Chris Joe

Chris Joe (born c. 1975 in Birmingham) is a cook and owner of the Rickshaw food trailer.

Joe is the son of Jimmy Joe and nephew of Henry Joe, a third-generation owner of Joy Young Restaurant in downtown Birmingham, and later at the Brookwood Galleries below the Brookwood Hospital parking deck. A photograph of young Joe appeared on the cover of Joy Young's children's menu.

Joe graduated from Homewood High School in 1994 and attended the University of Montevallo. Before completing his degree, he left to work at Cuco's Mexican Grill on Green Springs Highway and later at New York Pizza on Oxmoor Road in Edgewood. He met his wife, Heather in 1997.

Joe spent time at the Merritt House and Bombay Café before following Heather, a nurse anesthetist for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, to jobs in San Antonio, Texas and Augusta, Georgia. After they moved back to Birmingham, Joe spent some time at George Reis' 26 restaurant, and as an assistant to Giani Respinto's private chef business. He was then hired as kitchen manager when Respinto opened Pizzeria GM in 2018. During the COVID-19 pandemic he found work with a commercial linen supplier.

Joe eventually returned to Pizzeria GM until he had saved enough to launch his food trailer.

References

• Carlton, Bob (March 15, 2023) "This food truck’s connection to a beloved Birmingham restaurant." AL.com