Reviewed by: Gabby Gervais
8 businesses that closed since the beginning of December
Reading time: 6 minutes
With the start of a new year, we’re looking back at businesses in The Magic City that sadly closed their doors. Read on to learn which spots we were heartbroken to say goodbye to this winter.
1. Botanica | Downtown
Plant lovers were devastated to see Botanica, a local houseplant and decor store, close. Founder and owner Caitlin Hastings ended the downtown store’s lease, but she will continue her plantscaping services in the community.
“Thank you all so much for supporting Botanica Birmingham over the past three and a half years! With 2022 and our lease coming to an end, we have decided to close our Birmingham storefront and focus on expanding our plantscaping services for residents and businesses of Birmingham and Huntsville, offering in person plant consultations, installations and ongoing maintenance.”
Botanica said in an Instagram post
The current store manager, Kitt Campbell, is the new owner of Botanica’s Huntsville location, which will stay open.
2. Zoe’s Kitchen | Crestline
As an avid Mediterranean food lover, I’m so sad to see this business shut its doors. The Crestline location is the fourth Zoe’s Kitchen that closed in The Magic City—we said goodbye to the Homewood restaurant this summer.
- Location: 225 Country Clb Pk, Birmingham, AL 35213
3. Cookie Dough Magic | Avondale
I think it’s fair to say that we all indulge in cookie dough from time to time. Cookie Dough Magic has been serving up 13 flavors of safe-to-eat cookie dough for four years. Sadly, the original location in Avondale closed on December 3 due to the lasting effects of the pandemic. The good news is that you can still get this sweet treat at their Trussville location.
“As we celebrate our four year anniversary Cookie Dough Magic, we also face the very difficult decision to close our first location. We have had a whirlwind of emotions over the last four years and could not be more thankful for the outpouring of love from our customers who have quickly become friends.”
Chris and Melissa Bell, Owners, Cookie Dough Magic
4. Local Source | Five Points South
With locally sourced food and goods, Local Source was a farmer’s market in a grocery store. For now, they’ve decided to close to work on expanding and building a more financially efficient Local Source. However, they will still be sharing all the details about Alabama’s farmers and artisans to support on their Facebook in the meantime.
- Location: 2009 15th Ave S, Birmingham, AL 35205
5. Ensley Fairfield Mattress | Pelham
One of the oldest family-owned businesses in Birmingham is sadly closing. After nearly 108 years in operation and four generations of ownership in the Holtzclaw family, Ensley Fairfield Mattress is closing due to family and economic reasons, pandemic restrictions and increasing costs.
“As we approach our 108th year serving the Birmingham metro, the 3rd generation owner of Ensley Fairfield Mattress Company is ready to turn in their keys and finally enjoy a much deserved and earned retirement. As a family we had conversations of whether to keep stores open and continue to operate the traditional way that Birmingham has become so accustom to, but the best party guest always knows the right time to leave. We know that in this transition it is the right time for our family close our final retail store in Alabama.”
Holtzclaw family, Ensley Fairfield Mattress Co, Inc.
- Location: 3186 Pelham Pkwy # D, Pelham, AL 35124
6. Strand Coffeehouse | Montevallo
Since February 2022, Strand Coffeehouse has been serving scrumptious coffee and bites to the Montevallo community. Due to personal reasons, owner Sean Eichelberger decided to close the coffee shop at the end of 2022.
“I am immensely proud of the impact that the Strand Coffeehouse has been able to make in such a short time and so appreciative of the support and enthusiasm from the community. It was my dream for so long to be able to open my own space and be able to craft coffee that people loved and become a part of their daily lives.
However, as amazing as 2022 has been professionally, personal matters have lead me to understand that in order to be my best self and create my best future, I must move on from Montevallo and seek out new challenges, personally and professionally.”
Sean Eichelberger, Owner, Strand Coffeehouse
- Location: 620 Main St, Montevallo, AL 35115
7. Krispy Kreme | Hwy 280
Krispy Kreme’s “hot light” is officially turned off on Highway 280. Personally, I’m bummed out that I can’t stop by this spot for a classic, hot glazed doughnut. Luckily, the East Lake and Highway 31/Patton Chapel locations are still open for a sweet treat.
- Location: 5357 US-280, Birmingham, AL 35242
8. Fledging
Fledging, a tech startup, was founded by Weida Tan, a Chinese foreign exchange student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. This business specialized in consumer electronics with a focus on storage, data transfer and power delivery. Based in Birmingham with offices in Dallas and Shenzhen, China, this business decided to shut down operations at the end of 2022.
According to the Birmingham Business Journal (BBJ), we’ll be seeing Fledging’s CEO Ethan Summers again as the CEO of Exellli, launching later this month. It’s a platform to create how-to guides for your team and customers.
“I learned a lot as CEO of Fledging, my first venture, including that lessons learned are just too expensive to become lessons lost. This new adventure, in partnership with Harmony Venture Labs, is a wonderful chance to help all kinds of people do their best work, the best way, happily based right here in Birmingham.”
Ethan Summers, CEO, Exelli, said to the BBJ
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