Tastes Like Home

By Lauren H. Dowdle
Photos by Blair Ramsey

Homemade tastes. Homegrown owners. Whether someone works there or dines in for the flavorful food and cold drinks, everyone is treated like family at Waldo’s Chicken & Beer.

That focus on people and quality dishes is what attracted Casey Atherton—owner-operator of Waldo’s Chicken & Beer’s locations on Montgomery Highway in Vestavia Hills, Cahaba Heights and Pelham—to join the business.

Before working with Waldo’s, Casey managed several Chick-fil-A locations in the Nashville area. That’s when he met Mark Waldo, owner of his namesake restaurant.

Casey, originally from Hoover, and Mark, a Homewood native, connected over their Alabama ties, values and love of made-from-scratch dishes.

“We met at a Waldo’s in Franklin, Tennessee, and sat in a booth and talked for a few hours,” Casey recalls of their initial meeting. “It was just a natural, genuine connection. I saw his vision for the business and tasted the food, and I thought it was too good of an opportunity to pass up.”

Casey ran Waldo’s Franklin location for a few months before bringing the fast-casual restaurant chain to his home state. They opened Waldo’s three years ago in Cahaba Heights, and Casey says he was excited to be around his family again.

“It’s been amazing,” he says. “I never thought I’d move back. I got to bring something to both my and [Mark] Waldo’s old stomping grounds that I was extremely proud of.”

The restaurants parent company, Fresh Hospitality, also oversees Taziki’s Mediterranean Cafe and Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint. Waldo’s now has 27 locations across the country, and Casey says they’d love to expand to places such as Trussville, Tuscaloosa and Hoover if they find the right locations.

One of the things that makes Waldo’s stand out from the flock is its dedication to serving customers tasty dishes that are all made from scratch. Team members arrive at 7 a.m. each day to prepare menu items by hand-punching fries, rendering bacon fat for collard greens and hand-cutting all of the fresh ingredients to use in the business’ tried-and-true family recipes.

“Our food is second to none,” Casey says. “Food is a labor of love, and we don’t find shortcuts or cut corners. We love and have a serious passion for real, scratch-made food.”

That of course includes Waldo’s staple menu item. The team brines their chicken overnight, ensuring it’s always tender and flavorful.

Their southern fried chicken gets a pickle brine and is then dipped in buttermilk and coated with their signature seasoned, breaded coating. After a brown sugar brine for their rotisserie chicken, they season and roast the meat until it’s perfectly brown.

Guests can enjoy the chicken on sandwiches or plates with sides such as macaroni and cheese, white beans, potato wedges, coleslaw and tomato cucumber salad. The menu also includes salads, loaded nachos, cheddar biscuits, onion rings, wings, a variety of sauces and, of course, homemade banana pudding.

Everything Waldo’s serves is made fresh, never frozen.

“We want to provide a real meal like your mom, dad or grandma would cook for you,” Casey says. “This is real, homemade, quality food—just in a different type of packaging with a fun-looking restaurant you can bring the whole family to.”

If they wouldn’t give it to their mothers, Casey says, they aren’t going to serve it to their customers.

“That’s the level of care we put into what we do,” he says. “We want to do it to the best of our ability and serve something we can be proud of.”

Customers can also pair the homemade food with a cold drink. Waldo’s keeps more than a dozen beers on tap at each location and partners with local distributors such as Back Forty Beer Company, Good People Brewing Company, Birmingham District Brewing Company and Avondale Brewing Company.

If local patrons have a beer they want to see added to the lineup, Casey encourages them to let him know.

“We want to bring that local flavor they’re looking for,” he says. “What’s better with some fried chicken than a nice, cold, local beer?”

They also offer a full bar and frozen alcoholic drinks including bushwhackers, margaritas and seasonal drinks, as well as happy hours that vary by location. Guests can also enjoy all Waldo’s has to offer in the restaurants’ unique and inviting spaces—or coops, as team members like to call it.

Casey says customers can expect to be greeted with a smiling face and fun décor—such as an image of Bo Jackson holding a rubber chicken or Paul “Bear” Bryant drawing up chicken plays and food puns on the wallpaper.

Waldo’s has trivia nights, indoor and outdoor seating, nights when kids eat free and sports showing on the televisions.

“It’s just a fun place to be with some amazing human beings around you,” Casey says. “We get to provide awesome food to our communities, and that was always what I wanted to do.”

While the restaurant might be known for its tasty food, drinks and eclectic style, the main focus of Waldo’s is supporting its employees.

“My favorite part is the people,” Casey says. “It’s about taking care of human beings and providing them with opportunities. Our people are the lifeblood of our business, and we want to keep them forever and develop those relationships.”

Those relationships extend into the communities, as well. Waldo’s works to partner with nearby schools, businesses and organizations to keep each restaurant as local as possible.

“We want to be a part of our community and take care of it,” Casey says. “That’s what’s important to us. We want to grow with our community and be genuine and real. We’re happy to make Birmingham home. I couldn’t be happier to go on this journey the past five years.”

Waldo’s Chicken & Beer has two different locations in Vestavia Hills: Cahaba Heights and Montgomery Highway. Its location at 1463 Montgomery Highway recently opened to the public in May 2025. For more information or to view the full menu, visit waldoschicken.com.