Hero Doughnuts Are One Of Two New Restaurants Coming To Montgomery — Hero Doughnuts are coming to Montgomery. (Bham Now)

The Equal Justice Initiative is bringing two new restaurants to downtown Montgomery after investing in building space for food options near its Legacy Sites.

The Pihakis Restaurant Group opened a new HERO restaurant there Tuesday, with a Little Donkey location coming soon.

HERO Doughnuts & Buns

Hero Doughnuts 183 Scaled 1 — Doughnuts, Double Hero, Breakfast Sandwich + French Toast. (Jacob Blankenship / Bham Now)

HERO is already a staple of Birmingham comfort food. Now, Montgomery residents can get their own taste of the fresh-baked doughnuts and sandwiches.

“We are extremely excited to have Hero opening in downtown Montgomery, offering a much-needed breakfast and lunchtime menu that will provide variety and options for residents and visitors. We are delighted to work with the Pihakis Group on this project and look forward to seeing folks at Hero.”
Bryan Stevenson, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative

HERO started in Birmingham but soon opened new restaurants across the state as well as Georgia and Tennessee. The new Montgomery location is the chain’s eighth franchise.

Menu highlights:

Doughnuts ($2.5 – $4.5)
Burgers ($9 – $12)
HERO Plates ($8-$12)
Milkshakes ($6)

Located at 350 N Perry St, HERO opened May 13.

Little Donkey

Little Donkey describes itself as a “Mexican restaurant with a Southern soul.”

The local restaurant started in Homewood in 2012 before expanding to Montgomery. The new location will become Montgomery’s second Little Donkey, and the franchise’s third restaurant overall.

Menu options (prices at current Montgomery location):

Bowls, soups and salads ($9-$15)
Burritos, quesadillas and tacos ($10-$18)
Fajitas ($22-$38)
Fried chicken sandwich ($13.75)

Little Donkey will be located at 378 N Perry St. It will open in a few weeks.

Pihakis Restaurant Group

Tasty Town Hummus — Tasty Town is another restaurant owned by the Pihakis Restaurant Group. (Jacob Blankenship / The Bama Buzz)

Pihakis Restaurant Group is a Birmingham-based organization owned by local restaurateur Nick Pihakis.

It features restaurants in Birmingham, Atlanta, Nashville and Charleston. Montgomery is now the fifth city on that list.

Birmingham locations include HERO and Little Donkey, as well as Tasty Town, Luca Lagotto, Magnolia Point and Joyland.

Equal Justice Initiative

Created by Stevenson in 1989, the EJI is a Montgomery non-profit helping those who have been wrongfully convicted, unfairly sentenced or abused in state prisons. They provide legal representation to poor, disenfranchised and marginalized communities.

EJI also works on honoring and preserving the memory of enslaved people through monuments and education.

Learn more at eji.org.

Excited for Montgomery’s newest restaurants? Send us your best pictures of their food by tagging @thebamabuzz on socials.