Photo by Erin Nelson.
Sean Gibbs, the general manager at Davenport’s Pizza Palace in Mountain Brook, delivers a pizza to a table during lunch.
Davenport’s Pizza Palace is going back to the past, launching a Vestavia Hills location for the first time in more than 30 years.
Davenport’s, a Mountain Brook staple, announced in July it would open a restaurant in the Vestavia Hills City Center to the right of Taco Mama, joining a growing list of restaurants and other businesses at the City Center, including Crumbl Cookies and the forthcoming Chopt Creative Salad Co.
“We had always talked about opening a second location,” co-owner Amanda Thames said.
Thames said after the pizza restaurant’s leadership team saw the improved green spaces and uptick in activity at the City Center, they knew it would be a good fit for Davenport’s, which was previously located in Vestavia in the 1980s when owned by Thames’ grandfather.
“It’s pretty neat,” Thames said of bringing the restaurant back to Vestavia.
The original Davenport’s opened in 1964 in Mountain Brook by Rex and Ardyce Hollis, and the restaurant has been in their family ever since, said Thames, a third-generation owner.
Davenport’s Pizza Palace
► WHERE: 2837 Cahaba Road, soon coming to the Vestavia Hills City Center, 700 Montgomery Highway
► PHONE: (205) 879-8603
► WEB: davenportspizza.com
The restaurant was named for Rex’s childhood friend, Jim “Peanut” Davenport, who was a professional baseball player with the San Francisco Giants. They grew up together in the Siluria neighborhood in Alabaster. The Giants had just lost the 1962 World Series, so Davenport was a familiar name in the area when Jim Davenport’s Pizza Palace opened in 1964, according to the restaurant’s website.
Thames said Davenport’s is well known in Mountain Brook and has become part of many people’s lives, which brings her special joy.
The restaurant is unique in that it only offers pizza, salad and drink, Thames said. The menu may only offer a few items, but those items are made very well, she said. “We really try to not have a lot of changes.”
The look and taste of the pizza is also unique, Thames said.
“We make our dough and sauce in house from scratch,” Thames said. “People say they can’t find anything like it.”
The pizza has a thin crust and is cut into squares, offering a unique take on pizza, Thames said.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Thomas said the restaurant is “busier now than we have been ever before,” and said they are thankful for how their customers supported them during the pandemic.
“Running a restaurant is challenging, but it’s very rewarding,” Thames said.
Having good staff makes the difference, and Davenport’s tries to do that, with some staff having worked there 40 years, she said.
The new Davenport’s will be similar to the existing location and should open in early 2022, Thames said. The current Davenport’s is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Mondays through Thursdays, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and from 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Sundays and is at 2837 Cahaba Road in Mountain Brook. For more information, visit davenportspizza.com.
