Serving up Southern coastal cuisine is realized dream for Greensburg man

A Greensburg cook’s pop-up food stand may have a tasty alternative to the standard Lenten seafood dish.

Barry Nutall, 45, owner of Kill Devil Meals, sells fried catfish and salmon as part of his Southern coastal cuisine menu at festivals, fairs and special events in Southwestern Pennsylvania.

Nutall also makes a regular Wednesday appearance at All Saints Brewing Co. along Route 119 in Hempfield. Last week, he was featuring salmon marinated in orange and lemon juice, with jerk seasoning.

“I marinate (the fillets) for a couple of hours and them fry them on the griddle to cook them thoroughly, about five minutes or so,” Nutall said.

His farm-raised catfish dish is a popular item as well, Nutall said. Selections also include rice bowls, green beans, roasted corn, fried chicken, black-eyed peas and collard greens. 

“I want to have a Southern feel to the food, but lighter fare. It’s kind of like beach food,” said Nutall, a Greensburg native and Greensburg Salem graduate.

His name for the business comes from Kill Devil Hills on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, where he married his wife, Lori, in June 2014.

The business evolved out of a conversation he had with his wife on their fifth anniversary. While Barry was a driver for a package delivery company, they discussed opening a business, and his wife told him he should “get off the (delivery) truck and do want you want to do.”

Lori Nutall died of kidney cancer in July 2020, before her husband could launch his food business. After her death, Barry decided he wanted to chart a different course for his life and started making plans for his business. He opened in 2021.

Lacking a culinary arts degree, Nutall does have on-the-job training. Operating Kill Devil Meals is a side job to his regular gig as a prep cook at El Diablo Brewing Co. & Wood-Fired Kitchen in Greensburg, where he makes salads and desserts.

He is considering the purchase of a trailer to haul his food and stove to events, but for now, he works under a canopy with his cooking equipment.

At a recent outing at All Saints Brewing in Hempfield, Kate Dillon of Greensburg was enjoying Nutall’s food.

“The catfish is very good. It’s great. It’s different. It’s a healthy meal and a nice balance,” Dillon said.

Lexis Malnofski of Derry, is such a devoted fan of Nutall’s food that she has a dish named after herself.

“I think it is delicious. He has a different take on food. … He takes different ingredients and comes up with something new,” said Malnofski.

Nutall also aims to keep his coastal cuisine as authentic as possible. He even buys 50-pound bags of rice and and cornmeal from a supplier in Columbia, S.C., even though he could buy it from a local wholesaler.

“I wanted to make it authentic as possible. It’s worth it to have the real thing,” Nutall said.