280 corridor business happenings: March 2026

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Businesses

COMING SOON

7 Brew Coffee, the Arkansas-based drive-thru coffee chain known for its customizable drink options, is under construction at 7015 Meadowlark Drive on U.S. 280. The new location is situated behind Raising Cane’s, near Walmart. Founded in 2017, 7 Brew offers more than 20,000 drink combinations, including popular options such as the “Blondie,” “Smooth 7,” white chocolate mocha and sugar-free selections, as well as energy drinks and teas. A separate 7 Brew location is already open at 9 Stanley Drive in Chelsea. 7brew.com

Baskin-Robbins, the national ice cream brand known for its rotating lineup of 31 flavors, is planning to open a new location at 940 Inverness Corners at the intersection of U.S. 280 and Valleydale Road. Founded in 1945, Baskin-Robbins offers ice cream, sundaes, drinks and custom cakes through locally owned and operated shops across the country. The new store will be located between Mellow Mushroom and Kyuramen Tbaar in the Inverness Corners shopping center, which is also home to Kohl’s and Sephora. baskinrobbins.com/en

Stretch Zone, a national wellness franchise focused on practitioner-assisted stretching and mobility, is planning to open its third Birmingham-area location at 701 Doug Baker Blvd., Suite 107-B, along U.S. 280 near Greystone. Founded in Florida in 2004, Stretch Zone is the world’s first and largest practitioner-assisted stretching franchise, with more than 400 locations in 41 states. The new studio will be located in The Village at Lee Branch and will mark the company’s third Birmingham-area location and 11th overall in Alabama. stretchzone.com

OPENINGS

Raising Cane’s will open its first Birmingham-area location on Tuesday, March 10, at 5301 U.S. 280. The Louisiana-based restaurant chain, known for its fried chicken fingers, is located on the former site of Lloyd’s Restaurant along the U.S. 280 corridor. The opening marks the brand’s debut in the Birmingham market. Other Alabama locations include Tuscaloosa and Mobile. raisingcanes.com

NEWS

Day 21 LLC, based in Mt Laurel, has acquired Mark’s Outdoors, the longtime family-owned hunting, fishing and outdoor retailer. Located at 1400 Montgomery Highway in Vestavia Hills, Mark’s Outdoors opened in 1980. It offers new and used firearms, ammunition, archery equipment, fishing gear, hunting accessories and camping supplies. The business will continue operating under the Mark’s Outdoors name, with no changes to staff, hours or day-to-day operations. Russell Watts, CEO of Day 21, said the acquisition is intended to carry forward the store’s legacy while investing in enhanced inventory, resources and future growth. The Whitlock family, which has operated the store for more than four decades, thanked customers and employees for their support and expressed confidence in the transition. 205-822-2010, marksoutdoors.com

Avadian Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Avadian Credit Union, recently awarded $50,000 in grants to organizations in Alabama. Avadian operates 280 corridor-area branch locations at 3401 Colonnade Parkway, 420 Old U.S. 280 in Greystone and 15660 U.S. 280 in Chelsea. Junior Achievement, Teach for America Alabama, the Literacy Council Central Alabama, Woolley Institute for Spoken-Language Education and Woodlawn United each received $10,000. The awards brought the total of grants given to nearly $140,000. Avadian is a full-service, federally insured financial institution with branches across the state. It serves more than 85,000 members, with assets exceeding $1.4 billion. avadianfoundation.org, avadiancu.org

PERSONNEL

Ritu Malhotra, Pharm.D., has been appointed CEO of Birmingham-based Illuminate Rx, located at 3700 Colonnade Parkway. The pharmacy benefits manager is positioning itself as an alternative to traditional industry models. Malhotra previously worked for CVS Caremark. Illuminate Rx aims to offer employers and their employees a more transparent approach to managing prescription drug coverage and costs. The company says it is working to help businesses evaluate pharmaceutical benefit plans, including strategies to manage rising expenses such as weight loss medications, while preparing for anticipated industry changes. illuminate-rx.com

AmFirst Credit Union recently announced three leadership promotions to support continued growth and innovation. AmFirst has a branch location at 2 Inverness Center Parkway. Paul Hoffman has been named vice president of strategic initiatives, John Vaughn has been promoted to vice president of information technology and David O’Dell has been promoted to vice president of business intelligence. Hoffman joined AmFirst in 2016 and most recently served as vice president of audit services. Vaughn has worked in information technology at AmFirst for more than 13 years and most recently served as director of IT services. O’Dell began his career with AmFirst in 2008 and most recently served as director of business intelligence. AmFirst is a federally chartered community credit union serving more than 200,000 members across 21 locations in 13 Alabama counties. amfirst.org

Greystone Golf and Country Club recently announced the promotions of Jeordon Dudley to director of fitness and Becky Heisner to assistant director of fitness. Dudley has been employed with Greystone Golf and Country Club since 2018 and is a performance enhancement specialist and fitness nutrition specialist. Heisner joined the team in 2023 and brings expertise in personal training, group fitness, nutrition coaching, total body resistance exercise and more. greystonecc.com, 205-980-5200

Kris Bush has joined the RealtySouth office in Chelsea at 331 Chelsea Corners Way, Suite 101, and Brittny Tadeo has joined the RealtySouth office at 109 Inverness Plaza. realtysouth.com, Bush: 205-209-5711; Tadeo: 205-643-8673

CLOSINGS

Saks Fifth Avenue at The Summit will close its Birmingham store at the end of April. Parent company Saks Global Enterprises filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring in January, listing greater competition and growing debts after the acquisition of Neiman Marcus more than a year ago. In a statement, the company described the decision as a broader evaluation of its store footprint. In a notice to customers, the retailer said it has made the “difficult decision” to close its only Alabama location at 129 Summit Blvd. A total of eight Saks locations are set to close, including stores in Louisiana and Virginia. The company said additional details about closing sales and customer programs will be shared during the remaining months of operation. Customers may continue shopping through the online storefront at Saks.com or contact digitalstylist@saks.com for personalized service inquiries. The Saks headquarters were located in Birmingham in the late 1990s through the mid-2000s but then moved to New York in 2007.

ANNIVERSARIES

Fancy Fur, located at 1340 Inverness Corners, has been providing grooming services for 18 years. The business offers grooming services for all dog breeds and carries pet apparel and boutique items. 205-408-1693, fancyfurpets.com