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On a recent afternoon, Eddie Yessick asks me, “I mean, how many people have you met through Humphrey’s?” Then he says, “It’s where I met my wife. It’s how I met you.” Yessick, one of the local service industry’s best and most beloved people, has a point. If you’ve resided in Huntsville for a while, you’ve probably made memories and connections at Humphrey’s Bar & Grill. Especially out on their New Orleans-style back patio.
Now that Yessick, who previously worked at Hump’s from 2006 to 2012, is back as general manager, he wants to help restore its heyday allure. Humphrey’s, located at 103 Washington St., was an early cornerstone of downtown Huntsville. Originally owned by HudsonAlpha biotech entrepreneur Jim Hudson, Humphrey’s opened around 2002.
Downtown Huntsville back then was a far cry from its vibrant state today. Humphrey’s, along with the now-defunct Kaffeeklatsch Bar, was one of very few bright spots for nightlife and live music downtown. Before that, the 103 Washington St. space housed old-school Huntsville haunt Bubba’s Restaurant.
Flash forward to early May 2023. There’s new ownership at Humphrey’s and its next-door fine-dining sister-restaurant The Bottle.
A group comprised of Bill Chapman, the commercial real estate broker who’s rebooting iconic Huntsville music bar Tip Top Café, David Milly, known for his work with pyrotechnical and lighting companies, and Tim Giraldin, whose background is in housing, bought out previous co-owner Chris McDonald, a chef who’d worked at New York’s famed Le Bernardin before coming to Huntsville.
Andy Howery, McDonald’s former business partner, remains a co-owner of Humphrey’s and The Bottle.
Chapman tells AL.com, “Twenty years ago, Humphrey’s was the spot. We want to get it back to that same thing. It’s the best location in Huntsville and has the best patio, in my opinion. A lot of people lost interest there and just didn’t give a [care]. Andy came to us and said, ‘Hey, I need some help getting this turned around. This is my baby. I can’t let it go.’”
Humphrey’s will celebrate its new regime Saturday with a crawfish boil on the patio. The event’s free to attend and runs from 11 a.m. to midnight. Local radio personality Jimbo and Casio will broadcasting live from Humphrey’s in the afternoon, then party-tunes covers-band Juice kicks hits the patio stage at 9 p.m. More info on Humphrey’s Facebook page.
As hinted by Saturday’s crawfish event, Chapman plans to steer Humphrey’s back to its blues, funky rock and jazz roots. “You know, pay homage to the Big East, get that feel to it,” Chapman says. “It’s made for it.” Chapman says he also wants to “bring in bigger bands” to Humphrey’s.
Back during Yessick’s previous tenure there, then regional acts who later went on to bigger things, like the band Moon Taxi and the guitarist Lukas Nelson, performed at Hump’s. “Some of my favorite bands to this day,” Yessick says, “are bands I handed a check to at the end of the night back then.”
Top local musicians, including guitarist deluxe “Microwave” Dave Gallaher, who plays a recurring Sunday blues brunch at Humphrey’s, will be crucial too. Recently, Gallaher posted a photo of he and Yessick chatting on the Hump’s patio, along with the caption, “Eddie skillfully managed Humphrey’s back in the day and we logged a lot of hours there. It’s gonna be fun to see what Eddie has coming up next.”
Chapman and Howery have been friends for some 30 years. Back then, Howery cooked at Green Bottle Grill, a storied and now-shuttered eatery. Howery’s large frame and gregarious nature gives him the vibe of a vintage era Oakland Raiders lineman. Fittingly, he’s a lifelong Raiders fan.
More importantly, Howery’s a skilled and creative chef, as anyone who’s dined at The Bottle will tell you. Their pan seared Georges Bank sea scallops are a luxe local classic.
The son of a Baptist preacher, Howery began working in kitchens at age 14. He started as a busboy and paid his dues up through the ranks of dishwasher to fry cook and so forth. After a stint in the Navy, Howery cooked at a Las Vegas hotel. He honed his craft at the California Culinary Academy, which led to him to his first Huntsville gig, Green Bottle Grill.
A decade or so ago, The Bottle was owned by local celebrity chef James Boyce, when it was called James Steakhouse. Originally, it was called Pauli’s Chophouse. Back in the day the space was home to Gorin’s Ice Cream shop.
With Chapman more than six years into his Tip Top Café renovation, he knew he needed an ace to run Humphrey’s. Enter, Yessick. Most recently, Yessick managed SideTracks Music Hall, which brought touring level music back to downtown Huntsville on a regular basis, following a dry spell following Crossroads Music Hall’s 2013 closure.
Yessick will also be heavily involved with Tip Top, when it opens. Look for an update on Tip Top Cafe’s status next week, here on AL.com.
Opening in 2017, the 300-capacity(ish) SideTracks brought in an impressive array of acts, like Jason Isbell, Greta Van Fleet and Shovels + Rope. Yessick had opened SideTracks with his wife Meredith Carlton Yessick, backed by Mark Komara, owner of Furniture Factory, where Eddie also worked. Sadly, Meredith, who led the SideTracks kitchen, passed in 2018.
Look for some of Meredith’s and Eddie’s recipes to be phased into the Humphrey’s food menu, which focuses on classic bar food like burgers, po-boys, pizzas and smoked chicken wings.
Chapman says their version of Humphrey’s will have “a new menu, new feel, new people, new attitude.” Since Yessick and new ownership took the reins, Humphrey’s has added key new staff, including Meredith Campbell, one of the city’s best bartenders, and formerly at Voodoo Lounge, Rocket Republic and Salty Nut Brewery.
There has been one major subtraction though. The tall oak tree that was in the center of Humphrey’s brick patio unfortunately needed to be cut down and removed recently. The tree’s former spot has now been paved over. “Hate it, but the tree had to come down,” Chapman says.
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