Meet Zeb Stevenson of Redbird in Westside Provisions District

Today we’d like to introduce you to Zeb Stevenson.

Zeb, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My introduction to the restaurant business was as a dishwasher at the Downtown Waffle House in Bloomington, Indiana back in 1997.

Before that, I had been studying Fine Art at Cornell University but I couldn’t afford to keep up with the program and left after a year. I spent a few years working short-term jobs and traveling around the country, wasting time as was fashionable in the mid-1990s.

When I landed with some friends in Bloomington, I found work and fell in love with the restaurant business instantly. As a directionless misfit, I was intrigued by the liveliness and camaraderie and I knew that it was where I belonged. The people who I worked with didn’t judge based on anything other than whether or not you could do the job. It felt like the only limit was how hard you were willing to work.

Over the 20-plus years that have followed circumstance and hard work have enabled me to live out my dream. There has been a lot of sacrifices and I’ve made countless mistakes but I’ve never given up on it.

Redbird is all I’ve ever wanted – a place where I can make people happy with food that I’m proud to serve and a place to help equip the next generation of chefs with the tools they’ll need to do the same.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The path that I’ve been on has been anything but smooth. It has been a constant challenge that has broken me down and rebuilt me time and time again.

From broken relationships to physical ailments to emotional distress there has been no shortage of struggle. I’ve dealt with substance abuse issues, financial hardship, intense feelings of failure, terrible bosses, sabotage – you name it and it’s happened.

But the biggest challenge of all, the one that has always been constant, has been cultivating my ability to believe in myself. Being a chef and a great leader depends on committing to your own ideas and abilities. If you can’t do that you can’t expect anyone to get behind you. When you come from a disadvantaged background like I do, you have to learn how to believe that you deserve to be successful.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Redbird – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
Redbird is a fine-casual restaurant that I like to refer to as “vegetable-forward”. That doesn’t mean that we are a vegetarian restaurant but it does mean that we try to revolve our dishes around things that come out of the ground first. We serve sustainable meat, poultry and seafood of the highest quality only and we always do our best to keep things simple.

I believe that one of the keys to a great dish is letting all of the ingredients be the best version of what they are. Instead of trying to manipulate, cloy, cover or hide our ingredients, we try to coax out their best qualities and let them shine.

Redbird isn’t fancy. I don’t care what you wear or what kind of car you drive to get there. The vibe in the dining room is lively and that’s how I like it. I play the music that I like and serve dishes that I think will make people happy. That’s the goal.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
We are in our first year as a business and as I write this, we are hunkered down to weather out the coronavirus pandemic so my only focus right now is protecting the business and the employees so that we can get back to the business of doing what we do best.

Pricing:

• Snacks and small plates range from $6 to $14
• Meat, poultry and seafood are served a la carte from $20 up to $95 (for a 60 day dry aged ribeye that serves 2)
• Our wine list features small producers and family owned wines priced from $40 to $90

Contact Info:

• Address: 1198 Howell Mill Rd, Atlanta, GA 30318
• Website: www.redbirdatl.com
• Phone: 404-900-5172
• Email: info@redbirdatl.com
• Instagram: @redbird_atl
• Facebook: @redbirdatl
• Twitter: @redbird_atl

Image Credit:
Andrew Thomas Lee

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