Greenville family business loves making people happy.
Story & Photos By Jennifer Kornegay
In 2020, after enduring months of shutdowns and all kinds of COVID-born hardships, restaurants around the country were closing their doors. But around the same time, Arlene and Eric Perdue believe God opened a door for them.
After Arlene’s father passed away following a battle with cancer in 2019, she was depressed and restless in the human resources job she’d had for 15 years. Owning their own business together seemed like a solution, so the couple took a chance on Eric’s cooking, starting Uncle E’s Barbecue and Catering in Greenville in 2020.
With $500 for initial supplies and using their home kitchen, Uncle E’s began with the couple making and selling plate lunches to employees at a manufacturing plant in Greenville. Word of Eric’s tender, flavorful ‘cue (ribs and smoked chicken), plus his tangy baked beans and creamy potato salad, spread quickly. Soon, supervisors at other plants were calling in orders for their workers.
“It just grew so fast,” Arelene says. “This was now during COVID, but people loved our food.”
Praise for the food continued to spread, making its way to the health department, too. “We figured out we couldn’t cook from home anymore, and we weren’t sure what to do, and then I saw this small empty building,” Arlene says, “and it all fell into place.”
She was able to quickly get in touch with the building’s owner through a friend, who agreed to sell it to the Perdues. “I had kept my other job, but I saw God’s timing in all of it, so I took a leap of faith and resigned to do Uncle E’s full-time so we could grow beyond just catering for the plants,” Arlene says.
Today, folks from all over Greenville and the surrounding areas watch for Uncle E’s weekly Facebook posts cordially inviting them to lunch (and listing the day’s menu) on Tuesdays and Fridays. They show up to order smoked turkey, pulled pork and fried chicken livers at the walk-up window. Most take their food to-go; some squeeze onto the seats at the lone table out front of the bright-red structure to chow down on hefty eight-ounce cheeseburgers and fries. Those craving Philly cheesesteak egg rolls know to arrive early; when they’re on the menu, the deep-fried wonton skins stuffed with classic cheesesteak filling — thin-sliced beef, onions, peppers and gooey mozzarella — routinely sell out.
100 pounds of ox tails
Braised and covered in a signature gravy, smothered ox tails are equally popular. “We go through about 100 pounds of those when they are on the menu,” Eric says. He also makes smoked ox tails, patting them down with a garlic- and black-pepper heavy dry rub before cooking them in his pecan-wood-fueled smoker, alongside ribs and pork butts, also seasoned with the same rub.
A steady stream of regulars ensures multiple Uncle E’s dishes quickly disappear, but Eric (the E in the eatery’s name) is the magician in the kitchen. He learned to cook helping his mother, who was blind, feed their large family of 13 kids. After joining the Army, he worked in food service while stationed in Texas. Arlene brags on Eric any chance she gets. “He won all kinds of cooking contests, like for chili, when he was in the military,” she says. The two were dating then, and when he returned home to Greenville, they married.
Today, they work side by side — Eric tending the smoker and the oven, Arlene taking orders and helping customers. And, when they’re not at Uncle E’s restaurant, Arlene and Eric are likely catering an event. They also still feed hundreds of plant workers, now across central Alabama. And the business is a true family affair. Arlene’s brother helps out, as do her mom and three nieces.
A second restaurant
In April, the couple opened a second restaurant, Court Square Bistro, in downtown Greenville. Many of the beloved Uncle E’s staples line the hot bar there too, in addition to more elevated fare, including shrimp and grits and a three-quarter-pound burger stuffed with cheese, bacon and onions before getting smoked, plus bacon, egg and cheese croissants and biscuits blanketed in country-style sausage gravy in the mornings. And grab-and-go items including chicken salad plates with fruit are waiting for downtown workers looking for a quick meal on their lunch break.
Many days find Arlene, Eric and their team up early fulfilling lunch orders for the plants they still serve hours before the hungry crowds show up at Uncle E’s and the bistro, but the Perdues say they don’t mind the
long days.
“I love what I do — making others happy with our food,” Arlene says. “And we love being our own bosses. God has provided every step of the way to make this all possible.”
Uncle E’s Barbecue
and Catering
106 Whittaker St., Greenville, AL 36037
facebook.com/p/Uncle-Es-BBQ-LLC
Hours: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesday
11 a.m.-3 p.m. Friday
Court Square Bistro
608 E. Commerce St.
Greenville, AL 36037
334-371-6500
Hours: 6 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday-Friday
11 a.m.-3 p.m. First Saturday and Sunday of every month
