An update on Torme’s
It appears that the crew interviewing Merv Torme was more interested in his comments about the announced changes at HealthSouth than with the current state of his long-time downtown business. For those just learning about it, the Associated Grocers store in Central City closed on Saturday, presumably to complete planned renovations to the store. We posted about it today during lunch. Increased residential development around the business appears to have influenced the family owned business, which have a second location in Bessemer, to upgrade their facilities. We’ll try to keep an eye on their progress for you. When completed, it may help temporarily curb calls for increased grocery options downtown. Longer operating hours would be helpful to downtown residents as well, though that would happen if people went there and supported the store after it reopens.
More after the jump…
Holy Family turns the page, and hopes to secure its students’ future
I first heard about Cristo Rey Network in an article from Fast Company magazine. I subsequently saw stories published in our local paper about plans for Holy Family School in Ensley to join the network beginning this year. I even saw the 60 Minutes story on it (Windows Media format). I never heard anything else about it, so I assumed that it was not going to happen after all. Now whenever I drive into Ensley for work, I try to always drive in along 19th Street. The street once served as the main connection to the rest of the city of Birmingham and there are some great building along the way (for a historian at least). It also reminds me of my years in catholic school driving by Holy Family. I noticed sign at Holy Family High School had “A new beginning on August 14.” I finally put the pieces together and determined that the school had gone through with plans to join the network after all. The possibilities for students to work not just downtown but in area businesses are endless and should be invigorating for this community. I’m excited to learn about the opportunities for these students to work in Ensley, increasing the profile of this community yet again.
The “Beer Man” is getting honored
Checking the e-mail account associated with this blog this evening, I received notification that I’d gotten a comment on a previous post from a Frank Dinan. I decided I had to see if it was in fact the “Frank” I’d written about from my days in Savannah. Turns out it was and it’s now led me to have to consider the possibility of making a trip back to the Hostess City for my birthday. It seems that August 29th will be (wait for it)…
Frank the Frosty Beverageman Bobble Tray Doll Giveaway night at historic Grayson Stadium! And the Sand Gnats will be playing the Charleston RiverDogs as an added bonus! We’re investigating all options as to whether a trip is even feasible. It’s not like I haven’t spent my birthday watching the Gnats before. It’s just justifying two half days in a row to do it. Or convincing a friend to go to the game and pick up one of the dolls for me. We’ll have to work on that too.
See you tomorrow,
Cheers.
