Hoover business happenings: March 2026

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Businesses

NOW OPEN

Cali Customz, an automotive customization and protection shop, opened in February at 3890 Douglas Way, Unit 1101, in a 1,300-square-foot space in the new Microflex flexible workspace area off Old Columbiana Road behind Vulcan Tire & Automotive. The business offers window tinting, vinyl wraps, paint protection film, ceramic coatings and paint correction services. Cali Customz LLC on Facebook, 205-983-3870

Urban Cookhouse opened its fifth Birmingham area location at Stadium Trace Village on Jan. 19. Hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Urban Cookhouse offers entrees that include grilled chicken, steak and rice, shrimp kabobs, veggie quesadillas, chipotle-braised pork, turkey and pineapple ham, as well as a wide variety of sandwiches, salads and wraps. Sides include hot cheddar pasta, roasted vegetables, rice pilafs, broccoli salad, garden salad and fresh fruit. The restaurant chain was started by David and Andrea Snyder in Homewood in 2010 and since has expanded with three more locations in downtown Birmingham, in Crestline and at The Summit. urbancookhouse.com, 205-593-4717

Baker’s Famous Pizza reopened under new ownership in October at 757 Shades Mountain Plaza in Bluff Park and is planning a grand opening celebration in March. bpbakerpizza.com, 205-822-4848

Abbey Crocker has reopened her Party Art Studio in an 800-square-foot space at 736C Shades Mountain Plaza in Bluff Park in the former location of the Bluff Park Vintage store. Crocker does arts and crafts instruction for private and group classes, birthday parties, corporate parties and retreats, as well as face painting and summer camps. She also does custom art and decor for customers. She specializes in door hangers but also does ceramics, canvas painting and other mixed media art. She started her business about 17 years ago in her home and has had a storefront since 2015, including two locations in Helena and two in Pelham. She closed her studio at 3183 Lee St. in Pelham in July and began operating solely out of a truck until opening the new studio in Shades Mountain Plaza next to Art Zone in January. Instruction is by appointment only except for open paint times from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. partyartstudio.net, 205-253-2984

MicroFlex, a provider of flexible workspace solutions, in February opened its newest location at 3890 Douglas Way off Old Columbiana Road behind Vulcan Tire & Automotive. The new facility offers 30 flexible workspaces totaling 37,500 square feet and ranging in size from 1,250 to 1,550 square feet each. Multiple units can be combined to accommodate larger users. The facility is designed to meet an unmet demand for smaller, multifunctional office-warehouse spaces with shorter, more flexible lease terms than usually available, cofounder Andy Sink said. Microflex spaces can be used for everything from offices for creatives to contractor spaces, light assembly and warehouse spaces, fulfillment hubs for e-commerce businesses, showrooms and sports training. They can also be used to store car collections or recreational vehicles or as other hobby spaces. The spaces have high ceilings, grade-level roll-up doors, restrooms and parking. They are fully air conditioned and can be customized with additional improvements, such as small enclosed offices and mezzanine spaces. This is Microflex’s fourth location in Alabama, with others open in Auburn/Opelika, Irondale and Huntsville. microflexspace.com, 205-443-2348

COMING SOON

Raising Cane’s plans to open its first location in the Birmingham-area on March 10 at 5301 U.S. 280. The Louisiana-based restaurant chain, known for its fried chicken fingers, is located on the former site of Lloyd’s Restaurant along the U.S. 280 corridor. The opening marks the brand’s debut in the Birmingham market. Other Alabama locations include Tuscaloosa and Mobile. raisingcanes.com

Stretch Zone, a national wellness franchise focused on practitioner-assisted stretching and mobility, is planning to open its third Birmingham-area location at 701 Doug Baker Blvd., Suite 107-B, along U.S. 280 near Greystone. The new studio will be located in The Village at Lee Branch and will mark the company’s third Birmingham-area location and 11th overall in Alabama. stretchzone.com

