Alabama fast-casual restaurant ready to bring their burgers to downtown Pensacola this June
Alabama favorite-fast causal favorite Ox Kitchen is bringing a new location of its “New South Casual” style restaurant to downtown Pensacola this summer.
Ox Kitchen owner Bo Hamilton plans to plant his second location inside open-air food court The Garden, replacing Calavera Tacos, hopefully by mid-June.
The quick-service restaurant has mustered a reputation for simple food made with high quality ingredients since 2017, specializing in fresh salads, burgers and sandwiches. Some of the signature sandwiches include their chicken sandwich made with their house Alabama White Sauce and house smoked turkey sandwich with chipotle mayo.
The Pensacola airstream trailer will be a consolidated version of the full menu with a heavy focus on their burgers.
While Ox Kitchen started out in a food court model similar to The Garden, they outgrew it, and moved into a brick-and-mortar of their own about two years ago. The restaurant's name is a nod to his wife’s roots in Oxford, Mississippi.
Their homemade sauces are among the many from-scratch touches that set them apart, along with their hand-cut fries and house pickles.
“We don’t cut corners, we do everything by hand, and we hire good people,” Hamilton told the News Journal.
Burgers were something that were missing at The Garden, and something that Michael Carro, owner of The Garden, was confident Ox Kitchen could fill. Ox Kitchen will be on a lease for about four years.
“Ox Kitchen marries everything we like to see at The Garden,” Carro said.
After a full tasting at Hamilton’s restaurant in Fairhope, Alabama, Carro knew their burgers were destined to become a crowd-pleaser.
“We were expecting a good burger. We weren’t expecting such a phenomenal experience,” Carro said,
One of the best-sellers is house signature The Ox Burger, which comes with fresh lettuce, tomato, house pickle, onion, Duke’s Mayo and Ox Gravy.
Other popular burgers making the trip to The Garden are the Pimento Cheese and Bacon Burger, and the Greek Burger, which is nod to the Greek food scene in Birmingham, Alabama where Hamilton is from.
Hamilton said he plants to offer five to seven burgers along with sides. Some of the popular side dishes at Ox Kitchen include the ponzu roasted brussels and mac and cheese.
While the restaurant won’t be ready until the summer, Carro suggests those interested to make a visit to the Alabama brick-and-mortar at 365 Greeno Road South to experience the full experience.
“Go try it out, it’s worth the trip,” Carro said.
More updates and information can be found on the Ox Kitchen Fairhope Facebook page.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Ox Kitchen to add second location in Pensacola this summer
