Photo by Erin Nelson.
The Club sandwich with parmesan fries is one menu item at The Battery.
In the year since it opened on Central Avenue, The Battery has carved out a niche for itself in Homewood’s restaurant scene.
The Battery’s General Manager, Jeramy Stephens, got to know owner Ben Chappel socially during his time managing the U.S. 280 location of Buffalo Wild Wings. The two struck up a friendship and, over the years, discussed ideas for a new restaurant in Homewood.
“Homewood needed an upscale place where you can go watch a ballgame,” Stephens said. “We wanted a place where we could take clients, where you could go for a date night, bring your kids after the game and then you could also go and watch sporting events.”
The Battery is located in the space formerly occupied by Little Donkey. Stephens said he and Chappel had been looking for a spot and when Little Donkey moved to its new location on 18th Street, they were in the right place at the right time and snapped it up.
“It’s centrally located and within walking distance of Edgewood, the schools and the churches. We just got really lucky, for lack of a better term,” Stephens said.
They then set about transforming the space into the modern concept they envisioned. Rather than simply moving in and putting up a new sign, Stephens said they decided to start from scratch, ripping the building down to its bare bones in order to bring their vision for The Battery to life.
“We gutted it, rebuilt and tore it up completely,” he said. “We had to redesign the whole space because they had an open kitchen and we couldn’t go with that format with the amount of TVs we wanted to put on the walls, so we pretty much had to redo the whole thing.”
Stephens said he believes The Battery is filling a void in the Birmingham area for local, casual-upscale restaurants, a void once occupied by restaurants like Rube Burrow’s Food & Spirits, The Silvertron Cafe, Clyde Houston’s and The Mill.
“We have such a great food scene in the metro area, but there is definitely a gap there, and I don’t know why that gap is not being filled,” Stephens said. “It’s hard to find that quality of food, service and attention to detail that we’re striving for.”
The Battery bills itself as a sports bar, so you will find a fresh take on the usual sports bar fare such as their chicken wings, which have been smoked for several hours before being flash fried shortly before serving. Diners will also find other standards such as the Philly Cheesesteak, with sliced ribeye or grilled chicken topped with portobello mushrooms, onion, bell peppers and cheese sauce.
However, The Battery’s menu goes beyond just bar food, with such items as the seared king salmon, accompanied with confit tomato and carrot puree, seasoned potatoes and grilled asparagus, or an 8-ounce filet mignon with grilled asparagus, bechamel and seasoned potatoes.
“When you’re at a place watching sports, who says you have to eat normal bar food? Why can’t you have a steak while you watch a ballgame and have that type of environment?” Stephens said. “So we’ve been trying to meld an environment of upscale fare and a casual environment, and I think we check all those boxes really well.”
Stephens grew up in Homewood and now lives here with his wife and three kids, all of whom attend Homewood City Schools. He said The Battery is an expression of his love and appreciation for the community.
“There is no place I would rather raise a family than Homewood,” he said. “The way this community wraps its arms around you through thick and thin is unbelievable. I want to contribute and be a part of that community spirit.
“We wanted a place that Homewood can call their own and that they are proud to come to,” he added. “The support has been overwhelming and we’re truly blessed.”
The Battery is located at 2821 Central Ave., Suite 101, Homewood.
Learn more at manthebattery.com.
