The first part of Birmingham to be developed outside of downtown, Five Points South is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. While it remains notable for its early 20th-century architecture and the cast-iron Vulcan statue atop Red Mountain, the city designated the neighborhood an Entertainment District in 2020, and it’s now home to dozens of bars, restaurants, and shops. Here, a few locals show us around.
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Highlands Bar & Grill; Chez Fonfon
“Highlands Bar & Grill is where you go for a special occasion, but Frank [Stitt] and his wife, Pardis, also have Chez Fonfon, in the same historic building. It’s loud and bustling, and everybody’s drinking wine and eating the crab cakes.”
— Filter Coffee Parlor co-owner Jill Marlar
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Bay Leaf Modern Indian Cuisine & Bar
“This excellent Indian restaurant Bay Leaf opened last year. They have a chef from India who has really high standards. The lamb curries I’ve gotten have been so rich and complex.”
— Highlands Bar & Grill and Chez Fonfon chef/co-owner Frank Stitt
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Ocean
“Ocean sources fresh Gulf catches, and the fish is to die for. The catch of the day is usually pretty special, and they have a good wine selection, too.”
— Bay Leaf Modern Indian Cuisine & Bar co-owner Vivek Lal
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Local Source Market & Grocery
“There’s this new fresh convenience store called Local Source Market & Grocery. The owner is sourcing local products, and we buy from some of the same farmers.”
— Ocean chef/owner George Reis
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Alchemy
“Alchemy is a higher-end clothing store, and they have an amazing sneaker selection. It’s Black-owned, and this is such a restaurant-heavy neighborhood, so it’s good to see some retail come in and bring a bit of modern flair to the area.”
— Local Source Market & Grocery co-owner Justin Petruff
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Black Market Bar & Grill
“Black Market Bar & Grill has a great selection of bourbon and whiskey—I had my first George T. Stagg there. I’m vegetarian, and I can always get a good veggie burger there, too.”
— Alchemy owner Ace Graham
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Filter Coffee Parlor
“Me and my business partner, George [Cowgill], are in Filter Coffee Parlor probably three times a week. We like that they’re local and not a Starbucks—it actually used to be a Starbucks, which one of the owners used to manage.”
— Black Market Bar & Grill co-owner Elise Yarbrough
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