Tag Archives: Birmingham

Camp Taco empire expands

Posted on June 21, 2011 | Leave a comment

Fans of Camp Taco who ventured into Homewood in recent days may have done a double take after seeing the logo hanging over a former Qdoba location.

It appears that the Five Points South-based restaurant is preparing to open a new location on Greensprings Hwy, one that gives them much more space and an outdoor patio so regulars have another option of where to enjoy their meals.

The Qdoba location it replaces was the last one operating in Alabama. The metro area had two locations as late as early last year. The other location, at 18th Street and 5th Ave. S., closed in early 2010 and was replaced that May by a Moe’s Southwest Grill.

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Posted in food

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Birmingham man wins custom-wrapped Nissan Juke

Posted on June 15, 2011 | Leave a comment

Brooks interviewed about winning Juke. acnatta/FlickrDon’t be surprised if you notice a pair of eyes staring back at you as you’re trying to pass a certain Nissan Juke on the road on the left in the coming weeks and months here in Birmingham, AL.

Earlier today Hugh Brooks walked into the Jim Burke Nissan dealership (a member of the Jim Burke Automotive Group) in downtown Birmingham and drove out with his very own custom-wrapped Nissan Juke – his grand prize for winning the car company’s Juke Studio competition held online over a six-week period. His design was chosen from 18 finalists after 7,800 initially entered the competition and campaigned for votes via Facebook (and the official fan page for the car).

Just in case you’re wondering, it’s actually painted Cayenne Red under that full body wrap…

Photo: Brooks interviewed about winning Juke. acnatta/Flickr

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Posted in Timetable

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Stocking East Lake for a rodeo this weekend

Posted on June 1, 2011 | Leave a comment

Stocking East Lake for 2011 Fishing RodeoNo, this photo doesn’t catch a catfish sliding into East Lake Park‘s namesake early Wednesday afternoon. There were several folks present though who did see several fish dive in as the lake was stocked for Birmingham’s 14th annual Family Fishing Rodeo this Saturday, June 4. They were delivered by Stearn’s Fish Farm of Wetumpka, AL.

It’s the largest community fishing event in the state, drawing thousands to Birmingham’s eastern area. It’s also an opportunity to participate in giveaways and learn more about local non-profits and community organizations. It’ll take place from 8 a.m. – 1 p.m.

If you want a better idea of what it looks like when you load a few thousand pounds of fish into a city lake, check out this video via al.com from last year’s stocking.

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Posted in Parks

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A second Walmart potentially looming for Montclair Rd?

Posted on June 1, 2011 | Leave a comment

Modified from Union vs Wal Mart in Las Vegas #2. Brave New Films/Flickr According to the email sent in to The35212 and shared on the community news site earlier today, Baptist Health System wants to split land located across from the current Trinity Medical Center complex between two developers. The health system sold controlling interest in the hospital, most recently known as Montclair Baptist, back in 2005 with the remaining sold in 2008.

The developers in turn plan to build an upscale apartment complex on one portion of the property and a Walmart Neighborhood Market on the other. It would be the fourth location for the chain’s market concept store in metro Birmingham, with others in Centerpoint, Vestavia Hills and Homewood.

The Bentonville, AR-based retailer already has a Supercenter located a little more than 2 miles away (also on Montclair Road) serving as an anchor tenant for the Eastwood Village shopping complex. That location contains a grocery store. There’s also a Sam’s Club located four additional miles down the road in Irondale on Grants Mill Road.

The hospital complex and the surrounding property has been the focus of much attention from surrounding neighborhoods, civic leaders and concerned citizens due to Trinity’s pending move to the former HealthSouth digital hospital site.

Photo: Modified from Union vs Wal Mart in Las Vegas #2. Brave New Films/Flickr

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Posted in Development

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Dwight Howard is coming to help those in Alabama

Posted on June 1, 2011 | Leave a comment

Dwight HowardOne of the nicknames frequently used for Dwight Howard, the Orlando Magic‘s perennial All-Star center, is Superman.

Later this week, there’s no doubt residents in the state of Alabama won’t hesitate to use that nickname for him – for a completely different reason.

Howard’s non-profit organization, D12 Foundation, announced plans yesterday to partner with Habitat for Humanity of Greater Birmingham to rebuild 10 homes damaged or destroyed as a result of the April 27 tornadoes. He’ll be in town tomorrow, June 2, to assist with that project. Folks interested in helping out can fill out this volunteer packet, fax it to (407)896-1702, and wait for the representative from D12 to call you back.

He also plans to visit Tuscaloosa where he’ll visit with various groups and present a donation from the foundation to the Tuscaloosa Disaster Relief Fund.

Photo: Dwight Howard. Keith Allison/Flickr

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Posted in Take a moment, WeAreAlabama

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Brewery Modernization Act passes Alabama State House

Posted on May 31, 2011 | Leave a comment

Free The Hops tulip glassBoth of Birmingham, AL’s microbreweries hope to soon enjoy the opportunity to serve their beer on their premises. The Brewery Modernization Act, supported by Free the Hops, passed the Alabama State House of Representatives earlier this evening in Montgomery.

If the State Senate concurs with the substitution made to the bill this evening during their session tomorrow, it will go to Governor Bentley’s desk in Montgomery for his signature.

It had been endorsed by the Alabama Brewers Guild, but also the Alabama Restaurants Association and the Alabama Hospitality Association.

The bill would allow for existing breweries to add tap rooms. It would also make it easier for brewpubs to open in the state, providing opportunities for additional jobs. As reported earlier this month in The Birmingham News, concessions were made to allow for passage that doesn’t necessarily sit well with all parties.

Both of the existing breweries in metro Birmingham, Good People Brewing Co. and Avondale Brewing Co., have the capabilities to be modified to allow for serving beer on their premises.

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Posted in food

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A city dangerous for pedestrians + ranked among least fit?

Posted on May 31, 2011 | Leave a comment

ThinkingThere may be a correlation between two reports released in recent weeks looking at Birmingham, AL and our metro area’s level of fitness.

Last week The Atlantic published a piece by Richard Florida, one of their senior editors best known for his book The Rise of the Creative Class (affiliate link) and the accompanying website. It focused on the results of this year’s American College of Sports Medicine‘s American Fitness Index, an index that included Birmingham, AL.

The report points out that metro Birmingham, although ranking 47th out of 50 areas examined in this study, contains more farmers markets and more park units per capita than the other cities though most of it sits outside of the urban areas.

The folks over at the Living Streets Alliance pointed out the striking correlation between those cities with high percentages of commuting to work by bike and those cities that were among considered the most fit in the index. The results of a report referenced recently by The Birmingham News could also be looked at as a reason for our metro area’s fitness ranking – it lists the Birmingham-Hoover metro area as the 16th most dangerous for pedestrians in the country (with 136 between 2000-2009).

It’s not like metro Birmingham hasn’t started trying to address the issues including Railroad Park’s “Get Healthy on the Railroad” and the Our One Mile initiatives.

Photo: Thinking. Max Wolfe/Flickr.

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Posted in Health

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