Having storefront ‘amazing feeling’ for owner of Eugene’s Hot Chicken

Zebbie Carney, owner and creator of Eugene’s Hot Chicken, a popular food truck in the Magic City, said he is excited, to say the least, about the storefront he’ll soon occupy in the Uptown entertainment district at the BJCC.

“When I first saw the architectural drawings, it was an amazing feeling,” he said. “I was like a kid who dreamed of going professional in a sport. I took a moment to let it sink in that this is our reality. It was like we have arrived.”

Carney, who has helped popularize Nashville-style hot chicken in Birmingham since opening his truck in 2015, expects to move into the storefront — his first brick-and-mortar space — by the end of this year.

The store will allow the Nashville native to fulfill the plan he’s had for the business since the beginning and also help him operate it more efficiently. The new 1,100-square-foot space is at the corner of Ninth Avenue and 23rd Street North across from the Mugshots parking lot, according to Carney. It’s a “small restaurant [with] maybe 30 seats,” he said.

Carney sells his chicken in four varieties: “Southern” with no heat, mild, hot and “stupid hot.” The truck also sells chicken wings, chicken fingers, fries, slaw and desserts, including banana pudding, all made from Carney’s recipes.

Carney said he’s grateful for the warm reception his food truck has received, but he originally planned on having a storefront first. “Sometimes things don’t go as planned,” Carney said. “In hindsight, the way it evolved was perfect for us. We’ve somewhat built a brand with the food truck, and it’s time to take the next step.”

The Uptown location has all the things he was looking for, Carney said. “We wanted to be in an area of town with high traffic and tourism that is also growing,” he said.

Having a storefront will allow Eugene’s to solve some persistent space and logistical problems, Carney said.

“We have outgrown our space at the commissary,” he said, referring to the Chef’s Workshop in Hoover. “We began catering, and it requires more space than we have right now. Also the volume during a shift on the truck has outgrown what we can keep on the truck.”

Despite the excitement about the storefront, Carney said he has a lot of work to do.

“Now it’s back to business,” he said. “I have to make sure our products are as consistent as the truck that everyone has come to love.” 

And he promised that the food truck will keep right on running.

“You will still see Matilda [Big Red] in neighborhoods around town,” he said.

For more information, go to eugeneshotchicken.com.