Tag: Zeb Stevenson

When fine dining spot Redbird closed on the Westside last year, it also meant the end of owner/chef Zeb Stevenson’s famed Birdy Biscuits. The weekend-only offering was known for lines around the corner, as eager Atlantans downed fried chicken biscuits, guava biscuits, and cinnamon rolls served from a walk-up window. Now, the pop-up returns for one night only.

A wave of closures at the height of the pandemic made sense. But as diners have returned in droves to sit-down restaurants—a 2022 survey suggests that more people are eating out now than before the pandemic—independent eateries have continued to struggle. What are restaurants up against these days—and how can they survive?

For 25 years, ever since he secured his first cooking position—at Waffle House, no less—Zeb Stevenson wanted to be the chef at his own restaurant. “That was really all I ever set out to do,” he says. In 2019, he achieved his goal, opening Redbird in Westside Provisions District with Ross Jones (formerly of Watershed on Peachtree, where Stevenson was previously executive chef). His “free-spirited,” vegetable-forward approach to cooking attracted diners for four years, even surviving the Covid-19 pandemic. However, in February 2023, Stevenson reluctantly shuttered his life’s dream, noting unsustainable costs of labor and food.

Gardeners and chefs, pumpkin whisperers and okra aficionados, taco technicians and pecan purveyors: meet Atlanta’s green giants.

In October 2020, Zeb Stevenson added weekend biscuit sandwiches served from a walk-up window at Redbird and dubbed it Birdy Biscuits. Recently, with the popularity of Birdy Biscuits and the increase in foot traffic in Westside Provisions District, Stevenson decided the area—and his team—was ready for lunch service.

Biscuits are going to help us get through the long winter ahead—they're warm, fluffy, comforting, and thankfully for us, plentiful in Atlanta.[

Chef Zeb Stevenson says this is "the single most requested recipe" at Redbird, his popular Westside Provisions District restaurant that opened last summer. "I don't know if it's because it's vegan, or because it's uber-flexible, or because it's just plain delicious, but guests request it all the time."

The arrival of chef Zeb Stevenson’s Redbird—which has landed in the former home of fine-dining bastion Bacchanalia—signals a new era for the Westside’s restaurant scene.

The best of Atlanta's food and drink in 2019, including best new restaurant, new chef, new barbecue, dim sum, soft-serve, and more.

Former Watershed chef Zeb Stevenson and partner Ross Jones, one of Watershed's original owners, will open a “free-spirited” restaurant called Redbird in the Westside Provisions District this summer.