Mountain Brook's Villages Remain Pillars Of The Community

MOUNTAIN BROOK, AL - Talk to anyone from Mountain Brook about great memories they may have about growing up in the city, and a story or two will likely involve on the shopping villages in the community. Mountain Brook's villages - Crestline Village, Mountain Brook Village, English Village, and the relatively new Cahaba Village - have not only been a source of revenue for the city, but perhaps more importantly have been a source of community pride for Mountain Brook residents.

The villages each have their own unique identity, as they differ from one another in the types of businesses they offer, the architecture they display and the look and feel each has. The villages have changed over their long histories, with some businesses moving, some growing and others now defunct.

Talking to Mountain Brook residents about their memories of each of the villages is an exercise in positive nostalgia, whether it is the recollection of the soda fountain at Ariail's Drug Store - where La Paz now stands in Crestline Village - eating at Browdy's deli in Mountain Brook Village - which occupied three locations in the village - or shopping at Lane Park Grocery in English Village.

"The Villages of Mountain Brook are unlike any shopping area in Birmingham," said Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce executive director Suzan Doidge. "You won't find this architecture in any city in the Southeast, and our boutiques are unique with one of a kind merchandise. We are lucky to have small boutiques in our community versus big box stores. Additionally, we have an active community, city, and school system that values Mountain Brook's uniqueness and supports our shop owners."

Doige added that most of the business owners actually live and raise their families in Mountain Brook, contributing to the close-knit community. "Each of our villages has a Co-VP of Retail that serves on the Chamber board. The Chamber works through these Co-VPs of Retail to assist with collaborative village events villages that draw people from both within and outside our community to come and shop."

Crestline Village

Often considered the hub of the city due to its inclusion of the Mountain Brook Municipal Complex and police department, Crestline Village has been home to hundreds of businesses. Many of the Mountain Brook residents who were asked by Patch to recall memories of the villages mentioned the former Ariail's Drug Store, which was in the location where La Paz restaurant stands before moving to the building that now houses Miss Dot's and Smith's Variety (which moved to the spot from Mountain Brook Village), Frost's boutique where clothing and footwear were sold for years before being replaced with the Crestline Diner (now Ollie Irene).

Ariail's was a popular hangout for teens, as it also included a soda fountain - similar to Gilchrist in Mountain Brook Village - and was in a prime spot for socializing. The business was purchased by Leigh Gray in the 1980s and moved to its last location, which had been an Amoco service station.

The sense of ownership of the village has always been present among the community, as the closure of the Piggly Wiggly (which had previously been a Winn Dixie until the mid-1980s) in 2013 caused an uproar in the community when the location was made into a CVS drug store. The Piggly Wiggly was reopened in its current location in 2016.

Mainstays of the village include Gus' Hot Dogs, Crestline Pharmacy and the two remaining gas stations in the village, Crestline Shell (which is one of the last gas stations in the state that still offers full serve fill up) and the Chevron on Euclid Avenue.

Some of the favorite former tenants of Crestline Village among Mountain Brook residents include End of the Rainbow arcade, which was a hot spot for kids and teens (which was located in the spot now occupied by Harbin's Pharmacy) in the early 1980s; Flavor Junction, an ice cream and candy shop located where Angel Hair salon now stands, Pasquale's Pizza (which had two incarnations in Crestline Village - where Dyron's is located and nearly a decade later where Church Street Coffee and Books now operates); Crestline Hardware, which was run by the Luks family for more than 30 years; and King's Kitchen.

Mountain Brook Village

Perhaps none of the villages has undergone more of a transition than Mountain Brook Village. First known as Canterbury Crossroads, it was first developed in the 1920s and for decades was anchored by the Mountain Brook Shopping Center tha housed Western Supermarket, the Dande Lion and Smith's Variety before making way to the Lane Parke development, which began construction in 2010.

Mountain Brook Village has been home to some of the metro area's most unique boutique stores, and has featured a wide array of restaurants and shops that could only be found in the quaint village. Gilchrist Pharmacy, which has not actually operated as a pharmacy for decades, was a mainstay as a popular gathering spot for kids as they got out of school at Mountain Brook Elementary, was the business most mentioned when residents were asked about fond memories of Mountain Brook Village.

Jim Davenport's Pizza Palace - which has not changed much at all aesthetically since it opened in 1964 - still is often regarded as serving some of the best pizza in the city. Anyone who played little league sports in Mountain Brook has likely attended a team party at Davenport's, which was named for former Major League Baseball player Jim Davenport of the San Francisco Giants.

Britling Cafeteria, which was a Memphis-based chain with locations in downtown Birmingham and Hoover as well, also received a significant number of mentions by residents. The cafeteria was located in the Mountain Brook Shopping Center and closed in the mid-1980s. Browdy's deli, which had been housed in the old Hill's Building since 1967 (it had previously been located at the Martha Washington Candy Building on Cahaba Road), occupied that spot when it moved in 1991.

Browdy's was a staple in Birmingham since the early 1900s, and when it opened its Mountain Brook location was an instant favorite among the community. Started by Victor Browdy in 1913, the eatery lasted until 2009 when Browdy's grandchildren, Stan Browdy and Marilyn Leonard, decided to close the business.

English Village

Built in the late 1920s, English Village was at one point considered for designation as an Alabama Historic District. It is the only village in Mountain Brook without a grocery store, but that was not always the case. It orginally hosted two grocery stores, including Lane Park Grocery, which stood where Little Hardware now operates.

A bronze statue, Civitas, was installed in English Village in 1998, honoring 1920s architect Carolyn Smith. The architecture has remained predominantly the same over the last 70 years, but the businesses have changed considerably.

Some of the former tenants most often mentioned by residents include Wanda June's restaurant, which was housed where Root to Tail now operates; Village Records, a short-lived record store that offered new and used records; and the aforementioned Lane Park Grocery.

English Village has seen a Joe Muggs coffee shop and newsstand come and go, a variety of gas stations and service stations and a bevy of hair salons and restaurants.

One mainstay for decades, however, has been Billy's Bar & Grill. Once a small burger joint and watering hole, the eatery expanded in the 1990s at its English Village location and has opened two locations in other Birmingham suburbs.

Cahaba Village

The newest of the four villages, Cahaba Village opened in February of 2007, anchored by Whole Foods and including townhouses above the village's shops. Plans for the site had been presented by developers as early as the 1990s, as Mountain Brook residents were outspoken and wary of retail traffic disrupting their nearby neighborhoods.

The project was designed by Crawford McWilliams Hatcher Architects with Nimrod Long & Associates handling the landscape plan. It is envisioned by the developer as a sibling of Mountain Brook's historic commercial villages, with a design and atmosphere similar to that of Mountain Brook Village and English Village.

Some of the current tenants, in addition to Whole Foods, include Newk's Eatery, Maki Fresh, Diamonds Direct and Mountain High Outfitters. One unique aspect of the Whole Foods location is that the store does not face the highway. Local residents did not like the idea of having their neighborhoods face the back of a grocery store, so the developers agreed to have the store's entrance face the neighborhood and the back face U.S. 280.

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Photo by Michael Seale/Patch