Dre Foster and her father, Andre Craig, had always talked about owning a restaurant. But he died in 2016 before they could realize their dream. Today, Dre is pushing toward their goal as she works to open The Preservery Birmingham restaurant in the city’s Five Points South area. Pictured is Dre’s sweet potato cheesecake with toffee bits, maple bourbon syrup and maple mascarpone. On the right is her five spice duck with braised baby bok choy, a corn fritter cake and pickled watermelon radish. (Photos: Special)
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By Chanda Temple
Dre Foster and her dad often talked about running a restaurant. He loved to cook and so did she. So, in Dre’s mind, they’d be perfect partners after she retired one day.
But the dream of father and daughter running a business never happened. In 2015, Dre’s father, Andre Craig, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He passed the day after Thanksgiving 2016. He was 57.
Dre was devastated and left with a new look on life: Life is short and she could no longer ignore what had been eating at her all these years. She was made to run a restaurant.
At the time of her father’s death, Dre was working as a consumer lending underwriter at a bank in Birmingham, Ala. She had been there for 10 years. She decided to give the job just one more year before quitting in December 2017. By February 2018, she had started The Preservery Birmingham, an eatery serving elevated soul food with an international twist. Think: Blackened or fried shrimp served with candied jalapeños, pickled okra and baby heirloom tomatoes atop blue corn grits with smoked gouda; cold, banana pudding made with Speculoos cookies instead of vanilla wafers; and queso mac n’ cheese.
Her dishes were different and in demand, especially her spin on buttermilk fried chicken. (You’d have to taste it to understand.)
When Dre Foster opens The Preservery Birmingham, she’ll serve preserves that were influenced by her grandmother of Clanton, Ala. (Photo: Special)
Dre started out small, running The Preservery Birmingham in what’s known as “The REVeal Kitchen” at the Pizitz Food Hall in downtown Birmingham. It gives start-up restaurants, which must meet certain qualifications and are picked through a selection process via REV Birmingham, a certain number of months to get the feel of what it is like to actually run a restaurant while in the space. She was there for eight months until her assignment was up and she had to move to make space for another newcomer.
Once she left the food hall, she served her creations through catering. But the pull of owning a restaurant never diminished for Dre, 37 and a married mother of two. Today, she’s moving forward with her promise to her father. She has leased two-thirds of the space in the former Fuego Cantina and Saloon restaurant in Five Points South to be transformed into the home of The Preservery Birmingham.’ (At the time of this story, an opening date had not been announced yet.)
Dre’s continued work on The Preservery Birmingham and her reflections of her restaurant promise to her father, come just in time for Father’s Day.
“My dad believed in me, and I know that if he were here, he would be cheering me on,’’ said Dre. “I know he’d be whispering favors for me, into my heavenly father’s ear. Something like: ‘Open up this door for her. Orchestrate this for my baby. Bless her with favor. ‘ ”
“I thank Him for favor and for my vision to become a reality,” she said.
God hears, you Dre, God hears you.
Andre Craig, Dre Foster’s father
With any journey, there are lessons. Here are a few from Dre’s walk:
- God gives us all some sort of talent we are supposed to do for the greater good. If there is something you feel called to do, be like Dre and follow it. “I’m not supposed to be typing on a computer every day,” she said. “I’m supposed to be cooking every day.”
- With any dream, there will be naysayers. But you can’t give in to their negative talk. Just believe: “I can show you better than I can tell you,” Dre said.
- Lean on your faith. Dre believed and still believes in herself to make things happen. But she also references scripture. One of her favorites is Habakkuk 2:2. “Write the vision and make it plain…” Another one is Psalms 37:4. “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.”
- Getting to where Dre is right now was not easy. But she persevered. “There were some pretty dark days after my dad died,” Dre said. “It was a lesson of how grief can affect you in many different ways. There were feelings of lonliness. Not knowing what your purpose is in life.” However, God and her children kept her going. “They give me the reason to be here every day and to show them that you can do anything you put your mind to,” she said. “Just don’t give up.”
For more information on The Preservery Birmingham, please visit http://www.thepreserverybham.com. Their email address is thepreservearybham@gmail.com. Follow them on Instagram and Facebook.
Chanda Temple is a veteran reporter living in Birmingham, Ala. She blogs at http://www.chandatemplewrites.com. Follow her on Twitter at @chandatemple and on Instagram at @chandatemple.