Birmingham hot chicken lovers have long appreciated the various heat levels of Eugene’s Hot Chicken. Zebbie Carney, the restaurant’s owner, first blessed - and burned - our taste buds with a food truck in 2015. The immediate success (Birmingham was previously a hot chicken oasis) led to the first brick-and-mortar Eugene’s location in the Uptown District in 2017. With a menu that includes a variety of chicken plates (along with catfish and other delicious options) with heat levels ranging from lemon pepper to stupid hot, it’s easy to see why it caught on so quickly.

Eugene's Owner Zebbie Carney

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The growth has continued into 2020 - as a second location is now open in Hoover near the Riverchase Galleria. Carney explained how the process started by saying, “We’ve been working on a second location for probably two-and-a-half years now. When I knew we were going to have 18-24 months of construction in Uptown, I didn’t want to close, but needed another revenue stream.”

The New Hoover Location

The chicken master went on to explain how Hoover was the most logical second location due to the massive success the food truck experiences when in the area. To add to the excitement, the construction work next to the Uptown restaurant is now complete and the road is reopened - so both locations are more ready than ever to deliver a delicious experience!

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Eugene's Incredible Menu

Carney says opening a physical restaurant was always the vision and having a second location is even more of a dream come true. Carney says Create Birmingham’s CO.STARTERS program helped him start by “thinking small” with the truck before expanding to what we see today, and allows him to look to the future.

From their first food truck event at TrimTab Brewing on Halloween night of 2015 to the new Hoover location, Eugene’s continues to provide more Birminghamians the hot chicken fix that used to be impossible to find in the Magic City. Eugene’s also offers an excellent catering experience, and is available for carry-out and food delivery apps including Waitr, Uber Eats, The Takeout Bham, and more. Just be sure to choose your heat level wisely!