Oaks Street
Oaks Street was a restaurant and bar which were part of a planned multi-venue entertainment center located at 2125 Morris Avenue from 1974 to the late 1970s. It was owned by Randall Oaks and was a key component in the "Old Town Downtown" entertainment district created on Morris Avenue in the 1970s.
Oaks restored the Slaton, McGlathery & Burwell warehouse building, opening it to the public in phases. The Banjo Saloon opened in November 1974 serving steaks, chicken and dumplings, sandwiches on fresh sourdough and apple pie alongside live music. The Back Room restaurant and Grape Arbor wine bar were the second phase of construction, offering gourmet cuisine and antipasti. A later phase included the Brandy Room lounge where cabaret group Wit's Other End got its start. The last phases were to have included a dinner theater (to lure Wit's Other End back from the Town Hall across the street), and an outdoor biergarten.
Besides cabaret theater, the lounge showcased touring musical acts, primarily in the folk genre which was most popular during the 1960s and 1970s. By 1977 the front bar was operating as Charlie's. The business closed as the entertainment district failed, with Oaks lacking the capital to see it through a downturn.
The building currently houses the law offices of Najjar Denaburg.
References
- "Morris Avenue Old Town Downtown" (October 1974) Birmingham magazine. Vol. 14, No. 10, pp. 63-6
- White, Marjorie Longenecker (1977) Downtown Birmingham: Architectural and Historical Walking Tour Guide. Birmingham: Birmingham Historical Society.
- Nesbitt, Jim (July 29, 1978) "Morris Avenue–will it make it?" Birmingham Post-Herald, p. C1
- Haden, Courtney (July 31, 2008) "Friendly folk: Local music lovers get a BFF." Birmingham Weekly