By David Sher
I recently wrote a column about my all-time favorite Birmingham restaurant, Joy Young.
Reminiscing is fun so I began my search for my next topic.
Then I drove past the Rotary Trail sign in downtown Birmingham and the idea hit me. Continue reading Overcoming a regrettable Birmingham blunder
By David Sher
I never saw it coming.
According to recently released U.S. Bureau of Census population estimates the City of Birmingham is now the 3rd largest city in Alabama.
Until 2020 Birmingham was the largest city in the state. Continue reading Birmingham suburbs, are you nervous yet?
By David Sher
Birmingham’s a great place for foodies.
We have fantastic restaurants…like Highland Bar & Grill, El Barrio, Automatic Seafood, and Helen.
There have been other great restaurants past or present, but in my heart and stomach, none compare to an American Chinese Restaurant that opened in 1919 and operated successfully mostly in downtown Birmingham for about 70 years. Continue reading Birmingham’s best restaurant ever
By David Sher
Most folks’ first impression of Birmingham won’t be from driving to town on I-65.
Nor arriving at our Amtrak station, or at the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport.
It will likely be from a simple Google search.
A Google search of Birmingham, however, can be quite embarrassing. Continue reading How Google is sabotaging Birmingham
By David Sher
To grow or not to grow–that is the question.
A couple of years ago I sat down with the CEO of a successful Birmingham family owned business.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss how we might grow our Birmingham region. Continue reading Mountain Brook parents, aren’t we tired of losing our children?
By David Sher
“We dare defend our rights.”
Yes, that is our Alabama motto.
But we don’t seem to be given those rights in Alabama. Continue reading Gas prices soar, Alabama denies our rights
By David Sher
When I first began publishing ComebackTown ten years ago, comments were often dominated by the Birmingham haters and the so called CAVE people—Citizens Against Virtually Everything.
Birmingham was going nowhere and the Birmingham haters were relentless. Continue reading Birmingham haters—Eat your hearts out
On December 4, 2014, I did something I had never done before and have never had to do again.
On that day, as publisher of ComebackTown, I published a column which I naively titled, “UAB lucky to have Ray Watts as President.”
Two days earlier Dr. Watts had announced the cancellation of UAB Blazer football.
The response was immediate, ugly, and personal. Continue reading UAB President Watts had a rough 2014—what’s happened since?
My wife and I got on the shuttle bus leaving Protective Stadium following a UAB football game.
We walked to the back, sat down, and watched as people boarded.
A young couple, likely UAB students, sat down in front of us. The male was African American and his girlfriend was white. He put his arm around her and she laid her head on his shoulder.
And then do you know what happened? Continue reading Sick and tired of Birmingham being stereotyped as racist
Birmingham and Atlanta were about the same size in 1950.
Atlanta’s population is now five times greater than Birmingham’s.
What happened? Continue reading Oops! Atlanta may be following lead of Homewood and Mountain Brook