Photo courtesy of Ruby Sunshine.
Eggs Cochon, a breakfast dish at Ruby Sunshine Cafe that features poached eggs and apple-braised pork.
By the end of summer, all three storefronts at Edgewood Station will be open for business.
In February, Shannon Waltchack, the commercial real estate firm for Edgewood Station, announced two new leases at 1017 Oxmoor Road. Greenhouse, a fast-casual restaurant created by Homewood residents Bray and Mary-Claire Britton, is opening in the former Mason Dixon Bakery in April or May, and New Orleans-based breakfast and lunch franchise Ruby Sunshine is opening in the former bartaco in August or September.
They join Three15 Studio, which has been in business in the upstairs portion of Edgewood Station since 2017.
The Brittons, who live down the street from their future restaurant, bring years of culinary experience to Greenhouse. Mary-Claire worked as a chef in New York City and Atlanta, and since the birth of her oldest child, she has been a food stylist at Southern Living. Bray was a chef at Bottega and Highlands Bar & Grill before helping to open and operate El Barrio and Paramount.
“Now we want to do it for ourselves,” Bray Britton said.
The Brittons have been working on the Greenhouse concept for about seven years.
“We wanted to bring something like this to Birmingham, … they’re ready and hungry for this now,” Mary-Claire Britton said.
Greenhouse’s breakfast menu will feature items like muffins, smoothies and coffee, Bray Britton said. At lunch and dinner, they will offer a revolving menu of soups, sandwiches, like muffalettas or Cubans, and pre-prepared or make-your-own salads, along with frose (frozen Rose wine), kid-friendly slushies and the “ridiculous cookie,” a recipe of Mary-Claire’s creation. Everything is intended to be grab-and-go, and the Brittons will offer seasonal foods with ingredients from local farms.
“Our concept is very reflective of the way we eat at home and the way we feed our family,” Mary-Claire Britton said.
There will be hearty menu choices as well as vegan and vegetarian-friendly meals. Bray Britton said many items will be in the $10-$12 range, though build-your-own salad prices will vary depending on ingredients.
Photo courtesy of Mary-Claire Britton.
Mary-Claire and Bray Britton are getting ready to open Greenhouse in Edgewood this spring.
He said he’s looking forward to getting out from behind the grill and “meeting the people we’re feeding.” Mary-Claire said their kids — Miles, 6, Ralph, 4, and Van, 8 months — are also getting excited about Greenhouse opening.
Greenhouse will be open from 6:30 or 7 a.m. to about 9 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.
Next door, Ruby Sunshine will bring a Louisiana twist to its breakfast, brunch and lunch options. It is the sister brand of Ruby Slipper, a chain of cafes along the Gulf Coast, and CEO Jennifer Weishaupt said Ruby Sunshine has an identical menu, decor and pricing, but with locations away from the coast.
Weishaupt said her husband is from Alabama and his friends in Birmingham kept them abreast of the city’s growing food scene. When bartaco closed in November 2018, she said, they thought it would be a great location. Like Greenhouse, Weishaupt said Ruby Slipper has only had to make cosmetic changes to its storefront, and the restaurant will keep the indoor and outdoor seating options of the previous tenant.
Ruby Sunshine’s menu includes omelettes, benedicts, buttermilk biscuits, oatmeal, shrimp or catfish and grits, pancakes, French toast and a selection of sandwiches made from scratch daily, as well as five types of mimosas, an award-winning Bloody Mary and other cocktails for brunch.
Some of their popular specialty items include the Egg Cochon, a dish with apple-braised pork over a biscuit, poached eggs and hollandaise; Bananas Foster Pain Perdu, which is French Toast with rum-flambéed bananas and raisins; and the White Chocolate Bread Pudding Pancake, which Weishaupt said is a new permanent addition to the menu.
The cafe’s coffee is “really special,” Weishaupt said, and comes from a small-batch roaster in New Orleans called French Truck Coffee.
“We have some really unique breakfast and brunch and lunch options,” Weishaupt said.
Ruby Sunshine will be open 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. during the week and 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekends.
Visit rubysunshine.com and greenhousebham.com for more information about both of Edgewood Station’s new tenants.
