Several new businesses, including multiple restaurants, coming to Vestavia Hills City Center

Following the recent news that Taco Mama is bringing their popular restaurant to the Vestavia Hills City Center, Fred McFadden with KPR Centers, the owner of the City Center, announced several more restaurants and other businesses would also be coming to the area at the Oct. 13 virtual meeting of the Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce.

News of Taco Mama’s coming in the winter or spring came in mid-October, with the restaurant slated to be located near the recently renovated courtyard.

McFadden said Chopt Creative Salad Co., which offers unique salads, as well as Crumbl Cookies, which offers an assortment of cookies and ice cream, will join TrustCare Urgent Care at the old Rite Aid at the City Center. No timeline on when they would open was available, he said.

In addition to those additions, McFadden said Vestavia Hills Nutrition is also coming to the City Center, and will offer nutritional foods, smoothies and more. An as-of-yet unnamed financial services business has also agreed to a lease, he said.

City leaders, including City Manager Jeff Downes and Karen Odle, the executive director for the Chamber, said the moves represent a longtime desire to see the City Center filled with businesses that will attract patrons.

The moves come after KPR invested in the courtyard area near Planet Fitness, First Watch and Panera Bread. String lights were added overhead and large TVs were installed, along with seating areas, to hopefully attract more people, McFadden said.

The plan is to have events in the space to draw more people to the City Center, McFadden said, including hosting tailgates, such as the one being held Oct. 17 for the Georgia-Alabama game. There will also be a Christmas tree lighting on Nov. 19 at the City Center, McFadden said, and they are planning for some events next year.

The courtyard used to be the owner’s biggest challenge, McFadden said. It was talked about for so long, but nothing was done until the last 12 months, and now, it’s no longer a weakness, he said.

“What was our biggest challenge is turning into our biggest asset,” McFadden said.

Speaking about the closing of Stein Mart, McFadden said while there is nothing concrete to report yet, KPR has received interest from “multiple parties,” and KPR is open to changing the store layout to fit the new tenant’s needs, McFadden said.

Other areas of the City Center are also doing well, he said, including the Publix area, which is near 100% capacity, and KPR is working to bring one more tenant in, he said.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, McFadden said three businesses have signed leases during these unprecedented times. Another major business in the City Center, the AMC movie theater, also re-opened its doors, he said, and continues to do well, despite being shut down for several months during the initial COVID-19 outbreak.

Reaching the long-term goal of a thriving City Center is great to see, Odle said.

“It’s not just talking; it’s actually happening,” Odle said.

For more information about KPR, visit kprcenters.com. Visit the City Center’s Facebook page for more information at https://www.facebook.com/vestaviacitycenter/.