Matt LeMond Is Shaping the Food Scene in Mobile, AL
Fifteen years ago, Matt LeMond dreamed of bringing an authentic Irish pub to Mobile’s downtown community.
It was the kind of nightlife hub reminiscent of a New Orleans street corner, where he grew up. Before long, O’Daly’s Irish Pub was born, creating a new fixture in downtown Mobile. The restaurateur’s name was soon synonymous with the place.
“People still sometimes call me Matt O’Daly,” he says.
While he sold O’Daly’s last year, LeMond owns and operates several other spots around Mobile and remains passionate about helping the city’s food scene evolve.
One Venture at a Time
This wasn’t always the plan though. After graduating from Spring Hill College in Mobile, LeMond started working for Red Bull while bartending and DJing at various bars. When the owner of one bar asked if he was interested in owning it, he jumped at the chance. It was while running that bar that he got the idea for O’Daly’s.
“I was 22, and I went in headfirst,” LeMond says. “It was a completely new concept, which I had never taken on before. I was so motivated to open while also being so unaware of how the permitting and construction process worked.”
After a few years spent turning the pub into one of the hottest spots downtown, LeMond started thinking about his next venture. It came in 2018 with Cedar Street Social, a downtown business that LeMond transformed into a classy yet casual live music and drinks venue. The following year, he opened POST, a crafted cocktails and wine bar.
“I chose the name POST because of the postcards I send my mom when I travel,” LeMond says. “I share where I am and what I’m doing. That’s what this place is – somewhere people can share what’s going on in their lives at that moment.”
As a big supporter of Movember (an annual event involving the growing of moustaches during November to raise awareness of men’s health issues,) he sees the restaurant as a space to support men’s mental health and foster connection, just like sending a postcard.
LeMond expanded the brand in 2022, opening POST on the Hill just a mile from his alma mater, his only restaurant not located downtown. It was a busy year with the opening of the Outsider, a sports lounge, and the Insider, a food hall, following soon after. The latter is especially near to his heart as he hopes it can serve as an incubator for new business owners and chefs starting out in Mobile, just like he was over a decade ago.
“I’ve been in the food business for a while, and it can be tough,” LeMond says. “So, the mindset behind the food hall was to create a smaller scale kitchen space for vendors to offer their food with the goal of hopefully growing. I have two close friends who have food concepts and brought them to life within the food hall. It’s fantastic.”
The Heart of Mobile
Mobile today has a flourishing food scene, far different from what it was when LeMond arrived as a freshman at Spring Hill College. When he looks back on how it’s changed since his early days at O’Daly’s, he’s impressed.
“It’s crazy to see the momentum and progress over the last 15 to 18 years,” he says.
And LeMond has every intention of continuing to be part of the momentum. He’s already planning future dining developments in the area. But his success, he adds, is rooted in the community he serves.
“Mobile is a very supportive community,” he says. “I consider it a first-name-basis kind of city. Everybody is here to help each other thrive.”
It’s no coincidence that community is a core part of LeMond’s restaurant concepts.
“I want it to be more than ‘We open at 9 a.m. and close at 4 p.m. and here are the drinks,’” he says. “To get to know your customers, it really does allow a great connection. That’s the blessing of living and working in Mobile.”
