Photo by Jon Anderson
Rainbow Paint and Decorating Center plans to build an Ace Hardware store in Vestavia Hills, Alabama, next to Chuck E. Cheese and relocate their paint and decorating business from 1450 Montgomery Highway across the highway and inside the Ace Hardware store.
The owners of Rainbow Paint and Decorating on U.S. 31 plan to open an Ace Hardware store next to Chuck E. Cheese and relocate their paint and decorating business inside that store.
Chris Edwards said he and his wife, April, decided they wanted to expand their business and thought Ace Hardware would be a good complementary business. April’s brother has owned and operated an Ace Hardware store in Pennsylvania about five or six years, so they were familiar with the business model, Chris Edwards said. At first, they tried to figure out a way to expand at their current location at 1450 Montgomery Highway, but there wasn’t enough space for the Ace Hardware store or the parking they would need, he said.
Land is scarce in Vestavia Hills, but they found a vacant lot next to Chuck E. Cheese across U.S. 31 and decided to build the Ace Hardware store there. They currently are seeking a construction permit from Vestavia Hills and hope to get started with construction in a few weeks, Edwards said. They initially hoped to be able to open this year, but due to delays in getting their permit, it now looks like it will be the first quarter of 2026 before they will be able to open, he said.
The Ace Hardware store will be about 11,800 square feet, which is almost double the amount of space they have now at Rainbow Paint and Decorating, he said.
Rainbow Paint and Decorating has existed at 1450 Montgomery Highway since about 1979 or 1980, Edwards said. He thinks he and his wife are the fourth owners of the business, and they purchased it about four years ago, he said.
Rainbow Paint and Decorating formerly took up two of three separate spaces on the property, but their two spaces were connected at some point. An in-home nursing care business occupies the third space.
Edwards said he and his wife still have a couple of years left on their lease there, so they likely will need to sublease the space to another business or businesses once they move. The building is owned by Jack Kidd.
