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
Today’s guest columnist is Alan Register.
The first World Games were played in Santa Clara, California in 1981.
They have not been played in America since.
Why then did they choose Birmingham?
And while we’re at it, why did the USFL select Birmingham?
There’s a simple answer, “a crazy idea” and “a winning streak.” Continue reading Why World Games chose Birmingham
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
Today’s guest columnist is Michael Calvert.
Predictions are always risky—especially about the future—but here are my predictions for downtown and the larger City Center.
In 1982, when I became CEO of Operation New Birmingham, REV’s predecessor, many people asked if I would bring back department stores and other retailers. I said downtown had evolved beyond its past as a retail center. Continue reading The transformation of downtown Birmingham
Today’s guest columnist is Terry Barr.
My brother asked me the other day if I remembered a place on Birmingham’s north side—1st Avenue, to be exact.
A place run by an old Bessemer guy, a friend of our mother, named Jim Anderson. His place was called: Seeds 4: Never Before Store. Continue reading Did you know Birmingham had a counterculture?
Today’s guest columnist is Allison Dearing.
If you haven’t watched ‘Maid’ on Netflix, please stop what you are doing and watch it now.
‘Maid’ passed ‘The Queens Gambit’ to be the most watched limited TV series on Netflix. Continue reading What if Netlix’s wildly popular ‘Maid’ lived in Birmingham?
Today’s guest columnist is Katrin Brand.
Last year, on a bright October day two German travelers arrived tired and weary from their long car drive through the south.
They were late, opening hours were almost over, but they were allowed half an hour to roam around.
The sun was already low, and in front of them the derelict reminders of the long gone age of iron and steel were glowing in a bright and rusty red under a clear blue sky. Continue reading International journalist praises Birmingham’s spirit
Today’s guest columnist is Daniel Coleman.
On our first date – January 1995 in Chicago – Brooke and I talked about Birmingham.
Although we had both believed we had to leave our shared hometown to start our lives – Smith and graduate school at the University of Chicago for her, Yale and the MBA program at the University of Chicago for me – we also both knew we would move home someday. Continue reading Man wakes from 35-year cryogenic freeze to find a new Birmingham
Today’s guest columnist is John Harbert.
Birmingham is one of only a few large metros in the U.S. with no major league sports team. (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, or MLS)
We have the baseball Barons, the basketball Squadron, and now the football USFL Stallions.
But none will likely lead us to major league sports. Continue reading Birmingham’s best bet for major league sports
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