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Oral Histories

The SFA oral history program documents life stories from the American South. Collecting these stories, we honor the people whose labor defines the region. If you would like to contribute to SFA’s oral history collections, please send your ideas for oral history along with your CV or Resume and a portfolio of prior oral history work to info@southernfoodways.org.

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ORAL HISTORY

Bryan Stanfield


Trattoria ZaZa

Born in Tennessee, Bryan Stanfield’s family moved around a lot during his childhood before settling in Alabama. Though his father was a chef, Stanfield shied away from cooking until college. While attending the University of Alabama at Birmingham, he applied for his first restaurant job at Trattoria ZaZa in 2011 (then named Trattoria Centrale). He’s been there ever since. Stanfield worked as a server, a dishwasher, and a line cook before purchasing the restaurant in 2015 from its original owners. In 2019 he completely renovated the restaurant, located in The Frank Nelson Building on 20th Street North, which is known as Birmingham’s ‘Main Street.’

Date of interview:
2021-11-23

Interviewer:
Michelle Little

Photographer:
Cary Norton

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