Reviewed by: Callie Morrison
New Washington-based restaurant coming soon to Morris Avenue
Reading time: 4 minutes
A new restaurant specializing in American cuisine is coming soon to downtown Birmingham. Wooden City—a restaurant brand founded in Washington state in 2018—will be opening a new location in The Magic City come Fall 2024.
Read on to learn more about Wooden City.
Founded in Washington in 2018
In 2018, chef Jon Green, restauranteur Abe Fox and their business partner Eddie Gulberg founded the first Wooden City in Tacoma, Washington. Jon and Abe—who both grew up working in their families’ restaurants—wanted to recreate that environment with genuine hospitality and quality food and drinks.
“Jon, our chef, spent his 20s traveling the world while working at Michellin star restaurants like The French Laundry and Gramercy Tavern. I’ve worked as a bartender all my life, so I’m front of house. Eddie—who was a college friend—is in charge of built-out of our restaurants. We connected on wanting to recreate the feel of our small town, family restaurants.”
Abe Fox, Co-Founder, Wooden City
Currently, Wooden City has locations in Tacoma, WA, Spokane, WA and Chattanooga, TN. In addition, the group operates Wooden City Tavern at Greenlake in Seattle, WA.
Here’s what on the menu
So, what’s on the menu? Although the menu at each Wooden City is slightly different, Birmingham can expect a well-curated list of American cuisine classics, such as:
- Small plates like Peel ‘n’ Eat Shrimp, Chicken Wings and Smoked Salmon Toast
- Wood Fired Pizzas like Pepperoni, Sausage + Mushroom and Veggie
- Sandwiches like the Tavern and Fancy Burgers as well as the Fried Chicken Sandwich
- House Favorites like Country-Style Pork Chop and Seared Scallops
“We have a solid menu of pizzas, pastas and burgers as well as several signature entrees. We do have some unique dishes, like our Blistered Hungarian Peppers, which come from Jon’s family recipe. Our food isn’t complicated; it’s approachable, high quality and at a good price point.”
Abe Fox, Co-Founder, Wooden City
In addition to food, Wooden City carries a wide selection of wines and beers and offers classic and house specialty cocktails.
Coming to Birmingham Fall 2024
After opening their Chattanooga restaurant in September 2022, the Wooden City team began looking for similarly-sized cities in the South for a new location.
“We’re drawn to cities in the South, like Chattanooga and Birmingham, that are changing positively and growing in good ways. We can tell that there are a lot of great people in Birmingham that are genuinely invested in the community. That excites us, because being involved in the communities that we operate is extremely important to us. We work with and donate to local nonprofits through programs like our Draft Old Fashioned Donation, in which we donate a dollar for every Old Fashioned we serve.”
Abe Fox, Co-Founder, Wooden City
Wooden City’s upcoming Birmingham restaurant will be located on at 2335 Morris Avenue, a building recently purchased by David Carrigan, owner of the nearby Carrigan’s Philanthropub.
“We love that old building and its character, and Morris Avenue fits Wooden City very well. We’re very happy to have David Carrigan as our landlord; he genuinely wants us to succeed and he is heavily invested in Birmingham and its success.”
Abe Fox, Co-Founder, Wooden City
According to Abe Fox, the Wooden City team is aiming to open their new Birmingham location in August 2024. Check out their website and Instagram to stay connected.
The Bham Now team is extremely excited to welcome Wooden City to Morris Avenue—in fact, our office is just a few doors down. Are you excited to visit Wooden City in Birmingham? Tag us @bhamnow to let us know!
