Photo by Erin Nelson.
The Patriot burger with two wagyu beef patties, cheddar cheese, bacon, habanero bacon jam, fresh jalapeños, and mayo is one of the unique menu items at the newly opened Whiskey Foxtrot Burger Shoppe in the Merchants Walk shopping center in Homewood.
The Merchants Walk shopping center on 28th Avenue South now has a new tenant.
Whiskey Foxtrot Burger Shoppe on July 13 opened in the space formerly occupied by Homewood Gourmet, which moved to 18th Place South.
The locally-owned burger joint is the brainchild of Ben and Zac Williams, a pair of brothers originally from Hueytown. The Williams brothers established the first location, known as Whiskey Foxtrot Burger Dive, in Hoover in 2021 and have quickly gained a reputation for their enormous burgers, hand-cut fries and funky design.
The restaurant has also raised eyebrows over its name, which Ben Williams said has nothing to do with booze, nor is it an acronym for something more colorful. Williams said their restaurants are suitable for all ages and there is a simple explanation for the name, even if he gets a kick out of the notoriety.
“In the beginning, with our name being Whiskey Foxtrot, we got a lot of questions if we were a bar, had a military background or what our identity was,” Williams said. “We’re definitely a family-friendly, kid-friendly neighborhood burger joint.
“It’s the phonetic alphabet, so ‘Whiskey Foxtrot’ translates literally to ‘W F,’” Williams added. “So, for us, it’s just a code name for Williams Family Burgers.”
Ben, the younger of the two brothers, earned a degree in hotel and restaurant management and spent several years in the corporate restaurant world, including at several Jason’s Deli locations in Birmingham. After the COVID-19 pandemic’s negative effect on the brand, Ben and Zac decided the time was right to do their own thing.
For their first restaurant, the brothers settled on a spot in the Lake Crest Plaza shopping center on John Hawkins Parkway. The interior reflects Ben’s penchant for finding funky “junk” from flea markets and antique shops. As for the food, they decided on a modern twist on the classic American burger joint.
“I have a restaurant background, but I don’t necessarily have a culinary background ,so we tried to come up with a concept that we felt like we could execute well and keep it real simple. So basically, we were unapologetically mostly burgers and fries,” Williams said.
The menu is short and to the point, displaying the Williams brothers’ love for a classic burger with some special twists. All of Whiskey Foxtrot’s burgers, as well as hot dogs, are made from American Wagyu beef. “That’s what we’ve used from day one, and people have been real positive,” Williams said.
Whiskey Foxtrot’s burgers include the Fat Elvis, which comes with two patties, cheddar cheese, bacon and peanut butter and grape jelly on top. A less calorie-heavy option is the Queso Blanco, a burger with two patties, queso dip, jalapeños and a chipotle aioli.
Then there are the hot dogs, which stand toe-to-toe with the burgers, like the Chili Ray Cyrus, an all-beef frank topped with chili, cheese sauce and chopped yellow onions on a Hawaiian roll. The Gotti, on the other hand, is finished off with hot pastrami, caramelized onions and spicy mustard.
Williams said the decor for the Homewood location will be a little more refined, while still retaining the casual vibe of the original joint in Hoover. More to the point, the Merchants Walk location will drop the word “Dive” from its name and will officially be known as Whiskey Foxtrot Burger Shoppe. However, Williams said the offerings will be the same.
“The Homewood location will have the same menu and some similar design elements. It’s definitely got an old-school vibe to it, but it’s a little toned down,” Williams said. “I say this lovingly about ‘The Dive,’ but it’s a little less tacky. It’s not the same dive bar that we went for over there in Hoover. We’re excited to give it a go here in Homewood.”
Whiskey Foxtrot Burger Shoppe is located between Red Mountain Eye Care and SuperCuts. Learn more at whiskeyfoxtrotbham.com.
