GULF SHORES / SPANISH FORT / BIRMINGHAM – The 2017 Alabama Retailer of the Year judges describe the Original Oyster House Restaurants and Trading Co. as “more than just a restaurant company.” The retail experts were impressed with Original Oyster…
BIRMINGHAM – “From day one, we were blown away by how many people came in the door and the reviews we were getting,” said David Snyder, who with his wife, Andrea, founded Urban Cookhouse, a farm-to-fire-to-table, fast-casual restaurant. Since Urban…
VALLEY GRANDE / THOMASTON / BIRMINGHAM – David Oliver started in the grocery business 52 years ago. “I started real young, bagging groceries and mopping floors,” he said. He worked at a half dozen grocery stores, each larger than the…
RAINBOW CITY / BIRMINGHAM – Jodie Stanfield has been in the restaurant business for 32 years. While he has been associated with TGI Fridays, LongHorn Steakhouse and Applebee’s, mostly in the Birmingham market, he returned to his native Etowah County…
BIRMINGHAM – Cahaba Brewing Company began in 2011 as a basement brewery and hobby among friends. By September 2012, the pals had opened a retail space. “We wanted to be a part of the community and really focus on the…
ALBERTVILLE / BIRMINGHAM – “We try to build our business on doing what is right and taking care of customers,” said Randy Hall, president of Hall’s RV in Albertville. When the business began, it was Hall and his son-in-law, Carl…
CULLMAN / BIRMINGHAM – For the 17 years it has been in business, Rumors Deli has continuously held the title of “Best Deli” and “Best Sandwiches” in Cullman. The Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce this year named the business as…
MOUNTAIN BROOK / BIRMINGHAM – For Katie Smith, business is “a family affair.” Her family has been in the paper business for generations. Her great-grandfather, Hugh Buchanan, started the Alabama Paper & Metalware Co. Inc. in 1926. That business stayed…
HOMEWOOD / BIRMINGHAM – Colorful, creative and detailed all over describes any cake created by Homewood bakery CakEffect’s founder, owner and head baker Komeh Davis. Davis was studying to take the Bar Exam to become a lawyer when her mother…
MOUNTAIN BROOK / BIRMINGHAM – Oct. 17, 2017 – “I had no interest in opening a yoga studio just to open a yoga studio,” said Annie Damsky, who in 2012 founded Villager Yoga in Mountain Brook. “I was interested in…