A Birmingham food truck with family ties to a beloved restaurant in the Magic City is closing after two years.
Chris Joe, whose great-grandfather opened the old Joy Young Restaurant in downtown Birmingham more than a century ago, announced on Instagram this morning that he will be closing his rickshaw business, which first took to the streets in August 2022.
“I’m sad to post this but after 2 years in business I have decided to close Rickshaw,” Joe wrote. “After many years in the restaurant industry I thought it would be fun to step out and try something on my own – make dishes I’ve never made before, meet new people and challenge myself to create new things.”
“It’s been a fun and wild journey so far but I’ve decided to step away for a few reasons. It’s been really fun sharing my food with the people of Birmingham and making new acquaintances in the process.
“I want to thank my right hand man, Sloan (Boyd), who has been with me from start to finish on this journey. I love and appreciate you. And to all my customers, thank you so much for supporting me on this project. I truly appreciate it.”
A graduate of Homewood High School, Joe began his career in the food industry as a teenager washing dishes at Joy Young’s and then worked in Birmingham area restaurants including New York Pizza, Merritt House, Bombay Cafe and 26. Most recently, he ran the kitchen at Pizzeria GM in West Homewood.
He left the restaurant industry during the COVID-19 pandemic, but realized he missed cooking a few years later and launched Rickshaw, an Asian-inspired food trailer with a menu that includes pork belly banh mi, General Tso’s chicken sandwich, fried dumplings and dandan noodles.
“I’m not trying to get rich or famous off of this,” he told AL.com in 2023. “I’m just having fun. As long as I can pay my bills, that’s fine. That’s fine.”
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Joe’s great-grandfather, Mansion Joe, and three partners opened Joy Young Restaurant (originally called King Joy) in downtown Birmingham in 1920.
After closing after 60 years, Chris’ uncle Henry Joe moved the restaurant to Homewood and reopened Joy Young’s on the first floor of the Brookwood Medical Center parking garage, but it also closed a few years later.
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When Chris was a child, his picture appeared on the children’s menu at Joy Young’s.
“I still have fond memories of running around the downtown restaurant as a kid,” he said in an AL.com article, “and of course, now that I’m a little older, I have even more memories of the Brookwood location.”
“That was actually my first job, washing dishes at my family’s restaurant,” he added. “I was 14 years old and I was washing dishes there.”
