Photo by Alyx Chandler.
Andrea Foster, owner and chef of The Preservery, stands in her new storefront at Five Points with the watercolor depictions of her restaurant, painted by Bob Moody.
Chef Andrea Foster’s entrance into the restaurant industry has been “a whirlwind romance,” she said, despite the fact that it stemmed from tragedy. When her dad passed away from pancreatic cancer two years prior, after they had spent a lifetime talking about opening a restaurant when she retired, she knew she couldn’t wait any longer.
“I decided I really loved this. My dad and I really enjoyed cooking together, it’s something we did together all the time,” she said. “[When he passed,] it really changed my view of life in general, that I don’t have forever. Tomorrow is not promised, so I decided to leave my corporate job and pursue what I wanted to do,” Foster said.
Even though she had been offering catering services for years, she knew it was time to take it to the next level. In February, she opened the Preservery, which occupied REV Birmingham’s REVeal Kitchen in the Pizitz Food Hall for a short-term lease through August. Shortly afterward, she bought the restaurant’s own location at 2005 11th Ave. S.
Located in an old building in the heart of Five Points, the vintage-styled eatery is bringing the first restaurant of its kind to the area, which Foster said will be “elevated soul food with an international twist” and will be served in the form of fine dining — which is the aspect she’s most excited about, since it was the original dining concept she imagined.
“I want our customers to be able to spend some time with us and really be able to enjoy the full experience, really get the story of the food that they are eating and really get the ambiance that we are going to have there,” Foster said.
The Preservery will focus on courses, so customers will be able to have appetizers, entrees, soups and salads, as well as desserts. There will also be a full bar featuring vintage and Prohibition-era cocktails, Foster said. The menu will be expanded from what was served at the food hall and will offer guests the opportunity to try meals previously only available through her catering services, such as her popular fried red and green tomato plate with house-made ranch dressing, in addition to her many flavors of preserves, which will be offered with the bread of the day. Some classic items she’s sticking with include the jambalaya fried rice, shrimp and grits and the banana pudding.
Before Foster made her final decision on whether to buy the Five Points location, she went to several neighborhood association meeting, where she was impressed with how involved locals were in improving the area.
“Anyone that follows my restaurant knows once you eat there, you’re family, and we mean that. We remember our customers, we remember their orders, and I thought this is the perfect place for us to be,” she said. “This is indeed a community that is totally invested in each other.”
The Preservery is set to open at the beginning of 2019. For more updates, go to thepreserverybham.com.
