Photo by Madoline Markham.
1111 Homewood Gourmet
Homewood Gourmet owners Chris and Laura Zapalowski.
Husband-and-wife chefs Chris and Laura Zapalowski own Homewood Gourmet, a longtime café staple that blends Cajun flavors with Southern-style cooking.
The restaurant opened in 1997 under Franklin Biggs, who became known for gumbo, fish plates, salads, rollups and poboys. After a cancer diagnosis forced Biggs to step away in 2010, the Zapalowskis — both former chefs at Birmingham’s James Beard Award-winning Hot and Hot Fish Club — took over.
Chris, a New Orleans native, brings Creole influence while Laura, a Birmingham native, highlights Southern comfort and seasonal produce. Together, they emphasize local ingredients, homemade sides and from-scratch cooking in a casual setting.
In 2023, Homewood Gourmet moved to a larger 1,500-square-foot space at 2705 Mamie Foster Place, where it continues to flourish.
The menu features signature sandwiches and poboys such as shrimp remoulade, chicken pesto rollups and roast beef with debris gravy, alongside fresh salads, rotating soups and gumbo, and Southern-style sides like deviled eggs, black-eyed pea salad and pimento cheese. Bread pudding and other sweets round out the offerings, with catering trays and boxed lunches available for events and weekday meals.
Between them, the Zapalowskis’ résumés include work with Emeril Lagasse, Anne Kearney, Southern Living, Food Network and Time Inc. Digital Studios. They are members of The Birmingham Originals, The Southern Foodways Alliance and Les Dames d’Escoffier.
Homewood Gourmet is open Monday through Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
