View from Montevallo Main Street. Phot by Bell Jackson. Over the past year, Montevallo has seen a boom in new businesses. In 2020, the Montevallo Chamber of Commerce reported eight new businesses opened in the city, including two in the downtown Main Street area. They have slated for eight more businesses to open in 2021, as well. This boom in new businesses comes after efforts made by the city council to revitalize the Main Street and Highway 25 areas.
The eight new businesses that opened in 2020 include Save My Cell cellphone repair and Tobacco Plus tobacco shop on Main Street, Ideal Insurance Agency, Elite & Co. hair salon and Brick & Valley Boutique on Valley Street, Roses Express discount store and Affordable Small Engine Repair on Highway 25 and Montevallo Health Center on Salem Road.
This wave of new businesses came in part due to previous mayor, Dr. Hollie Cost, and city council’s efforts to revitalize downtown Montevallo. The current mayor, Rusty Nix, and city council, however, have turned to focus their efforts on Highway 25.
The council approved a new project to add sidewalks along Highway 25 on Jan. 11—with the plan saying that “the economic vitality along Highway 25 is impeded by several vacant and underutilized commercial strip centers and inadequate pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure.”
In the new year, Mindful Wellness, a massage therapy store, opened at its location on Middle Street. The business, which offers a number of massage services, hopes to “promote health awareness and wellbeing using massage therapy and mindfulness.” Its services are “performed mindfully by a dually licensed therapist to ensure maximum results.”
Included in the eight new business set to open this year is Soul Spot Wings, whose ribbon cutting ceremony for its new location on Main Street is scheduled for Feb. 27 at 10 a.m. The Soul Spot already has a location in Calera, and boasts a menu of wings and fish.
Also planning on opening this year is Slice Pizza and Brew. The new Slice Pizza location on Ashville Road was scheduled to open in April 2020, but, according to the Montevallo Chamber of Commerce, there is still work being done on the building. Slice Pizza already operates two locations in Lakeview and Vestavia.
The business also places an emphasis on sourcing its ingredients locally, with their website saying, “Slice Pizza and Brew is as local as you can get, from the ingredients that go into every pizza to the beer on tap.”
Along with these businesses, two more restaurants are expected to open this year—Xcaret Grill and Pit 119, both on Main Street. This is in addition to a new grocery store, Navarro’s Fresh Market—set to be located at the corner of Valley Street and Highway 119, two new Dollar General stores—located on Highway 119 and Highway 25, and a currently unnamed party rental business—to be located on Main Street.
Aubrie Chastain is a writer for The Alabamian. She is a first-year political science major with plans to attend law school. She enjoys a good book, coffee and hikes.
