Tuscaloosa Restaurant Week: Avenue Pub Sets the Bar High

Good morning and welcome to the fifth and final feature highlighting a participant in Tuscaloosa Restaurant Week, where we're talking with Craig Williams, the owner of the famous Avenue Pub.

Each day this week, the Thread and Visit Tuscaloosa will profile one of the businesses that will participate in the annual event, presented this year by Cadence Bank.

Hungry to learn more? Over 60 participating eateries will offer unique items or special discounts on their most popular orders next week when Tuscaloosa Restaurant Week returns June 22nd through 28th. Learn more and get connected at the Tuscaloosa Restaurant Week website now.

Setting the Bar for 11 Years

For many in the Tuscaloosa area, the first thought when someone mentions a sit-down meal is the Avenue Pub - practically a knee-jerk reaction after it has dominated the downtown scene for more than a decade.

Founder and owner Craig Williams said even 11 years after opening the first version of the restaurant in a too-small space in Temerson Square, it's hard to believe how fortunate he's been.

In 2014, downtown Tuscaloosa looked dramatically different, and the number of restaurants even trying to operate there was far fewer than it is today. But Williams took the leap and opened the Avenue Pub. It not only survived the tough environment, it thrived, and arguably helped anchor the modern revitalization of the downtown area.

"When we first opened, we thought we would sell some plates of food and hopefully have a good time doing it. The reception that we received pretty much immediately was overwhelming, and it's still overwhelming to this day," said Williams. "Now we've opened a number of restaurants over the last 11 years, and sure enough, we've had a great time doing it. We've had amazing people work with us and be part of it. Still, I never would have imagined in 2014 that we would have built the brand we have today, engaged in these other restaurants, and watched so many great people come and work with us, develop here, and move on to do better things."

The downtown Avenue Pub is now in a much larger space at the corner of University Boulevard and 23rd Avenue, across from the iconic DePalma's. Williams has also opened a waterfront Avenue Pub in Orange Beach and a still-new second Tuscaloosa location off Rice Mine Road north of the Black Warrior, where the images for this feature were shot.

Here in the slowest times for our region's restaurants, Williams was interviewed from the beach, where business is booming.

A Shared Vision

If there's any secret to the brand's success, it's an unwavering, top-down commitment to consistency that starts with Williams and is instilled in every cook, server and bartender.

"From the very beginning, I think we were able to succeed by just putting our heads down and just working as hard as we could, everybody in unison, to get the job done," Williams said. "As we went from one store to two to three, it naturally changed some parts of how we were doing things - it looks different in Year 11 than it did in Year One, but it's the same fundamentals."

Those core tenets are rooted in delivering high-quality food that's right every time in a welcoming environment. Williams said his hiring process begins with finding employees who will rise to the occasion.

"We start internally by trying to find people who want to be a part of what we're doing, and that means effectively communicating our vision and their role within that," Williams said. "We give them the tools to succeed, positive reinforcement, and corrective criticism. In turn, hopefully, they'll take care of the guests, be a smiling face at the front door, and ensure they're cooking the food or making the cocktails to spec. They'll care about the place being clean and pay attention to the details that matter to the guest. So even as we've evolved, what's never changed is dedication to finding great people and treating them right, and making sure they've got the tools to succeed."

Legendarily Good Food and Drinks

Another consistent factor at any Avenue Pub location is the quality of the food. Since the first store opened in 2014, people have gone crazy for the menu, especially their signature Bacon Burger.

Like any other part of the Avenue Pub experience, Williams said its popularity comes down to the quality of ingredients and care in assembling them.

"Oh man, the bacon burger. It's a half-pound, fresh-ground patty, really coarse ground and super-thick. South's Finest Meats makes the chuck and sirloin blend for us here in town," he said. "We get it from them fresh, and they don't sell that blend to anybody else."

The burger is pattied by hand, salted and peppered, and dropped on an oiled flat-top grill and left alone until it's time to flip, making sure to leave the charred crust intact. A cap goes on top to make a domed miniature convection oven until the burger's cooked to customer specifications. Then, it's assembled with provolone cheese, two slices of bacon, chopped mixed grains, red onions, a couple of pickles, mayo, and a brioche-style bun.

"It's pretty fantastic," Williams understated. "And that burger is great for the quality ingredients and the cooking procedures, but also because we have people who care. They truly want it to be cooked right, and they're they're consistent about it. That's why we've gotten this incredible response to our burger and why it's been so well received for so long."

Almost equally as popular is the Salty Dog, an unexpected cocktail that's perfect for beating the heat when temperatures start to climb.

"The Salty Dog has been on the menu since we first opened, and it's just a simple, refreshing summer drink," Williams said. "It's just three ingredients. Tito's Handmade Vodka out of Texas, a little bit of really tasty simple syrup we make with Demerara sugar, and then fresh-squeezed grapefruit. - There's nothing like ruby-red, fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice. You can't buy it off the shelf, and we squeeze them here in-house."

The perfect complement to the Salty Dog may be the new menu item the Avenue Pub is featuring in Tuscaloosa for restaurant week—the Muchacho Shrimp Tacos, which first debuted on the Orange Beach menu.

"We're really excited to participate in Restaurant Week for the first time this year and highlight the shrimp tacos, which took off in Orange Beach and quickly became one of our best sellers," Williams said. "It's a crispy shrimp taco, hand-breaded shrimp served up in fluffy flour tortillas, three to an order. We put a chili lime slaw on top, shredded mozzarella, and the shrimp is tossed in this sweet and spicy sauce. It's got a lot of fun ingredients in there and we hope Tuscaloosa loves it as much as our waterfront customers.

A Fresh Menu to Experience

Williams is also excited about the recent expansion of the Avenue Pub's menu, which now features a new two-patty double burger, the aforementioned shrimp tacos, a fried chicken sandwich with cream cheese and pepper jelly, and more.

"After four years of the COVID pandemic, seeing to our new locations and more, our operations have sort of settled out. We got everything back in place, our service, food, consistency, and quality were where we'd like to see them," he said. "It felt right to look at new items because we always talk about trying to ensure that we're providing variety and fresh entrees, apps, and cocktails to the menu."

The new additions will get reviewed at the end of the summer, and Williams will decide what to keep and whether to try something new.

"When we were in the old space, our kitchen really couldn't conceive of doing more than the 14 or so items on the menu," Williams said. "Now with additions and subtractions, I think we have 19, and that's appetizers, salads, and entrees. And we'll probably never go more than that, I think that's a good number for where we are."

As always, the key is to master any new menu item and make it right for each customer who orders it.

"Our focus is truly always on how we can be as consistent as possible delivering our food. When you talk about a new item that comes with new ingredients, new procedures, new storage, a new setup on the line, all these things threaten to throw a wrench in your consistency," Williams said. "That's our goal. It doesn't matter who's working on the grill, it doesn't matter who's behind the bar. We're trying to serve the guest the same exact thing that they got two weeks ago when they were in there, because that's what they wanted, that's what they came back and ordered."

The restaurateur, always one to share credit, thanked his past and present employees for sharing and executing his sometimes exacting vision, as well as every customer who has savored a meal at any Avenue Pub location.

"We've been fortunate, every year we've been fortunate, and we're extremely grateful," William said.

This is the fifth and final profile in this year's series partnering with Visit Tuscaloosa to highlight locally owned businesses each summer. Tuscaloosa Restaurant Week 2025 is presented by Cadence Bank.

For ongoing coverage of restaurant and retail development in West Alabama, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread!