Vestavia Hills business happenings: February 2026

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Businesses

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Sam Dinka, the owner of the Napoli Italian Restaurant & Pizza in the Rocky Ridge community, on Dec. 3 opened a second Italian restaurant in Vestavia Hills called Caffe Di Roma in The Bray at Liberty Park. Caffe Di Roma is in a 1,200-square-foot space formerly occupied by Papa Murphy’s Pizza. The restaurant serves pizza, 12-15 pasta dishes, chicken dishes and salads. 205-238-5230

NEW OWNERSHIP

Jackson Thornton, a Montgomery-based certified public accounting and consulting firm, recently acquired the Jackson, Howard & Whatley CPA firm in Vestavia Hills at 729 Chestnut St., Suite 100. The acquisition will offer JHW’s clients an expanded depth of services. JHW was founded in 1978 by Mike Jackson, Judy Howard and Tim Whatley and serves clients throughout the Birmingham area. Jackson Thornton was founded in 1919, has consistently appeared on Accounting Today’s “Beyond the Top 100” list, was named a Top 200 Firm by Inside Public Accounting and was named one of USA Today’s 2025 Best Tax & Accounting Firms. The firm ranked fifth on Business Alabama’s 2025 Top Rank listing of Alabama’s largest accounting firms and was named a “Best Company to Work For” by Business Alabama in 2023.

Jackson Thornton now has six offices with more than 200 professionals and associates. Others are in Montgomery, Auburn, Dothan, Prattville and Wetumpka. In addition to accounting services, the firm offers wealth management, strategic planning, outsourced CFO and business consulting services, technology consulting and specialized industry services. jacksonthornton.com, 205-822-2352

NEWS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS

AmFirst was named the 2025 Wells Fargo Outstanding Corporate Citizen by the Alabama chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. The credit union was nominated by United Way of Central Alabama. In 2025, AmFirst and its employees contributed nearly $388,000 to United Way agencies across five Alabama regions, supporting services in central Alabama, Cullman County, north Talladega County, east central Alabama and southwest Alabama. Beyond financial contributions, AmFirst employees dedicated more than 1,800 volunteer hours to local nonprofits, participated in more than 1,000 community events and led several initiatives in 2025, including collecting more than 1,500 books for children, providing more than 55,000 meals to people in need, donating $1,000 to combat food insecurity in Mobile, awarding six $5,000 scholarships for students and raising $40,000 for each of four nonprofits (The WellHouse, Garrett’s Place, United Way Priority Veteran and Better Basics). amfirst.org, 205-823-3985 or 205-995-0001

Fifth Third Bank, based in Cincinnati, applied on Dec. 11 with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish a bank branch at 3010 Healthy Way near the Patchwork Farms development. Fifth Third Bank also has plans for a 1,900-square-foot bank branch on an outparcel of the Publix shopping center in Liberty Park at 3178 Rush St., with a target opening date of the second half of this year, a spokeswoman for the bank said. On Jan. 5, the bank also received approval for a branch at 6602 Tattersall Lane in Hoover off Alabama 119 near Greystone. 53.com/Alabama

Napoli Italian Restaurant & Pizza at 2516 Rocky Ridge Road is planning to reopen in the first week of February after being closed during January due to staffing shortages, owner Sam Rinka said. napoliitalianrestaurantpizza.com, 205-326-7478

AmFirst, which has a branch in Vestavia Hills at 1112 Montgomery Highway, has two people nominated to serve on the board of directors for the next three years. Ross Mitchell, the current chairman of the board, is up for reappointment. Mitchell is the senior director of government affairs and public policy for Baptist Health. He served on AmFirst’s board from 2015 to 2021 and has served again since 2023. Mitchell previously served with Tenet Healthcare as vice president of external and governmental affairs for Brookwood Baptist Health in Alabama and as director of governmental relations in Tennessee. Prior to joining Brookwood Baptist in 2004, he led UAB’s marketing group and worked for several local advertising and public relations agencies after spending five years in Chicago at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Also, Diana Knight has been nominated to fill a board seat currently occupied by Katie Voss, whose term is expiring after two consecutive three-year terms. Knight is a founding and managing member of Sovereign CPA Group in Hoover. Prior to the founding of Sovereign, she was a partner at a Birmingham public accounting firm, which she joined in 1986 after four years with the examination division of the Internal Revenue Service. She is currently chairwoman of AmFirst’s supervisory committee and has served on the committee since 2023. In addition, she previously served as an associate member of the board of directors. Credit union members will vote on appointments to the board of directors at AmFirst’s annual meeting on April 21.

PERSONNEL

Royal Automotive recently celebrated the career of longtime employee Bill Bradshaw, who retired at age 86 after serving for decades at the dealership at the corner of Interstate 65, U.S. 31 and Columbiana Road.

The Dermatology and Skin Care Center of Birmingham at 2470 Rocky Ridge Road recently welcomed Dr. Elizabeth Chase and certified registered nurse practitioner Hannah George to the practice. Chase, a Jackson, Mississippi, native, earned her undergraduate degree in art and biology from the University of Mississippi, graduated with Phi Beta Kappa honors and was inducted into the Ole Miss Hall of Fame. She completed medical school at the University of Mississippi with honors, followed by a dermatology residency at the University of Kansas Medical Center, where she served as chief surgical resident. She then completed a Mohs micrographic surgery and dermatologic oncology fellowship at Geisinger Medical Center — one of the largest Mohs training programs in the country. Since 2016, Chase has performed thousands of Mohs surgeries and provides comprehensive procedural dermatology care. Board certified in both dermatology and Mohs surgery, she is also a fellow of the American College of Mohs Surgery, representing the highest level of training in the field. Previously clinical faculty at the University of Texas San Antonio, Chase has authored numerous publications, presented at national meetings, and mentored medical students and residents. George is a board-certified nurse practitioner with extensive experience in medical dermatology. She earned her master’s degree in nursing from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2017 and has been caring for patients with a wide range of skin conditions ever since. After completing her graduate studies, George moved to Houston, Texas, where she practiced in a dermatology clinic for five years. During this time, she developed a strong passion for treating acne, psoriasis and other chronic skin conditions, as well as performing thorough full-body skin examinations to promote early detection and prevention of skin cancers. bhamdermatology.com, 205-978-3336

ANNIVERSARIES

Flip-Flops and What Nots recently celebrated 20 years at 4137 White Oak Drive in Cahaba Heights. The store carries shoes and accessories for the whole family. flipflopsandwhatnots.com, 205-967-7429