Chef Adam Evans opened his first restaurant, Automatic Seafood & Oysters, in Birmingham, Alabama, in April 2019 (already earning national recognition as one of both Esquire's and Thrillist's Best New Restaurants in America for 2019). The restaurant, named for the building's past life as an Automatic Sprinkler Corporation manufacturing facility, is located in the Lakeview neighborhood of Birmingham. Here, he earned the 2022 James Beard Award for Best Chef: South.

Working directly with local vendors, markets, and fisheries, Chef Evans' menu features simple, high-quality seafood dishes, primarily sourced from the Gulf, which he combines with bold flavors and classic technique. Comfortable, elegant, and classic, the space at Automatic lends itself to a coastal setting—not speaking directly to one specific body of water or region, but drawing inspiration from all shorelines. Previously, the Muscle Shoals, Alabama native made his mark on Atlanta's culinary landscape through his signature seafood dishes at The Optimist.

In 2015, Adam opened Atlanta's Brezza Cucina with Chef Jonathan Waxman, and in 2017 he returned home to Birmingham with the goal of opening his dream restaurant with his wife, interior designer Suzanne Humphries Evans.

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