Baskin-Robbins, the national ice cream brand known for its rotating lineup of 31 flavors, is planning to open a new location at 940 Inverness Corners at the intersection of U.S. 280 and Valleydale Road. Founded in 1945, Baskin-Robbins offers ice cream, sundaes, drinks and custom cakes through locally owned and operated shops across the country. The new store will be located between Mellow Mushroom and Kyuramen Tbaar in the Inverness Corners shopping center, which is also home to Kohl’s and Sephora. baskinrobbins.com/en

7 Brew Coffee, the Arkansas-based drive-thru coffee chain known for its customizable drink options, is under construction at 7015 Meadowlark Drive on U.S. 280. The new location is situated behind Raising Cane’s near the Walmart Supercenter. Founded in 2017, 7 Brew offers more than 20,000 drink combinations, including popular options such as the “Blondie,” “Smooth 7,” white chocolate mocha and sugar-free selections, as well as energy drinks and teas. 7brew.com

Little Luna Pizza plans to open soon as a carryout and delivery pizzeria serving New York-inspired pizzas. The dough is cold fermented and topped with California-grown tomatoes, aged mozzarella, and fresh meats and vegetables. Each pizza is baked in a high-temperature stone oven for a thin, crisp and airy finish. The pizzeria — located at 2142 Tyler Road in the Bluff Park Village shopping center — also offers a curated selection of fresh salads, creamy gelato and desserts. littlelunapizza.com

RELOCATIONS

Sparrow Health & Performance, a medical clinic formerly at 2807 Greystone Commercial Blvd., Suite 32, has relocated to a larger 7,000-square-foot location at 611 Doug Baker Blvd., Suite 214, in The Village at Lee Branch off U.S. 280 and held an open house on Feb. 9. The clinic combines traditional medical expertise with functional and regenerative therapies aimed at addressing the root causes of illness and promoting long-term wellness. The new clinic offers Sparrow’s full suite of services, including natural-first primary care, functional lab testing, advanced gut microbiome analysis and individualized treatment plans. In addition, the facility features hyperbaric oxygen therapy, hydrogen treatments, infrared sauna, halotherapy and pulsed electromagnetic field therapy. sparrowclinic.com, 205-783-1020

Bluff Park Vintage has relocated its store in Shades Mountain Plaza from an 800-square-foot space at 736C Shades Mountain Plaza to a larger space across the parking lot at 740 Shades Mountain Plaza. Owner Vinny Chiaramonte offers vintage merchandise such as furniture, clothing, comics, vinyl, books, magazines and decorations. He also does restoration and refinishing work. bluffparkvintage.com, 205-419-8763

PERSONNEL

Greystone Golf and Country Club recently announced the promotions of Jeordon Dudley to director of fitness and Becky Heisner to assistant director of fitness. Dudley has been employed with Greystone Golf and Country Club since 2018 and is a performance enhancement specialist and fitness nutrition specialist. Heisner joined the team in 2023 and brings expertise in personal training, group fitness, nutrition coaching, total body resistance exercise and more. greystonecc.com, 205-980-5200

AmFirst Credit Union recently announced three leadership promotions to support continued growth and innovation. In Hoover, AmFirst has branches at 3312 Old Columbiana Road and 2 Inverness Center Parkway. Paul Hoffman has been named vice president of strategic initiatives, John Vaughn has been promoted to vice president of information technology and David O’Dell has been promoted to vice president of business intelligence. Hoffman joined AmFirst in 2016 and most recently served as vice president of audit services. Vaughn has worked in information technology at AmFirst for more than 13 years and most recently served as director of IT services. O’Dell began his career with AmFirst in 2008 and most recently served as director of business intelligence. AmFirst is a federally chartered community credit union serving more than 200,000 members across 21 locations in 13 Alabama counties. amfirst.org

Ronnisha Croom and Alisa Jones have joined as Realtors in the RealtySouth Over the Mountain office at 2409 Acton Road, Suite 137, and Brittny Tadeo has joined RealtySouth’s office at 109 Inverness Plaza. realtysouth.com, Croom: 205-229-2114; Jones: 205-531-4251; Tadeo: 205-643-8673