Follow Chatham Rabbits on their tour through their favorite dining destinations across the south.
What started out as playing music for fun quickly became the livelihoods of Sarah and Austin McCombie, who later formed the band Chatham Rabbits. The name holds sentimental value for the musician duo, who originate from Chatham County, North Carolina, the former “rabbit capital of the USA,” which had people traveling from all over to hunt and harvest them. When the couple married in 2015, they lived in an old mill that they found out was also the former home of the original guitar player from the Chatham Rabbits String Band in the 20th century—a striking coincidence. “The name chose us,” Sarah says. While on tour, home is always in the duo’s hearts. —Abbey DiIuro
Good Southern food captures a feeling of homeyness, tradition, and the sensation of your cup overflowing. Our music emulates that same sentiment—familiarity, a genuine graciousness, a place at the table for all.” —Sarah McCombie, Chatham Rabbits
1.
The Chatham Rabbits play their hometown album release shows at the Haw River Ballroom, which just so happens to be right below The Eddy, a local spot with delicious farm-to-table plates alongside a great wine and beer list. Located in Saxapahaw, North Carolina, it is “one of the best restaurants in the Piedmont,” according to Sarah. “The veggie burger is perfect. We feel so at home here.”
2.
Another on the road favorite is Bull and Beggar in Asheville, which recently reopened after the devastation of Hurricane Helene. (Fun fact: Austin’s favorite tattoo artist, Danny Reed, turned the duo onto this spot.) Sarah shares that “the service is always amazing, the staff is super kind, and they even made me learn to like anchovies with their bagna cauda. We hope folks will step up and support the Western North Carolina restaurants and businesses that are returning from devastation.”
3.
Though new to the duo, Noko in East Nashville left an incredible first impression. “We shared the crab fried rice and burnt end lettuce wraps,” Sarah says. “The staff heard we were about to start our tour and sent out a complimentary appetizer and coconut cake, and let us try a slice of their famous tomahawk steak.”
4.
Abram’s Bar-B-Q holds a lot of nostalgia for Sarah, especially, as she first ate there with her freshman roommate from Tarboro, North Carolina. “They make incredible cheese biscuits, and when we are playing down east, we always try to bring back a dozen frozen biscuits to stick in our freezer and to serve our friends’ bands when they are crashing at our place while they are on tours,” she says. “Abrams also has insanely delicious Eastern-style barbecue, heavily vinegared, with collards, yams, slaw, and hushpuppies on the side.”
5.
While this famed Cuban spot has multiple locations, the Kuba Kuba in Richmond’s West End neighborhood is the duo’s preferred pick. “It has parking for our 35-foot-long bus and seating for our whole crew,” Sarah remarks. “It’s healthy enough and full of flavor. And truly nothing gives me a pep in my step like a post-meal café con leche.”
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