It’s been several months since the REVIVE pop-up initiative visited several of REV Birmingham‘s commercial districts. One of the long-awaited results of that effort in East Lake is the opening of East 59, a coffee shop to be located at 7619 1st Avenue North near Oporto-Madrid Blvd. A May 19 status update to the company’s fan page on Facebook let folks know they’d been approved for build-out, keeping them on-track for the summer opening long mentioned on their website. They won’t be the only ones keeping area residents caffeinated this summer though…
A Kickstarter campaign launched by Sharrif Simmons suggests area residents will have at least two coffee houses to choose from later this summer, though the second will have a different vibe. The New York native is looking to open Coffee, Books, and Blues by July, bringing an independent bookstore and music venue to the area at 752 81st St., S., near the corner of Rugby Avenue and 81st St. S. Simmons once worked at the famed Liberation Bookstore in Harlem and is its late founder Una Mulzac‘s great nephew. He plans to offer a selection of both new and used books. There are also plans to serve as a performance venue and to host a farmers market on Sundays.
Looking forward to seeing how both of these efforts move forward.
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Well, you’re actually voting for the design of the new East Lake banners, done by local graphic designer Christian Bizarth in 
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