Hello, it’s me (Hunter) with your weekly Bham Now newsletter! If you want these to come straight to your email every week, which I totally think you should do, please click here.

Read on to see what I mean by Puppy Pale Ale, Werbz Perkz, and It’s Empirical.

ICYMI (how?): Luv Guv is out, new Governor, Kay Ivey, is in. It’s been a busy week!

April 12th.

BOLD Speaker Series
It’s finally here! Our favorite bi-monthly event! Bham Now’s BOLD Speaker Series is happening tomorrow night, April 13th. ICYMI, David Sher, businessman extraordinaire, is our speaker. He’s the publisher of the popular blog, ComebackTown, former chair of Birmingham’s Chamber of Commerce and co-owner of AmSher Receivables.
He’s got some big ideas for Birmingham. Join us upstairs at Avondale Brewery tomorrow, Thursday, April 13th from 5:30-7PM. As always, 10% of ticket sales will go to our guest’s chosen charity, this time being United Way of Central Alabama.Buy tickets now for $10, or $15 at the door. Students get in free with a student ID!

It’s Empirical
The most heavily trafficked article last week (that kind of broke our website for a second) was a sneak peek of the Empire Hotel—the newly renovated luxury hotel located on The Heaviest Corner on Earth. See photos of the Italian marble floors, intricate carvings, and beautiful rooftop views. Thanks, historic tax credit bill, it couldn’t have been done without you. And thanks to Bham Now’s Pat Byington for the photos.

Werbz Perkz
Warby Parker, the “Netflix for glasses”, finally opened up shop inside The Pizitz last week. Mostly an online retailer, no longer will Birminghamians have to order their “try-on” pairs, because we can just walk into the store. But since there’s a physical location, maybe we should call it the “Blockbuster of glasses”, minus the whole defunct part. Birmingham has its own pair of limited edition sunglasses to celebrate the opening, too.

Fun fact: Warby Parker was started by 4 friends in college, and they could barely settle on a name for the company. I listened to a Ted Talk about it once (I recommend).

Eggcited!
Auctioning painted ostrich eggs = supporting the Birmingham Zoo’s conservation efforts. Local and regional artists made their (literal) mark on ostrich eggs that will be auctioned off as a part of the Zoo’s Easter Eggstravaganza Egg Hunt. You’ll see Impressionism, hatching bunnies, dragon eggs, and so much more carefully painted on the Ostrich eggs provided by the Zoo. $1,000 has already been raised so far. The online auction ends Saturday, April 15th. Help, I can’t pick a favorite!
*No ostriches were harmed in the making of this fundraiser*

Up and Up
Velocity Accelerator got a lot of love last week on the site, from congratulating local startup, Planet Fundraiser, to introducing all of the companies supported by Velocity. In a tech-oriented world, these local startups are finding ways to make our lives easier, one application at a time. Don’t take it from me, though. These companies will be at Iron City on April 18th to discuss their plans. Be there!

Fruity Folks
What are Birmingham food trucks lacking? Healthy eats. Well, not anymore. Enter City Bowls, your new go-to for your fruit fix on those hot summer days. This truck offers acai bowls (acai—the super healthy berry that powerlifters swear by) and smoothies to leave you feeling refreshed after an afternoon at the park. Check them out starting April 17th.

Trust Me, Dog
This week’s #SmallBizSpotlight focuses on the hot dog stand you can always count on – Greg’s Hot Dogs. Located on the corner of 20^th St and 5^th Ave N, you’re sure to have seen and/or stopped to grab a bite during lunch. Owner, Paul “Big Daddy” Woodard told Bham Now that all of the food is prepared fresh daily. Daily, y’all! With ingredients like cilantro, peanut sauce, siracha, bleu cheese crumbles and more, the high quality and fresh toppings truly make the difference. Most popular dogs? Chili and Slaw. Most unusual? The “Trust Me Dog”.

FORE
If you’re looking for a little skip in your city skyline, check out the Regions building through Sunday. In honor of the Regions Tradition golf tournament, you’ll see a larger than life lit up golfer hitting one out toward 5th Ave N. You can see it from 8PM-12AM each night, and 5-6AM each day.

Puppy Pale Ale
Forget the types of people you see at the breweries (young & married couples, professional 30-something men, women in athletic wear…), we really just want to talk about the types of dogs we see at every brewery. From puppies to panters, I know you’re picking up what I’m putting down. It is pertinent that you look at the photo of the pug at Cahaba Brewing.

Top 4 Events This Week

Bham Now’s BOLD Speaker Series with guest David Sher @ Avondale Brewery (upstairs). April 13th. 5:30-7PM. $10 advance, $15 at door. Students get in free with student ID.
5th Annual Cornhole Classic benefiting The Bell Center @ Good People Brewery. Saturday, April 15th. 1PM. $40-60 per team in advance, $50-70 day of.
Who’s Bad @ Iron City. The Ultimate Michael Jackson Tribute Band. Saturday, April 15th. 8PM. $9 promo happening now.
Third Space – Chapter 01 @ Birmingham Museum of Art. Tuesday, April 18th. 6-7PM. FREE.
- Sponsored by

PLUS: Check out Producer Vicky’s top 10 picks for the week.

Want more? We’ve been busy adding over 2,000 events to the Bham Now calendar.

Bite-sized
Quiz: Which 5 Points Restaurant should you try next?
Weather: About as perfect as you could want. A steady high of 85 and low of 60 through the weekend. Possibly a spring shower on Monday and Tuesday.
Eat: Jumbo chicken tenders (hot) with a side of cole slaw from Eugene’s Hot Chicken. New brick and mortar in Uptown.
Job: Software Engineer @ EBSCO, a Forbes top privately held company.
Adorable and Adoptable: Meet Puddin. Seriously, just look at that face! She’s potty trained, learning commands, and the perfect addition to your family.

Last week for #ProducerHunterdoesBham, I really just introduced my family to Steel City Pops. I was with my fam every night last week in Downtown, so I got to watch both their amazement and fright at the fact that I always park on the street after hours to avoid paying for parking. When you drop $11 on pops, you can’t afford to pay for parking (especially when you don’t have to), know what I mean?

Correction corner: I totally inserted a broken link last week for Bham Now’s Pizitz Food Hall takeover. Read the actual article here and get a look at our faces!

It’s Easter this weekend, so expect lots of pastels out and about! The Barons 2017 season starts TONIGHT (yay!), so pencil a Barons game into your schedule. And as always, thanks for reading Bham Now!

Hunter Holland, Producer
Let me know what’s up – hunter@bhamnow.com