Tuscaloosa Restaurant Week: Celebrating a Year of Success at Sugo Italian Restaurant

Good morning and welcome to the first feature highlighting a participant in Tuscaloosa Restaurant Week, where we caught up with Christian Williams, the owner of Sugo Italian Restaurant.

Each day this week, the Thread and Visit Tuscaloosa will profile one of the businesses that will participate in the annual event, presented this year by Cadence Bank.

Hungry to learn more? Over 60 participating eateries will offer unique items or special discounts on their most popular orders next week when Tuscaloosa Restaurant Week returns June 22nd through 28th. Learn more and get connected at the Tuscaloosa Restaurant Week website now.

Sugo Celebrates Its First Year

When Christian Williams first launched a new Italian restaurant serving downtown Tuscaloosa, he thought decades of experience in the food industry made him uniquely prepared to succeed.

With a year of experience offering hindsight, he told the Thread that was wishful thinking.

"I thought I knew everything. I really did. I'd done every angle of this industry to think of except for solo-owning something," Williams said. "And I just had no grasp on how up and down it can be, and how many different ways an owner can be pulled. It was a big learning curve for me to constructively take ideas and feedback and make better decisions that way."

Sugo focuses on scratch-made Italian fare with a Mediterranean twist in their home on University Boulevard. Williams said he tries to walk the fine line of introducing West Alabama to new, high-quality food while still being accessible enough to succeed in the famously tough Tuscaloosa environment.

"Three other restaurants opened the same month as us, and all three are closed now. Restaurants have the most razor-thin margins in any industry I'm aware of," Williams said. "So we are blessed and very thankful to all our patrons - the UA campus, students and parents, and of course, the locals who have shown us the support we need. It is a very, very challenging thing even to make it a year."

The Most Important Meal Ever

Williams said one key to understanding how he's made Sugo into a special destination in Tuscaloosa is that, like many in food service, he came from humble beginnings.

"It is a strong belief of mine that every customer's experience is a huge deal. I grew up pretty poor, so going out to eat was a big deal for us. Every time I got to go to Taco Casa was like a massive win for me," Williams said. "So coming from that - I can't imagine if I were going to a sit-down restaurant when my family took me out as a child, only for the server or the restaurant to ruin the experience. Sometimes it would be three more months before we got to do that again."

Williams doesn't always know if a party coming in has the means to do so often, or if it's a family like his was - someone whose next sit-down dinner is a season away.

"You treat every person in here as if it's their most important meal ever," Williams said. "We don't always hit the mark every time, but I can assure you we strive to do it."

As a Tuscaloosa native, Williams said he also relishes the opportunity to be back at home, bringing joy through food.

"I'm so blessed because this community means a ton to me," he said. "I was born and raised here. I've traveled the globe for different work things, and I've never wanted to be anywhere but back here in the end. The local community, to me, is everything."

Food You Won't Find Elsewhere

At Sugo, Williams aims to push the envelope without driving up menu prices so high that the customer base dries up. The latter is a constant struggle often affected by factors Williams cannot control. But making unique food - that's something he can see done consistently.

He's proud, for instance, of the new Vineyard Mozzarella.

"It's mozzarella with grape reduction sauce, wine-soaked grapes, pistachio, olive oil, basil! And all of this in one bite creates this tremendous flavor explosion," Williams said. "It's my favorite dish ever, and you will not find that anywhere in the state. There is nowhere else you're going to find this dish. The vineyard mozzarella is truly, truly worth coming and experiencing."

They also have a broad wine selection and signature cocktails like the gorgeous La Rosa, a strawberry sweet tequila drink.

"Oh, and our tiramisu!" Williams said. "I personally believe it's certainly the best in town and probably a step above most that you'll get almost anywhere else. Oh, and it's a big enough portion that four of you can eat it."

The secret to Sugo's success so far has been Williams's knowing when to let the customers be right, even when it conflicted with his wishes. In one case, the restaurant opened offering a few entrees built around bronzini, a Mediterranean seabass in short supply in other west Alabama restaurants.

Ultimately, though, it didn't sell well at Sugo, and Williams set his ego aside and subbed in salmon dishes that were more familiar to local diners.

"Tuscaloosa, Alabama, is a little unique compared to even Birmingham. We as a community want to have restaurants that expand our taste palettes and come up with new types of cuisines or new spins on dishes. But in the end, Tuscaloosa is a very loyal community to traditional dishes," Williams said. "We are traditionalists here, and that's okay. It's not hard to adapt to that when your choice is either adapt or die."

So Sugo is still a place where you can probably taste something you've never had before, but Williams has also added fried ravioli and mozzarella to the menu, among other appetizers and entrees by popular request. Whether you're feeling adventurous or just looking for a high-quality, large-portioned Chicken Parmesan or Fettuccine Alfredo, you can find it for dinner at Sugo.

Support Through the Summer

With a year under his belt, Williams is buckling down to survive another Tuscaloosa summer, when events like Bama Bound, coupled with regular local support, are critical to keeping those razor-thin margins in the black.

"As downtown businesses, we desperately need local support during the summer months," Williams said. "If you truly want to see restaurant growth and more things come up, we need your support now during the summer months, which are very, very tough on us."

There's a gulf of difference between a locally owned restaurant and a chain, he said. Restaurateurs like Williams at Sugo, or Gary McGee at Urban Bar & Kitchen, or Justin Holt at Southern Ale House - they shop in this community, donate to area nonprofits, create sustainable jobs and, of course, offer incredible food.

"We as a community have an opportunity to support the truly local owners," Williams said. "Those are the people who want to grow the industry within Tuscaloosa, and we all want to expand and give everybody new things. But to do that, you know, you have to show up and support those owners."

Williams said he's also working to meet diners halfway and looking at ways to continue driving down menu prices.

"So our big focus for the next few months is making sure that our labor costs are in check and possibly changing the portion sizes so that we can lower the cost of dishes," he said. "Our pasta dishes are enough for two meals, they're massive, but we have to charge for that."

This summer, they're also offering a date-night couple's special on Fridays and Saturdays, offering two entrees, two glasses of wine, and a dessert for $50.

Sugo is open for dinner from 4 p.m. until 9 p.m. every day but Sunday at 2218 University Boulevard in downtown Tuscaloosa.

"I want to thank the community for giving me a year here, and if you've never stopped by, I certainly hope you'll come and give us a shot," Williams said. "The biggest opportunity I know of for locals to support restaurants, especially in the downtown Tuscaloosa area, is just to come out during this tough time of year, especially during the latter half of the week and the weekend. That's a perfect opportunity to take your family, come downtown and show support."

This profile is the first in this year's series partnering with Visit Tuscaloosa to highlight locally owned businesses each summer. Tuscaloosa Restaurant Week 2025 is presented by Cadence Bank.

Check back tomorrow for more, and for ongoing coverage of restaurant and retail development in west Alabama, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread!