Yo’ Mama’s brings new soul to food in historic Birmingham, Alabama, district
Chicken and waffles at Yo' Mama's is a bestseller for a reason. (Susan Swagler / Alabama News Center)
Yo’ Mama’s restaurant is forging its own history in the Fourth Avenue Historic District of downtown Birmingham. This restaurant is the only Black-owned, sit-down eatery in one of the few surviving Black Business Districts in the Southeast still operating with a majority Black-owned business ecosystem.
Yo’ Mama’s started with a dream of business ownership, which became life’s second successful act for Denise Peterson. And that grew into a thriving family enterprise that quickly outgrew its original space on Second Avenue North.
A partnership with the city of Birmingham (the city needed a tenant for a vacant retail space on Fourth Avenue; Yo’ Mama’s needed more seats and a bigger kitchen) led to the recent relocation, and since early January, Yo’ Mama’s has welcomed hundreds of new customers – locals and visitors – for lunches and brunches.
Denise worked for AT&T for more than three decades, but she also did some catering on the side for family and friends and the occasional jazz festival. After retirement (and having been thinking for a long time about owning a restaurant), she prayed about it and then decided she’d better go ahead and get to it.
From the beginning, Denise says, customers were the focus. “I do my best to give them the best food that I know how to do – what I would want to eat. That is my aim – to just give them a really good experience from when they hit the door until they leave out.”
Denise originally said she’d “give it three years.” She told her family, “If we’re successful in three years, we’ll keep going.’”
Now, more than a decade later, Yo’ Mama’s is one of the city’s most popular homegrown restaurants – drawing loyal locals as well as busloads of tourists.
During the recent grand re-opening, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, who has been a customer of Yo’ Mama’s since he was a young lawyer getting around the city on his bicycle, pointed out that this is a family business. Indeed, Denise, founder and co-owner, runs the kitchen; her husband handles the finances; daughter Crystal is a co-owner and the restaurant’s general manager; and another daughter, Delisha, takes care of digital things (she created the logo, website and menu boards, and chose everything dealing with technology in the new space).
With more than 5,000 square feet, the new Yo’ Mama’s location has room for about 100 patrons (the Second Avenue café sat fewer than 40). Parking here is not a problem either, since this retail space is on the ground floor of BPA Parking Deck #3 and the first hour is free.
Even in its former small-and-narrow café space, Yo’ Mama’s has always felt fresh and modern. The new restaurant – with high ceilings; a private event space for parties and meetings (with a white board, projector and seating for up to 30); lots of natural light from a wall of windows; the vibrant Yo’ Mama’s logo large on exposed brick; comfortable, colorful furnishings; and the recent addition of a dish-delivering robot named Geoffery – further emphasizes this modern vibe.
The food does, too.
This is not soul food, but rather “good food for the soul,” Denise says.
Crystal adds, “We have a lot of people who think that all we sell are soul foods, because most of the time, when it comes to Black people, we only are referred to as ‘soul food.’ But I always tell people, ‘It depends on where your soul goes.’ Because, if you want tacos, we’ve got it. If you want shrimp and grits, we’ll take you to a little bit of New Orleans. We got it. Where’s your soul going? We can take you there.”
Regardless, it’s all made from scratch.
The bestselling dish here is fried chicken and waffles. The large and light Belgian waffles have a subtle malty flavor and deep wells for the rich, buttery, homemade syrup. The golden-fried chicken wings on top are meaty and juicy beneath a light, crispy crust. This is some of the best fried chicken in town.
Crystal says they use gluten-free flour for all their fried things. In fact, Yo’ Mama’s is a gluten-free restaurant, for the most part. Some 90% of the menu, she says, is already gluten free. You can get gluten-free waffles, corn instead of flour tortillas and a gluten-free bun for the burger if you’d like.
There are around 10 main menu items at lunch, most involving fried fish, chicken and shrimp, although there also is a burger with homemade barbecue sauce. Each day sees a special “meal of the day,” and these dishes are often items Denise would cook for her own family over the years – things like bacon-wrapped meatloaf or chili with a grilled cheese sandwich. This is served until none is left. There is a typical meat-and-three option on Tuesdays of pork chops, collard greens and mac and cheese “for the ones who are expecting it,” Denise says.
Shrimp with grits is a popular dish; so is the catfish and grits. The grits here are thick and savory with white cheddar, Asiago and cream cheese.
There are shrimp or tilapia tacos (grilled or fried). These are light, healthy dishes that are delightfully fresh – the fish simply seasoned and layered with zippy homemade salsa fresca and crunchy slaw in soft, warm tortillas. There’s a drizzle of POE (Put On Everything) sauce on top. These dishes come with black beans and Spanish rice.
Hot wings at Yo’ Mama’s are fantastic. They begin as fried wings, so there’s a distinct crunchiness beneath the glistening spicy-sweet wing sauce resulting in a satisfying contrast of textures and tastes. The wings come with thick, fresh-cut fries and a side of ranch dressing.
Brunch happens the second and last Saturdays of each month. Dishes include salmon croquettes with homemade tartar sauce, fluffy pancakes with chicken, waffles with chicken, and a two-egg omelet with your choice of fillings. The French toast, tender inside with a nice cinnamon-scented crust outside, is delicious even before you drizzle it with buttery syrup. They soak the thick bread in a vanilla cream before it hits the griddle. This comes with a choice of protein; the smoky link sausage is spicy and delicious.
