Photo by Erin Nelson.
The Frothy Monkey on Second Avenue North in downtown Birmingham on July 29. The Frothy Monkey plans to open a second Birmingham-area location in the former Homewood Antiques store in Edgewood.
After months of speculation, Edgewood residents now know two of the three businesses making their way to the neighborhood next year: Otey’s Tavern and the Frothy Monkey cafe.
Homewood Antiques formerly operated the roughly 10,000-square-foot space, which will now be converted into three new businesses, with one space, measuring roughly 3,000 square feet, still available, said Red Rock Realty’s Jack Little in a news release. Little and the team at Red Rock are responsible for developing the property.
“Frothy Monkey and Otey’s Tavern will undoubtedly add to the character and vibrancy of Edgewood’s ‘main street’ and perfectly complement each other within the development project,” Little said in the release.
Frothy Monkey is an independently owned and operated all-day café and specialty coffee roaster with several locations in their hometown of Nashville. Frothy opened its first Alabama location in downtown Birmingham’s 2nd Avenue North loft district in June.
Frothy Monkey serves brunch until 5 p.m. and roasts its own coffee, said co-owner Jenn Sheets. At 5 p.m., Frothy Monkey swaps over to dinner entrees, while continuing to serve wine, beer, cocktails and margaritas.
The café began in 2004 and is still coffee-centric. Focused in smaller neighborhoods in the larger city of Nashville, Frothy Monkey is a great fit for Edgewood, Sheets said.
“We’re so lucky we found a spot,” Sheets said. “We’re really excited about being in Homewood.”
The plan is to open in 2023, but in the meantime the space will, as other café locations have been, be restored and turned into an attractive location for residents, Sheets said.
“Every space we’ve opened has been focused on restoration and renovation,” Sheets said.
Frothy Monkey has retrofitted from old department stores and similar places in the past, Sheets said.
The awning that previously sat atop Homewood Antiques will be coming down, Sheets said, to make way for a new look for Otey’s, Frothy Monkey and a business to be named later.
Frothy Monkey has a bar as well as table service, and most of their locations require about 50 jobs, Sheets said.
The café will be open seven days a week, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., though that might look different for the first several weeks for training purposes, Sheets said.
At Otey’s, which will be opening its second location following the success of its Mountain Brook restaurant, owner Will Haver said his team is “excited” to make its way to the Edgewood area, despite it not being on their radar initially.
“It was never our vision to grow Otey’s,” Haver said.
But when the opportunity came to move into the former antiques space, it was a “perfect match.”
“We love the neighborhood,” Haver said, praising Edgewood for its walkability and family-oriented nature. Taco Mama, another Haver-owned restaurant, is in the same strip of shops and restaurants.
Otey’s offers a bar as well as entrees for the family, Haver said.
“We keep it simple and try to do it at a high level,” Haver said. “Otey’s has always been a neighborhood space.”
Families can come and enjoy a meal together, Haver said, or patrons can come and enjoy the bar and some music. However, for those concerned about noise levels, Haver said there likely would not be large bands, but only soloists or a duo.
The hours of Otey’s in Mountain Brook are from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and from 11 a.m. to midnight Thursday through Saturday. Otey’s is closed on Sundays.
The plan is for Otey’s to open in Homewood sometime in the spring or early summer of 2023, and it should bring about 30 jobs to the area, Haver said.
Otey’s will be situated on the hard corner of Oxmoor and St. Charles Street, while Frothy Monkey will take space directly next to Sam’s Deli on the eastern end of the building. The remaining space available for lease is in between the two restaurants.
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