Contributed photo by Big Bad Breadfast / All of the dishes are made from scratch at each Big Bad Breakfast with direct input from founder and chef John Currence.When the Big Bad Breakfast opens at 2 Northshore sometime in March, it will be the 17th such restaurant opened by founder and chef John Currence. Currence understands with that many stores, it qualifies as a chain, but he and his staff prefer the term "multi-unit independent."
"Each store is part of their community and operates that way," he said in an interview while also talking about the 16th Big Bad Breakfast, which will open next to the Lodge Cast Iron Store and Museum in South Pittsburg in January.
Currence has opened and owns several restaurants and founded Big Bad Breakfast in Oxford, Mississippi, in 2008. His other eateries include City Grocery, a fine-dining restaurant in Oxford's historic town square in 1992; Bouré, an upscale Creole place; Snackbar, which mixes Indian food with Southern fare; and Fat Eddie's, which served old-school Italian American food before closing.
"Big Bad Breakfast is the only one with multiple locations," said Currence, who is involved in developing all the items on the menu.
Veteran restaurateur Brad Hitt will be general manager of the Chattanooga location. Hitt, who previously worked with CraftWorks Restaurants and Breweries, owners of Big River Grille and Brewing Works and Bluewater Grill, has nearly three decades of experience in the business in a variety of capacities and said by phone Friday that he's been a part of opening 20 to 25 restaurants at just about every level from kitchen manager to general manager.
He's also been a regional manager in charge of several locations and said he was semi-retired, but when he was asked to be the manager for the new store, he jumped back in.
"I thought I'd get out and retire and play golf, but I'm back doing something I love," he said by phone. "I love being a general manager and being involved in the day-to-day and on the floor."
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He's especially glad to be a part of a restaurant that makes everything fresh from scratch everyday and one that invests so deeply in the community.
"The menu is consistent and the culture is consistent," Hitt said. "You have to build the culture around the food, and that's what John has done. Some of these recipes came from his grandmother and great-grandmother."
The menu, with items like oatmeal, shrimp and grits, barbecue, country ham and biscuits, is described as Deep South meets Louisiana with some Oxford mixed in. The interior at 2 Northshore will also reflect the local community, as each of the Big Bad restaurants do.
As a nod to its sister store up the road, the store might have some Lodge memorabilia on display in addition to the cookware items used in the kitchen.
Hitt said it will seat 140 people inside and about another 60 on the front and back porches. He hopes to employ as many as 50 people.
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354. Follow him on Twitter @BarryJC.