There is a new seafood omelet with lump crab, shrimp and Gouda. Beautiful buttermilk biscuits are made in-house.
Yo’ Mama’s has attracted its share of attention at home and across the country.
They’ve fed lunch to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, WNBA New York Liberty champion Jaylyn Sherrod, Pastor Mike Jr., Charles Barkley, Hillary Clinton, Stacey Abrams and actor Omari Hardwick. Pete Buttigieg has visited twice; Crystal says the second time she saw him, she called him “Re-Pete.”
Yo’ Mama’s recently was named one of the largest minority-owned businesses in Birmingham, ranked by number of employees. The restaurant has been featured in Martie Duncan’s “Sweet Home Alabama: Destinations and Dishes Worth the Trip” and “The Alabama 100: Best Recipes, Restaurants & Road Trips.”
In 2022, “Eat This, Not That” said Yo’ Mama’s had the best waffles in Alabama. In 2024, Southern Living listed it as one of the 40 Best Restaurants in Birmingham. They’ve been on Cooking Channel’s “Cheap Eats” and “Fresh, Fried and Crispy” on Netflix. Denise has a regular cooking segment on WBRC Fox 6.
In 2021, the restaurant received a $15,000 James Beard Foundation grant through the organization’s Food and Beverage Investment Fund for Black and Indigenous Americans. (It was one of only about three dozen restaurants around the country – and the only one in Alabama – to receive the grant.) They used the money to help with payroll during the pandemic and to continue their community outreach.
Yo’ Mama’s has, from the very early days, been committed to the community it serves.
Of the 12 employees, a quarter are on the autism spectrum.
“We’ve always done that,” Denise says, “because I think everybody needs to be able to do something for themselves. … I don’t treat them any differently. You have to talk to them differently. But as far as ‘Yes, sir. Yes, ma’am. Do this, do that,’ I totally give them respect, and they do the same thing for me. … We’re working with Glenwood now. They come in and they train them on the job we’re having them do. … I feel like every person should have the opportunity to work for themselves. … If they want to work, they have the opportunity here to do so.”
The restaurant has sensory tools from KultureCity for customers who might benefit from them, and the staff has gone through the Sensory Inclusive certification process.
Yo’ Mama’s also employs women from Jessie’s Place, helping them get back on their feet socially and financially.
“We always wanted to try to give an opportunity to the less fortunate,” Crystal says, “regardless of whether you’re homeless or you are autistic, anybody that has special needs.” It’s part of the brand, she points out. “Being a mother. A mother always gives opportunities to anybody. So, we try to give opportunities in any kind of way.”
They feed families at the Ronald McDonald House. They feed Birmingham’s homeless. “Street homeless,” Crystal says, “not just the homeless who stay in the shelters. We’ll go to the people who are actually street homeless.”
Every August, in the worst heat of the summer, Crystal and her team go out and distribute bottles of water to those who need them. They partner with the Black-owned, Alabama-based Eleven86 Real Artesian Water in this effort. You’ll also find that water in the restaurant; make sure to check the cap for your Bible verse.
RELATED: Eleven86 is an Alabama Maker of heavenly H2O
Yo’ Mama’s purposefully partners with other local Black-owned businesses – lifting each other up, helping each other to thrive.
Most desserts here come from Kristal Bryant of K&J’s Elegant Pastries just a few blocks away; it’s a partnership that goes back at least five years. It made perfect sense, Crystal says. “Who wants to give my mom another task to do? Especially when I have someone that’s good at what they’re doing and they’re consistently good.” They also source locally from Sweet Solutions.
RELATED: K&J’s Elegant Pastries & Creamery has a sweet home in Alabama
“We do a lot of Black-on-Black dime,” Crystal says. “What we know is this: If a Black person pulls another Black person up, we can all pull another Black person up.” With DEI programs and other strategies going away, she adds, “Now we have to help each other out.”
Additionally, both Crystal Peterson and Kristal Bryant are valued members of the Birmingham chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier International, a philanthropic organization dedicated to empowering women in the food, beverage and hospitality businesses with grants and scholarships.
It feels like Yo’ Mama’s coming to the Fourth Avenue Historic District was destined to happen. During the first half of the 20th century, this was the vibrant center of the Black community in Birmingham, as Jim Crow laws prohibited Black people from patronizing white establishments. Lots of important history happened here.
“This means a lot to us as a family,” Crystal says, “because when my parents were growing up in Birmingham, this is the street that they could come down without having to worry about being harassed. … Everything was on Fourth Avenue. So, we find it very fitting to be down here, because we’re in the middle of legacies,” she says, mentioning Fife’s Restaurant, Green Acres and even Gus’s Hot Dogs. “We’re on a street full of legends, and we’re just hoping we can make our mark here and be legendary as well.”
Yo’ Mama’s is in a new location on Fourth Avenue North in Birmingham. (Susan Swagler / Alabama News Center)
Yo’ Mama’s
2024 Fourth Ave. North
Birmingham, Alabama
https://www.yomamasrestaurant.com/
Hours:
Lunch: Monday through Friday, 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Brunch: Second and last Saturdays of every month, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Susan Swagler has written about food and restaurants for four decades, much of that time as a trusted restaurant critic. She shares food, books, travel and more at www.savor.blog. Susan is a founding member and past president of the Birmingham chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier International, a philanthropic organization of women leaders in food, wine and hospitality whose members are among Birmingham’s top women in food.
