Hoover Business Happenings: June 2025

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NOW OPEN

Dr. Brittany Rich held the grand opening for her new Knox Square Dental practice at 5848 Elise Road in the Knox Square community across from Hoover Metropolitan Stadium on May 8. Rich and her team have experience in multiple facets of dentistry, from routine checkups to advanced treatment, cosmetic enhancements, restorative dentistry, dental implant services, periodontic services, orthodontic services, endodontic services, oral surgery and sedation dentistry. Rich graduated dental school in 2015 and then completed a general practice residency in 2016, where she focused on advanced dental surgery, implant placement, advanced cosmetic procedures and full mouth rehabilitation.

205-202-9445, knoxsquaredental.com

Lindsey Ward, a young newlywed, in March started a baking company called Something Sweet Baking Co. from her Hoover home, baking cookies and cookie cakes. She grew up baking and during college started developing her own cookie recipes. She has perfected the recipes and is now ready to share her creations with others. Her flavors are lemon white chocolate chip, birthday cake, cookies and cream, double chocolate M&M, chocolate chip and key lime pie. The cookies cost $25 for six and $45 for a dozen. Discounts are given for larger catering orders.

205-542-3898, somethingsweetbakingco.com 

Braiden Ward, a young Hoover newlywed, in March started a personal training business called Peak Fitness & Health. He offers one-on-one workouts and programs customized for each client, taking a comprehensive approach to training that goes beyond the gym to help clients build habits that support their long-term health. Ward is a certified personal trainer, certified sports nutrition coach and certified strength and conditioning specialist.

205-260-4973, peakfitnessandhealth.org

Trader Joe’s opened a specialty grocery store on May 14 in the Riverchase Crossing shopping center at 1769 Montgomery Highway, across U.S. 31 from the Riverchase Galleria. Trader Joe’s is taking up 16,000 square feet of the former Bed Bath & Beyond store, which leaves 22,000 square feet of that space for another retailer. The grocery chain began in Pasadena, California, in 1967 and now has more than 600 locations in 42 states and the District of Columbia, according to the company’s website. There are two other locations in Alabama, one at The Summit in Birmingham and one in Huntsville.

205-202-7715, locations.traderjoes.com/al/hoover/838/

Hoover Furniture Outlet held a grand opening on May 2-4 at 3317 Lorna Road in The Village on Lorna shopping center.

205-326-7816

COMING SOON

Kirstie and Brandon Martin plan to open Starting Strength, a personal training business using barbell lifts, in the former location of Marco’s Pizza in the Publix shopping center at 1960 Braddock Drive, Suite 120, in the Green Valley community. They will offer clients 90-minute sessions three times a week, doing lifts such as squats, deadlifts, barbell press, overhead press and power clean lifts, Kirstie Martin said. The Martins started doing the Starting Strength workouts in their home in Sylacauga and decided to open a franchise of the business in Hoover to share the methodology with others. While they get the 1,200-square-foot space ready, they are meeting with potential clients on weekends at Wheelhouse Academy in downtown Birmingham to do free form checks and introduce people to what they have to offer. They also have hired a head trainer from a Starting Strength franchise in Atlanta, Brent Duckett, to join them in Hoover and may hire additional coaches, depending on the number of clients they have, Kristie Martin said. They hope to have the Hoover location open by late summer, she said. They also plan to move to Hoover, she said.

205-905-8304, startingstrengthgyms.com/Birmingham

JD Sports plans to open a store at the Riverchase Galleria in June, according to the company’s website. The company sells sports sneakers, sportswear and other accessories.

Abby Allen plans to open a new gym called SDG Fitness & Health at 767 Shades Mountain Plaza in a 2,500-square-foot spot between Benchmark Physical Therapy and Sampson Dentistry. For the past two years, Allen has been leading cardio, strength and high-intensity interval training at the Shades Crest Baptist Church Family Life Center, but she has outgrown the space available there. She plans to offer classes Monday-Saturday and has memberships for 2-3 days a week or 4-6 days a week. The target opening date is by the end of June.

205-617-9609, solideogloriafitness.com

Hoover resident Jessica Maldonado plans to soon open a coffee truck called Something Simple Coffee. She plans to offer hot and cold brewed coffee, latte, macchiato, mocha and white chocolate mocha, espresso, cappuccino, hot chocolate, chai tea, lemonade, hot tea, fresh lemonade and Redbull Lemonade refreshers. The coffee truck will be available for weddings, birthdays, celebrations, corporate events, farmers markets, school events, church events and other activities.

