Jim Davenport's Pizza Palace

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Jim Davenport's Pizza Palace is a family-owned pizzeria located at 2837 Cahaba Road in Mountain Brook Village. It was opened in 1964 by businessman Rex Hollis who named it for his friend, professional baseball player Jim Davenport, to attract notice.

The restaurant features thin-crust pizzas similar to the kind Hollis and Davenport enjoyed in Minneapolis in the mid 1950s when Hollis was working in investments and Davenport was playing AAA baseball. The pizza has a tangy home-made sauce cut into small rectangles rather than large wedges. The main dining room is softly lit and decorated with wrought iron and classic movie-star photos. A second dining room is neon-lit and stocked with a small assortment of classic video arcade games. The kitchen is open to the lobby and is decorated with souvenirs of Davenport's baseball career.

During the 1980s, Rex's son Mark managed a second location on U. S. Highway 31 in Vestavia Hills, with a classic red delivery truck parked outside.

In 2004 Davenport's agreed to relocate its sign from the roof to the front of the building to comply with Mountain Brook's newly-passed ordinance regarding commercial signage.

Davenport's has been honored for "best pizza" several times by the Birmingham News reader's choice awards.

References

  • Tisdale, Laura Truchon. (April 23, 2005) Davenport's Pizza Palace. Pressed for Time. Digital Press.
  • Segrest, Doug (May 21, 2006) "Baseball stars Veale, Davenport enter Hall." Birmingham News.
  • Guffey, Michelle Q. (August 25, 2004) "Mtn. Brook businesses will alter criticized signs." Birmingham News.

External links

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