While most Tuscaloosa residents were worrying about staying warm in the snow, Cris Eddings and Charles Morgan were concerned about their newest restaurant’s grand opening.
Other places may have considered moving their opening to sunnier days, but Jan. 11 had a special significance to the co-owners. The numerals, 1/11/11, add up to the number five, coinciding with the restaurant’s name and theme.
Because of the snow, Eddings wasn’t sure what to expect from FIVE’s opening, but the buzz they created through advertising at their other restaurants provided them with a nice turnout.
“We wanted people to come in here and think that we’ve been here for years,” said Jeremy Hicks, FIVE’s general manager. “We didn’t want people to come in thinking we had to work out kinks. Every restaurant is going to have their amount of complaints, but our operations have been running really smoothly.”
Since opening night, they’ve noticed that complaints are at a minimum and people keep complimenting them on how different FIVE is from any other dining experience.
“This is just a different approach to a restaurant business, and the approach we want to take is based upon simplicity,” Eddings said.
The simplicity starts with the menu. For each category, FIVE offers five dishes in an attempt to serve the best to every customer who comes in to eat. With the kitchen only keeping track of making five entrees and five snacks, Eddings said he believes all of the food that leaves the kitchen will consistently be the best food they can put out.
“Charles and I have done several restaurants together and the most difficult thing for us has been the nature of our menu,” he said. “We have so many aspects to the menu at Chuck’s, and we’ve always talked about doing something of a simple nature.”
This simple nature not only allows the kitchen and the bar to run smoothly, but Eddings said he thinks it enhances the dining experience for the customers who spend all day making decisions. The simple choice of five items allows diners to spend more time enjoying the experience rather than spending all their time thinking about what to order.
Another way Eddings and Morgan tried to enhance the experience is by creating a fun and relaxing atmosphere. FIVE is in a space downtown that was built in 1904. They spent seven months turning it into a restaurant and finding the perfect decorations for the walls, which are covered in original paintings of musicians such as The Beatles and famous authors such as Kurt Vonnegut. Their goal was to make dining at FIVE fun, even when customers have to wait for a table.
“Customers get a really cool place to wait and hang out,” Hicks said. “We’ve got great bartenders. We’ve also got awesome music, different music than you’ve probably heard anywhere in Tuscaloosa.”
Besides trying to offer the best food and the best environment, FIVE is also trying to have one of the best bars in town. Andrew Smeed, the bar manager, was mentored by a bartender hailed as the best in New York City.
He has brought what he knows to Tuscaloosa, creating five signature cocktails. Besides the cocktails, they offer five red and five white wines, as well as five imported and five domestic beers.
In the future, FIVE hopes to give back to the Tuscaloosa community by offering their leftover food free by having food trucks drive around town. Everyone will be invited to enjoy the food, but they hope to raise donations in order to give back to the community.
Anyone who wants to enjoy a simpler but fun dining experience and what Eddings calls “stellar food” should give FIVE a try. The restaurant is open from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Monday through Saturday.
