New L & N Cafe

The New L & N Cafe and Sandwich Shop was a bar and diner located at 100 19th Street North in the Molton-Henley Retail Block on the former O'Briens Opera House site on the northwest corner of 19th Street and 1st Avenue North.

The lunch counter, open since the 1930s, was operated by the Balabanos family. It closed after the death of Nick Balabanos, but was revived around 1973 by his nephew, Alex Kontos. A regular workingman's lunch counter by day, the cafe welcomed a counter-cultural crowd at night. Bartenders spun records and eventually a few live performances were scheduled.

The retail block was shuttered and demolished in the 1990s and is now a parking lot.

References

• White, Marjorie Longenecker (1977) Downtown Birmingham: Architectural and Historical Walking Tour Guide. Birmingham: Birmingham Historical Society.
• Recollections by Craig Legg