205-563-5960, somethingsimplecoffee.com 

Ashley Mac’s Kitchen plans to open a new location in the Knox Square retail development across from Hoover Metropolitan Stadium. The eatery offers homemade Southern-style casseroles, sides, salads, dips and entrees such as poppy seed chicken and chicken salad trio, as well as a dine-in menu consisting of healthy sandwiches, salads, entrees, soups and more. Ashley Mac’s already has locations in Cahaba Heights, Inverness, Homewood and Riverchase.

205-822-4142, ashleymacs.com

A new Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen is coming to the Inverness area, replacing the former Burger King location at 517 Cahaba Park Circle. The restaurant, known for its Southern-style menu, including fried chicken, biscuits, and red beans and rice, will now have its first location

along the U.S. 280 corridor in the Birmingham metro area.

popeyes.com 

RENOVATIONS AND RELOCATIONS

The Jim ‘N Nick’s Community Bar-B-Q restaurant in Riverchase reopened after a 12-day closure for remodeling. This location, which opened at 1810 Montgomery Highway in 1993, has brand new booths and a fresh Jim ‘N Nick’s mural and “is now representative of the next generation of Jim ‘N Nick’s while still embracing its roots,” the company said in a news release. “We’ve dusted off the counters, fired up the smokers, and the cheese biscuits are as good as ever,” the company said on its Facebook page. “We’re excited to welcome y’all back to a space that feels brand new, but still tastes like home.” Hours are 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday.

205-733-1300, jimnnicks.com 

The America’s First Federal Credit Union branch at 3312 Old Columbiana Road is being remodeled internally and externally.

205-823-3985, amfirst.org

T&C Construction has opened an office in the Trace Crossings community at 508 Mineral Trace, Suite 202. T&C Construction designs and builds custom homes and commercial projects across the Birmingham metro area. The company’s founder and owner, Jason Wilson, named the company after his sons, Tristan and Cason.

205-346-7278, tandcconstructionus.com

Bassmasters relocated its corporate headquarters to the 31 Inverness Center building in Hoover at 3500 Blue Lake Drive, Suite 330, and held a ribbon cutting for the new headquarters on April 28. The company is taking up all 15,872 square feet of the top floor of the building, which overlooks Lake Heather, and brought about 50 people to work there. Bassmaster, with 500,000 members, operates the industry leading Bassmaster tournament leagues, events and media platforms, which include bassmaster.com, live TV programming on Fox Sports (FS1), the Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times magazines, a radio show, podcast and social media channels. 

205-313-0900, bassmaster.com

NEW OWNERSHIP

RCG Ventures, a privately funded real estate investment group based in Atlanta, has acquired the Patton Creek shopping center from the New York-based Global Net Lease for $9.2 million. The transaction closed March 25 and was part of RCG Ventures’ $1.8 billion acquisition of a multi-tenant retail portfolio from Global Net Lease. The shopping center includes the AMC Patton Creek 15 movie theater, Dick’s Sporting Goods, DSW, Ross Dress For Less, World Market, Barnes & Noble Booksellers, JoS. A. Bank Clothiers, Firebird’s Wood-fired Grill and Cajun Steamer.

404-816-5454, rcgventures.com

NEWS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Hoover resident JT Nysewander won the Alabama Broadcasters Association’s 2025 ABBY award for best large market radio talk show for work done in 2024 with his “Alabama’s Morning News with JT” show on WERC 105.5 FM.

205-439-9600, wercfm.iheart.com

McLeod Software has expanded its partnership with Parade, a leader in AI-powered capacity management, by integrating Voice AI capabilities into its PowerBroker TMS platform. The new technology automates inbound carrier phone calls by capturing, qualifying and processing offers in real time. The update builds on Parade’s Capacity CoDriver, which already streamlines email communications for freight brokers. “By expanding our partnership with Parade to include Voice AI capabilities within PowerBroker, we’re delivering on our promise to bring best-in-class AI solutions to our customers,” said Ahmed Ebrahim, vice president of strategic integrations and partnerships at McLeod Software.

205-823-5100, mcleodsoftware.com

The board of directors for Southern Energy Credit Union, which has locations in Hoover at 4725 Chace Circle and 6400 Tattersall Park Drive, recently honored President and CEO Derrick Ragland Jr. with the Salvador A. Marino Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of Ragland’s exceptional dedication and service to members. Ragland’s 43-year career with Southern Energy Credit Union, formerly known as APCO Employees Credit Union, spanned roles in lending, branch management, collections, facilities and operations, culminating in his role as president and CEO beginning in 2016. Under his leadership, the credit union earned recognition for operational excellence and a commitment to credit union values, and in 2024, he was named Professional of the Year by the League of Southeastern Credit Unions. He helped create long-term sustainability for the credit union through two strategic mergers of Atlanta-based credit unions in the last two years, which led to the organization’s recent rebrand. Additionally, Ragland was integral in establishing the 501(c)(3) Southern Energy Credit Union Foundation to support long-term charitable giving.

205-824-7403 and 205-547-9400, southernenergycu.org

Personnel Moves

The YMCA of Greater Birmingham has named Chad Zaucha its new president and CEO. Zaucha brings more than 20 years of YMCA leadership experience and most recently served as CEO of the YMCA of Muncie, Indiana. He will succeed Dan Pile, who retired earlier this month.

205-324-4563, ymcabham.org

Mitzi Eaker has been hired as an account executive at the Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce, with the responsibility of helping chamber members make the most of their chamber membership. Eaker has a background in Christian publishing and programming and has authored two family devotional books. She left that career and transitioned to digital marketing, helping businesses manage their Facebook presence while raising her two sons. In 2012, she founded Mitzi Jane Media, which began as a social media company to help businesses effectively use social media, and it evolved into a marketing consulting business. 

205-862-0629, hooverchamber.org

Andrea Egea has left the Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce as its membership development manager and

joined the Shelby County Chamber as its investor relations coordinator. Egea has a background in real estate, mortgage banking, education and esthetics. She has an associate’s degree in fine arts and a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from Youngstown State University. She is also a graduate of the Aveda Institute in esthetics and is a licensed esthetician and esthetics educator in three states and Washington, D.C.

205-663-0542, shelbychamber.org

Gabrielle “Gabe” Fuller, a Hoover resident for at least 20 years, has been promoted to senior vice president for architecture at Davis Architects in Birmingham. Since joining Davis Architects in 2003, Fuller has played a key role in a wide range of projects across the Southeast, from K-12 schools to signature university spaces. She has contributed to notable work at The University of Alabama, including the Walk of Champions at Bryant-Denny

Stadium, and has led renovation efforts at Auburn University and Samford University. Fuller has a particular passion for breathing new life into existing buildings—revitalizing spaces with strong architectural bones to meet the needs of today’s users while honoring their history. Her design roots trace back to Auburn University’s Rural Studio, where she and her team designed and built Antioch Baptist Church in northwest Perry County. Another project in her career was Cooney Hall at Samford University, where she developed a deep appreciation for Georgian Colonial architecture. Fuller earned her bachelor’s degree in architecture from Auburn University and is a member of the American Institute of Architects. She serves on the board of the Bluff Park Women’s Rec League and is co-commissioner of the pickleball league. Fuller’s promotion is part of a leadership shift at the firm that puts women in several top leadership positions. Courtney

Pittman has been named the firm’s first female president, replacing Neil Davis, who after 48 years with the firm is transitioning to the role of board chairman. Also, Stephanie Pope has been promoted to senior vice president for interior design. Davis Architects is now pursuing certification as a women’s business enterprise, a milestone that is meaningful to Davis because his late mother, Helen Sellers Davis, was Alabama’s first licensed female architect in 1936.

205-332-7482, dadot.com

at 5532 Grove Blvd. in The Grove shopping center has brought in Jonathan Brasher as a new operating partner and hired Chad Schofield as the

restaurant’s new chef. Brasher previously served as the front-of-house manager for Tre Luna Bar & Kitchen and Tre Luna Catering.

205-968-1408, farrellyskitchen.com

ANNIVERSARIES

The Shades Mountain Mercantile antique store celebrated its third anniversary at 700 Shades Mountain Plaza on April 19.

205-936-2822

CLOSINGS

Apricot Lane Boutique, a women’s clothing store that opened in the Chace Landing shopping center at 4730 Chace Circle, Suite 108, in August 2023, planned to close its doors permanently at the end of May.

Bargain Hunt has closed its 54,800-square-foot store at 3313 Lorna Road in The Village on Lorna shopping center. The company filed for bankruptcy in February after its parent company cited challenges in retail competition.

PopShelf has closed its store at The Grove shopping center. It is one of 45 PopShelf stores being closed by parent company Dollar General, along with 96 Dollar General stores.

The Inverness location of Planet Smoothie at 4700 U.S. 280, Suite 10, has permanently closed.