Authentic Country Cooking Restaurant to Open on 69 South in Tuscaloosa

An authentic southern country cooking restaurant will open soon on Highway 69 South in Tuscaloosa in the former home of Moe's Original BBQ's Hillcrest location.

The new eatery, Lucy's Old Country Cooking, may be familiar to some in the Druid City -- the restaurant opened as a "ghost kitchen" without a standalone brick-and-mortar store and operated out of Philly Boyz Cheesesteaks on the Strip from September 2019 until both businesses closed last June.

Craig Scott, the owner and operator of both establishments said they were doing well, but he got an offer he couldn't turn down when the Houndstooth Sports Bar asked to take over the space and begin offering their own food last summer. 

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Scott, who also runs the Tropical Smoothie Cafe in Midtown Village and the Auntie Anne's Pretzels in the University Mall, said he wasn't done with the Lucy's concept. When Moe's announced it would permanently close its Hillcrest location earlier this year, he saw an opportunity to bring the brand back to the Tuscaloosa area.

In an interview with the Tuscaloosa Thread, Scott described Lucy's as a mix of Cracker Barrel's southern menu and the quick service times of a Jack's.

"We're going to offer traditional country cooking in a fast-food model with a drive-thru and aim to keep wait times around two or three minutes," Scott said.

The menu will feature more than half a dozen meat options and at least eight home-cooked sides to choose from, including macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, a variety of peas, corn, okra, fried green tomatoes and sweet potato casserole.

"We firmly believe in the Lucy's concept and know that the Hillcrest community is going to love it," Scott said.

Their highlights will be fried chicken and fried apple pie, Scott said, which will both follow recipes handed down by his great aunt Lucy, who Scott called the greatest cook he ever knew.

"The fried chicken and the fried apple pies, those are some of the offerings we are absolutely not going to commercialize in any way," Scott said. "We're going to do it just like my grandmother and great aunt did it, and when you taste that pie you'll understand why."

Look for Lucy's to open sometime in October at 6571 Highway 69 South in the former home of Moe's Original BBQ and stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread for more updates on the restaurant as they become available.