people another option to choose from.

Morgan said he is looking forward to adding wine and beer to the menu soon.

“I’m waiting on my liquor license, so we’ll have that available for customers,” he said.

Charlie’s Place is located at 1005 Water Ave. Business hours are from Thursday to Saturday 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 4 to 10 p.m.  Charlie’s wife Sherry said she thinks the restaurant will continue to do well in the area and expects the customer base to grow.

“Business has increased steadily. We have had repeat customers and everything has been great. We think we have cornered a market, and we’re just going to be really good at what we do,” Sherry said.

A family of tourists was visiting Selma from London, England when they decided to stop by Charlie’s Place for a bite to eat after walking over the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

Olivia Noon said dining at the restaurant added to an overall great experience she and her family had on their trip.

“It’s a nice coincidence that we ended up here after crossing the bridge. It’s just like the T-shirt says, I just crossed the bride and ate at Charlie’s Place.” Noon said.

Brian Tarver has been an employee of Charlie’s Place since it first opened and said he has enjoyed working in a place where the staff is like a family. He said he and other servers make sure they are doing their best when it comes to meeting satisfaction of customers.

“Whenever we make someone’s food we put ourselves in the customer’s shoes. I think about how I would want my food to be made and how much love and care I would want to be put into my burger or salad or whatever else I order,” Tarver said.