By Hannah Curran, Editor
TRUSSVILLE — Red Bird’s Deli is opening soon, and co-owners Dustin Morgan and Brandon Morgan are excited to bring a fresh taste to Trussville with the help of their 25-plus years in the restaurant business.
Dustin and Brandon began working at Golden Rule Bar-B-Que in Trussville when they were teenagers and have continued to work in the restaurant business since, with Brandon owning a small business in downtown Birmingham years ago and Dustin working in the catering business.
They named the restaurant in honor of their grandmother’s favorite bird. Their grandmother used to take trips to Gatlinburg all the time and fell in love with bird watching.
“One of her favorite birds was a Cardinal, so we’ve had the idea of owning something for many years, and when the opportunity arose, we grabbed it, and we were throwing around names, and that’s when we came up with Redbirds,” Brandon said. “It’s a unique name; it’s also named to honor family because we’re a family business, and that’s where the name came from.”
Dustin and Brandon have always wanted to own something that families would like to dine at and decided that a deli-style restaurant not only benefited their dreams of owning a restaurant but also the customers that dined there. In addition, they hope to connect not only with citizens in Trussville but also with the surrounding communities such as Pinson and Clay.
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“We decided to do the deli-style, we can have a market and play with it, and have Grab-n-Go’s dinners,” Dustin said. “The deli, when we looked at everything, was more of our style being one-on-one with the customer, gives us a twist: we can do sandwiches and other stuff, besides just sandwiches for Grab-n-Go’s and everything.”
Brandon said Red Bird’s goal is to create a welcoming hometown feel when customers walk through the door.
“We really want to grow this; we want to create a brand and create an image when you walk in that’s very welcoming,” Brandon said. “Today’s world, the whole industry is changing. You’ve got a lot of technology that is gearing towards contactless service. You have restaurants and delis that you go in and don’t see one person. We have a lot of technology built into the company with our POS system and the way we order, but we will still have that face to face.”
Red Bird’s will have Door Dash, Trussville 2 GO, and their own website to order for pickup, delivery, and curbside pickup available to customers.
“There are multiple ways for you to get it; you don’t have to dine in,” Dustin said. “You can go back to your office or have it brought to you.”
Many of the menu items were created by Dustin. He said he enjoys making different types of sandwiches and soups. Dustin and Brandon stressed the importance of fresh food, which they plan to implement daily by hand-making menu items in their restaurant. They will create homemade soups, salads, sandwiches, daily specials, and homemade sweets and gifts, perfect for your favorite occasions.
“Working in the deli or small cafe, being in an environment like this, I just love making sandwiches and making different types of sandwiches of the day, making soups, but being in this type of environment, with an open kitchen and everything like that, we really can be one on one with our customers,” Dustin said. “You can get people in here who are your regulars, talk to them, and everything; it’s like a friendship. You build friendships.”
It’s not just the food that will offer a home-style feel, but Red Bird’s will also be supporting small businesses and incorporating the community by selling local honey, local preserves, and candles. Red Bird’s will also have food options for families on the go.
“We will have frozen dinners, fresh dinners, casseroles, sides,” Brandon said. “If someone is running home from work, they can run in here and get a full meal for a family of four or five. Or the single person can run in here and get you a fresh dinner or fresh salad. You can walk through the door and buy a candle. So we’re going to have a wide variety of stuff.”
The market will be open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. The grill will be open for lunch only from 10:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Dustin and Brandon said they hope to have the deli at 4710 Frank Street in Trussville open by June 1, 2022. Visit their Facebook page for more information.