Tuscaloosa Restaurant Week: Gather Any Group at the Venue Food Hall

Good morning and welcome to the third feature highlighting a participant in Tuscaloosa Restaurant Week, where we're talking with Bryan Fenison, the owner of the Venue.

Each day this week, the Thread and Visit Tuscaloosa will profile one of the businesses that will participate in the annual event, presented this year by Cadence Bank.

Hungry to learn more? Over 60 participating eateries will offer unique items or special discounts on their most popular orders next week when Tuscaloosa Restaurant Week returns June 22nd through 28th. Learn more and get connected at the Tuscaloosa Restaurant Week website now.

A Taste of Something New

A still-evolving food hall in the center of Tuscaloosa County has something for everyone at one of its five restaurants and can quickly accommodate groups of any size.

That's what owners Bryan and Lee Finison want the community to know about the Venue Tuscaloosa a little more than two years after they opened the first-of-its-kind business in the heart of the county.

The Finisons also own and operate Tree House Farm & Nursery on Watermelon Road next to Sokol Park and decided a few years ago to take the space next to it and launch something the Tuscaloosa community hadn't seen yet.

Mirroring concepts like the Stovehouse in Huntsville or 30A in Florida, the Finisons conceived and built out the Venue Tuscaloosa, which they opened for business in 2023.

There, five different restaurant concepts operate in separate hubs of a huge space that can easily host live music and large parties.

Although the business model launched with a sharper focus on booking talent for shows as often as possible, Bryan Finison told the Thread that has shifted in response to community feedback.

"We're now up to five restaurants and have rebranded ourselves as a food hall and event space. That seems to be the more critical moniker than calling us a live music venue," Finison said. "99 percent of the time, we've got free admission here and are more of a community gathering spot where there are five restaurants open almost every day, so come out and eat. And now the more supplemental side of the business has become entertainment."

That's not to say the stage at the Venue hasn't seen its share of stars - the Finisons have successfully booked relatively huge acts for the space, including DJ Steve Aoki, Diamond Rio and Drivin N Cryin.

"But what we have figured out is that the community wants a gathering place; they don't need a showstopper every night of the week," Finison said. "We're realizing three or four of those a year is plenty, and Tuscaloosa is more interested in hearing local artists and feeling like they can hang out with their friends. Really, what we realized is that people are more interested in the food. They can't believe how many options there are here, and they absolutely love what they try."

Five Restaurants Mean Something for Everyone

Like other food hall concepts in the country, the Venue's five restaurants offer a lot of variety in one place.

There's Santo Taco, which offers street tacos and other Mexican cuisine, appetizers and drinks.

Next door, visitors will find a second location for Tuscaloosa's famous Rama Jama's restaurant, whose original home is in the shadow of Bryant-Denny Stadium.

"That's your hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken fingers, and of course their famous breakfast," Finison said. "And that's available anytime they're open."

One spot over, the Venue's newest tenant is Uncle Nick's Italian eatery, where customers can expect organic, from-scratch organic pizza as well as sandwiches and sides including mozzarella sticks, with additional menu items expected to come soon.

The oldest concepts in the space are the Finisons' brainchildren, Finny's Pub and Liza's Sweet Shoppe.

"At Finny's Pub, we offer upscale pub fare including our famous smash burger, an amazing salad with grilled chicken, fish and chips, a shaved prime rib french dip and more," Finison said. "At Liza's Sweet Shop, we've got ice cream and all the desserts and a quicker, more fun pizza for kids or a parent looking for something a little simpler than at Nick's."

So many offerings mean the Venue can cater to the pecking or the starving alike and also accommodate many dietary restrictions.

"If I come in to order, I'm getting a Smashburger from Finny's Pub, I'm ordering a Southern Heat pizza from Uncle Nick's, or I'm getting some street tacos from Santo Taco," Finison said. "Those are the three most popular items and with good reason, they're incredible. But honestly, there's something for everybody."

Located in the Heart of Tuscaloosa County

The Venue's location on Watermelon Road is also a huge plus. As the city of Tuscaloosa nears completion of its expansion of McWright's Ferry road, areas north of the Black Warrior are set for a boom of growth for the foreseeable future.

The space is also right across the Street from Sokol Park, where ballfields, playgrounds, a network of trails, a dog park, and other recreational facilities reliably draw visitors daily.

"The absolute center point of the county is Sokol Park," Finison said. "On a map, that is the heart of all of Tuscaloosa County. North and south, east and west, if you look at the center meeting point of everything, you'd be right across the street in Sokol Park."

With plenty of parking, room for hundreds and even a fully functional drive-thru, the Venue's location sets it up well for success now and into the future.

Group Size Doesn't Matter

Another highlight of the space for Finison is that it's hard to imagine it ever getting crowded on a normal day of operations.

"What makes us absolutely unique, something unlike literally any other place in Tuscaloosa, is that we can handle a group instantaneously and nobody else can," Finison said. "Say you have a baseball team and finish your game across the street at Sokol Park. You've got 12 players on the team, and every kid has two parents. There's no restaurant where you can just walk in, look at the hostess, and say, 'There are 36 of us here, can you seat us?' There's no other place where you can do that."

Not so at the Venue, which also has the plus side of every player and parent getting whatever they're hungry for.

"Here, we could seat that group instantaneously and honestly could take five of those, with over 400 seats sitting here open right this minute. A bus can pull in loaded with teams and find the most versatile, flexible space. You can invite two people to come out here, or you can bring 40 with you. And even if you plan to bring 40 and only 10 show up, it makes no difference. You just cannot do that at a restaurant.

Finison said they also rent and privatize spaces within the Venue without affecting daily operations. For example, a private party with hundreds of guests can have a banquet in a tent on the property while all five restaurants remain open and some form of entertainment is close at hand.

Providing the Right Product

Finison told the Thread that he's been surprised by the direction in which the Venue has developed and sometimes running a business in the Tuscaloosa area can mean "hanging on by you pinkies," but he's confident the recipe is right and a lot of first-time visitors go on to become regulars.

"It's a bit strange, but what puts delight on our faces is the number of people who still don't know we're here, because when they come for the first time, they're wowed," Finison said. "That tells me two things. We haven't gotten out there enough, but locally there's still this huge demand for exactly what we've built that we have not tapped into yet. It also tells me we're providing the right product, because all walks of life are coming to us. We've got something for folks to come together."

That includes ice cream socials for local churches, retreats for employees at other area restaurants, and an off-site gathering place for the staff of any city or county school—a service Finison said they offer educators free of charge.

"It's almost like the old-timey county square," Finison said. "It's a gathering place for anyone and any event."

The Venue Tuscaloosa also offers full-service catering, which Finison said is growing in popularity as more people discover it.

The five restaurants at the Venue are open every day but Monday, except for Uncle Nick's, which is also closed on Tuesdays. To see their hours, menus and learn more, check out the Venue's website here.

This profile is the third in this year's series partnering with Visit Tuscaloosa to highlight locally owned businesses each summer. Tuscaloosa Restaurant Week 2025 is presented by Cadence Bank.

Check back tomorrow for more, and for ongoing coverage of restaurant and retail development in west Alabama, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread!