Jeff & Chelsea Riverchase · Hoover, Alabama

Business6 min read

Opened and closed near Riverchase this year

A coffee shop at Chace Lake, Alabama's first Urban Planet at the Galleria, a Yemeni-inspired restaurant on John Hawkins — and a soul food institution that served its last plate on August 16. What has changed within a short drive of Riverchase.

One of the actual reasons to live in Riverchase is that you are five minutes from more or less everything. The flip side is that the retail around us turns over constantly, and it is hard to keep track. Here is what has opened and closed within a short drive this year, with addresses so you can go find them.

Opened

Copper Star Coffee Co. opened in July at 1870 Chace Drive in the Chace Lake area, open Monday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Bham Now). We keep a running list of coffee recommendations for guests and clients, and this one is close enough to Riverchase to matter.

Urban Planet opened Alabama’s first location on July 11 at 2000 Riverchase Galleria, taking the former Forever 21 space on level 1. It is a brand by Charlotte Russe (Bham Now).

Zad, a Yemeni-inspired Mediterranean restaurant, opened at 2760 John Hawkins Parkway, Suite 112 (Bham Now).

Painted Purple Turtle Craft Studio holds its grand opening on Saturday, August 29 at 3704 Lorna Road in River Oaks Village (Bham Now). That is tomorrow, if you are reading this the day it went up.

Earlier in the year:

  • Guthrie’s opened at 1817 Montgomery Highway in front of Riverchase Village Shopping Center near the Galleria and Trader Joe’s — its fourth Birmingham-metro location and 34th in Alabama — open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily (Bham Now).
  • Qdoba Mexican Eats opened at 1539 Montgomery Highway, open daily 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. (Bham Now).
  • Urban Cookhouse opened January 19 at 1017 Marble Terrace in Stadium Trace Village, in a 3,200-square-foot space between Hero Doughnuts and Battle Republic that was originally intended for Rodney Scott’s BBQ. It is the Homewood-founded chain’s fifth Birmingham-area location (Bham Now).

Closed

Jake’s Soulfood Cafe on John Hawkins Parkway announced its closure on August 6 and served its final day on Saturday, August 16, after 10 years (ABC 33/40). Ten years is a long run for an independent restaurant, and it will be missed.

Hero Diner at 1013 Marble Terrace in Stadium Trace closed permanently on April 12, having opened in June 2023. It was operated by Pihakis Restaurant Group (AL.com).

Andy’s Farm Market and Garden Center closed its Hoover location after 15 years, consolidating operations at 3351 Morgan Drive in Vestavia Hills (Bham Now). If that was your spring plant stop, it moved rather than vanished.

Not retail, but it belongs on the list because it is jobs: BioCryst Pharmaceuticals announced in June that it would close its Hoover facility, filed a WARN notice on August 4, and will close the site on October 7, cutting 47 jobs (Montgomery Advertiser).

Coming, probably

City license approvals are a decent early-warning system for what is moving in, with the caveat that a license is not an opening. Three recent ones:

  • An alcohol license for “Vons” at 3601 Market Street, Suite 101, approved April 27.
  • A consumable hemp products license for Piggly Wiggly 265 at 2148 Tyler Road, Suite 104, approved August 10.
  • An alcohol license for Weird Fishes LLC doing business as Whiskey Foxtrot at 2801 John Hawkins Parkway, Suite 157-O, approved August 24.

All three appear on the city’s resolution list (City of Hoover). We have no opening dates for any of them, and we are not going to invent one.

Also on the fall calendar

A few dated things worth putting on the fridge:

  • Free Community Shred Day, 8 a.m. to noon Friday, September 18, in the Hoover Public Library parking lot at 200 Municipal Drive, limited to six banker boxes per resident, in partnership with Gone For Good (City of Hoover).
  • Hoover Workforce Initiative Career Fair, October 1 at the Park Crest Event Center, announced by Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Nan Baldwin at the August 24 council meeting. Business Excellence Award nominations are open until September 11, with a luncheon October 15. The first annual Mayor’s Ball is set for October 17 (City of Hoover).
  • Taste of Hoover returns to Aldridge Gardens October 15, and the 63rd Annual Bluff Park Art Show is October 3 (City of Hoover).

One more, because it deserves its own line: the Hoover Fire Department received accreditation from the Commission on Fire Accreditation International for the second year, judged on 250 criteria across 11 categories, and the council adopted a resolution commending them on August 24 (City of Hoover).

If we missed something that opened near you, tell us and we will add it.

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