Bird's Bar & Pizza

Bird's Bar & Pizza was a restaurant and bar located in the Avon Building in Birmingham's Lakeview District from 2017 to 2018.

The business was founded in Tuscaloosa as Heat Pizza Bar by Bird Targett, Will & Frank Fleming, and Leon & Christ Kontos in late 2015 at 2250 6th Street in downtown Tuscaloosa.

Targett planned to open a second location of Heat in the former Rare Martini space at 2839 7th Avenue South in May 2017, but soon split with his partners to open it alone. He sourced Italian sausage for the restaurant from Graffeo Brothers, owned by his wife's family.

In 2018 the business ran into trouble with inspectors and creditors. After its municipal water service was shut off, the restaurant tapped into pipes supplying the building's emergency sprinkler system. A tip to Birmingham officials led the Jefferson County Health Department to close the business on October 25. Inspectors from the city of Birmingham also condemned the tenant space until violations of the city's property maintenance code were corrected. The city has assessed the owners for more than $63,000 in unpaid sales taxes and Birmingham Restaurant Supply won a court judgment for over $40,000 owed for kitchen equipment. Despite these issues, the bar opened its doors several times in defiance of orders to close.

References

• Steere, Tim (February 28, 2017) "New pizza bar to open in Lakeview." Birmingham Business Journal
• Van der Bijl, Hanno (July 20, 2017) "Artisanal pizza restaurant joins Lakeview's culinary scene." Birmingham Business Journal
• Rebman, Stephanie (October 31, 2018) "Lakeview restaurant closed due to code violation." Birmingham Business Journal