It’s been less than three weeks, and word has gotten out about The Uncaged Chefs at the Savor food hall in Brentwood at 3807 Rhode Island Avenue, which officially opened on Oct. 17. and is the first food hall in Prince George’s County.
The Uncaged Chefs eatery alone is now serving roughly 700 customers each Sunday, with a line that often stretches around the food hall itself. Even on weekdays, owner Damian Brown says he’ll get 300 to 400 customers per day.
It’s a sweet relief for Brown, who had just $500 to his name when he started The Uncaged Chefs as a pop-up brunch spot in February of this year.
The 29-year-old chef spent every dollar of that on ingredients for his first pop-up at Rosebuds BBQ in Capitol Heights, selling out in two hours. He initially built word-of-mouth prior to by driving around the neighborhood in Capitol Heights, where he grew up, bringing plates of food to barber shops to get feedback on his latest dishes.
As the oldest of five children, Brown learned to cook at a young age because it was his job to make the family meals. During visits with his great-grandfather, he picked up other tricks, as the two would find a recipe in a cookbook and make it together.
After attending culinary school 11 years ago, he worked as a corporate chef, which he found rote. To show off his creative side, he started a private Facebook page called The Uncaged Chefs, where he would post the most off-the-wall dishes he could cook up. He’s carried that philosophy into his new eatery at Savor, with dishes like jerk crab grilled cheese or sweet-potato waffles with fried chicken. His motto? “Don’t be scared to be weird.”
“My techniques are correct, but my flavor combinations are not traditional,” he told the Hyattsville Wire. “I try my best to cook something different every day.”
Before starting The Uncaged Chefs, Brown worked at fine dining kitchens including the Blue Duck Tavern, Fiola Mare, Occidental, and Vidalia and has served as a private chef for NBA players, including Markeef Morris, as well as rappers, and producers.
You can find Damian at the Savor food hall cooking his favorite dishes and trying new dishes out pretty much seven days a week.
