Valley Post
Valley Post
Valley Post
All four restaurants at the Valley Post development in Chelsea have closed less than six months after opening.
The restaurants — Rodney Scott's BBQ, Hero Diner, Little Donkey and Luca & Lucy — shut down abruptly in April after opening on a rolling basis beginning in late November 2025. Valley Post held its ribbon cutting on Dec. 15, 2025.
The closures came as Evans Meats Inc. filed a lawsuit in Shelby County Circuit Court alleging the Pihakis Restaurant Group owed $394,238 in unpaid bills. By April 29, liens filed against the restaurant group totaled more than $12 million across its Jefferson and Shelby County operations, with more than $7 million tied to the Valley Post development.
The closures also extended beyond Chelsea. Rodney Scott's BBQ locations in Homewood, Trussville and Chelsea closed temporarily, as did the remaining Rodney Scott's restaurants in Charleston, Atlanta and Nashville.
Some of the restaurant concepts have continued under new ownership. In Homewood, Luca Lagotto has been renamed Salice and is operated by original chef Rita Bernhardt, while Little Donkey returned to its original owner, Joshua Gentry, who founded the restaurant in 2012. According to the Birmingham Business Journal, Bernhardt, Gentry and developer Mike Mouron formed an ownership group to keep those two Homewood restaurants operating.
In the latest development, a Shelby County Circuit Court judge granted partial summary judgment in favor of Evans Meats Inc. on June 24, ordering nearly 20 restaurant-related limited liability companies affiliated with the Pihakis group to pay unpaid obligations, interest and collection costs.
The ruling entered final judgment against entities tied to Hero Doughnuts, Little Donkey, Luca Lagotto, Rodney Scott's BBQ and Tasty Town locations in Alabama and Georgia. Individual judgments ranged from about $1,957 to more than $86,000.
The largest judgment was entered against PRG Luca LLC for $86,677.02. Other judgments included $53,800.03 against Little Donkey Homewood, $47,361.96 against Little Donkey Montgomery, $45,756.89 against Luca Valley Post and $41,533.66 against Tasty Town.
The court also awarded Evans Meats $21,866.44 in collection costs, including attorneys' fees and expenses, to be paid jointly and severally by the LLC defendants. Post-judgment collection costs and interest at a contractual rate of 1.5% per month will continue to accrue until the judgment is satisfied.
