Reviewed by: Pat Byington
What you may have missed Aug. 17-23, 2026: New biz buzz + Hollywood in Bham
Reading time: 5 minutes
Hey, Birmingham: If you only have time to catch up on one thing, we’ve made it easy for you. We pulled the 5 stories you couldn’t stop clicking on the week of Aug. 17-23, 2026.
From a hometown store closing its doors to Alabama schools getting some deserved recognition, keep reading to see what you may have missed—and learn how to stay in the know for another great week in Birmingham.
Our top 5 stories (Aug. 17-23, 2026), at a glance:
1. 6 new businesses + 1 closing in Birmingham this week
What you missed: Our weekly roundup that celebrates business openings and claps out business closures around the Greater Birmingham Area is always popular.
Raise a glass to our top story of last week. Jefferson County got its first-ever winery in a historic downtown Bessemer building, Hoover picked up a family-owned coffee shop with Belgian-style waffles on the menu and a Yemeni-inspired restaurant joined our city’s impressive global culinary community. On the flip side, Kirkland’s Home in Trussville is closing up shop (more on that below 👇). See which of these new spots you want to try in the week ahead.
2. Birmingham-metro dominates Alabama’s 2026 high school rankings
What you missed: While Huntsville can boast the state’s top-ranked school, the Birmingham metro dominates the remainder of the list.
Great news for future grads: U.S. News just dropped its 2026-27 Best High Schools rankings, and six of Alabama’s top 10 public high schools are right here in the Birmingham metro. Homewood came in at #2 statewide (212th nationally), with Mountain Brook, Vestavia Hills, Hewitt-Trussville and more rounding out the list.
See the full top 10 list here →
3. Kirkland’s Home closing its Trussville location + hinting at relocation
What you missed: You’ve got two more weeks to shop at the current Trussville location of Kirkland’s Home, but they may not be moving far. Stay tuned!
If you love Kirkland’s, now’s the time to shop. The Trussville store is 50% off everything as it winds down toward its final day on September 8. The good news: Employees say they’re “actively looking for a new location to call home,” so this might not be goodbye for good. In the meantime, the Alabaster and Gadsden locations are still open if you need your home decor fix.
4. Where to watch Birmingham-filmed ‘The Rivals of Amziah King’
What you missed: There’s still time to catch “The Rivals of Amziah King” on the big screen in Birmingham.
Our city keeps showing up on the big screen. Matthew McConaughey’s “The Rivals of Amziah King”—filmed right here back in 2023—pulled in over $1 million in its opening weekend and is scoring a stellar 89% on Rotten Tomatoes. Its run was extended another week, so if you haven’t seen it yet, you’ve still got a shot at AMC Summit, AMC Vestavia Hills or Sidewalk Cinema.
Find showtimes + details here →
5. 24 weekend events: Birmingham Legion, jazz festival + more
What you missed: Our guide to big weekend events in Birmingham. But don’t worry: We’ll do it again this week (and the next…).
The weekend passed, but see what all you missed if you opted to stay in and wait out the heat. Our readers turned to this one to plan everything from a Birmingham Legion FC match and the Taste of 4th Avenue Jazz Festival to opening night of “Come From Away” at Red Mountain Theatre and a Ukrainian Cultural Festival in Homewood. Let this inspire you to get out there next weekend, and look for our guide to all the fun things out this Wednesday, August 26.
Bonus: We lit Vulcan “Millennial Teal:” See why 👀
What you missed: Bham Now is 10, and we have our wonderful audience and business and non-profit community to thank. Here’s to another great decade ahead.
If you enjoyed this roundup of the week’s most popular stories, you should check out the top stories from our first decade here. Get the scoop on how it’s started, how it’s going and know we couldn’t do it without YOU, Birmingham! 🫶
That’s a wrap on our most-read stories from Aug. 17-23. Want to make sure you never miss what Birmingham’s talking about? Follow us on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn.
