13 minute read
By Kimberly Ballard
T. J. Lee of Leeland Ventures: Keep Your Eyes Open and Listen Twice as Much as You Speak
By Kimberly Ballard / Photo Steve Babin
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This month’s installment of the Huntsville Business Journal’s series “Sitdown with Success” features developer T.J. Lee. “Sitdown with Success” spotlights local entrepreneurs who describe their successes and failures, with tips for upcoming business owners. For the full-length interview, visit huntsvillebusinessjournal.com.
T.J. Lee built Hampton Cove Christian Academy in 1996 when that Huntsville neighborhood was lacking in preschool programs and daycare options. Since then, Leeland Ventures, Lee’s joint venture with Ardent Preschools and Daycare Center of Birminham, built Christian values-based Ardent Preschool and Daycare facility near Cummings Research Park in 2000; an Ardent school in Jones Valley in 2018; a 25,000 square-foot Ardent school at Redstone Gateway in 2021; and he has just announced the groundbreaking of a fourth Ardent school on U.S. 72 at Clift Farms.
His company recently broke ground on Leeland Plaza anchored by Dunkin’ Donuts in Hampton Cove, and Slim Chickens restaurants at Town Madison and Clift Farm.
Was real estate and development always your career choice?
No. I went to Auburn and got my first degree in economics and business with the intent of going to law school for construction law, it was a relatively new field in legal practices at the time. I graduated, applied to law school, and got accepted, but decided not to go because I wanted to be out in the field, rather in a law office.
I went back to Auburn for a second degree in civil engineering and building science, then went to work for BE&K Building Group, an international industrial engineering firm out of Birmingham. They moved me around the country for five or six years.
What challenges have you faced in the building of your business?
The first was eminent domain.
I already had the plans drawn up for a Christian preschool and elementary school on the property next door to Hampton Cove Christian Academy when the City of Huntsville came in and, five times, took most of it to build the eastern bypass, paying me pennies on the dollar when considering its future worth.
I had to scramble quickly to put something together for the Village at Hampton Cove, or otherwise they were going to take it all.
That issue dragged on for several years.
What advice do have for someone getting into building and development today, not necessarily schools, but anything?
Keep your eyes open and listen twice as much as you speak. Opportunity falls like rain all around you, but you must recognize opportunity and act on it. If you don’t take advantage of it, you will never know what you missed.
Also, when you find people older and more experienced than you, learn as much from them as you can.
And lastly, never forget where you came from, and pass it on to the next person.
What is the secret to your success?
There are two: my Christian faith is number one and has always gotten me through the deepest, darkest times.
And I never giving up on my dreams and ideas. No matter how many people say your dreams are no good or impossible, perseverance will get you through it.
If you can interconnect your dreams with passion, then you are blessed. u
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106 Jefferson, Huntsville’s First Boutique Lifestyle Hotel, Open for Business
By Mike Easterling / Photos by Steve Babin
106 Jefferson, a Curio Collection by Hilton hotel and Valor Hospitality Partners property, has opened its 115room downtown location.
Built on the historic site of the former Huntsville Hotel, an iconic hot spot during the Victorian era, the property features a chef-driven restaurant, a rooftop lounge and is walkable to the city’s bustling downtown.
In addition to its spacious guest rooms and suites, press releases say the property pays homage to the city’s rich history through purposeful design and a charitable mission of raising up the Huntsville community.
“We are so excited to bring Huntsville its first lifestyle hotel,” said Mary Beth Lewis, director of sales and marketing at 106 Jefferson. “We are shining a bright light on this community by ensuring our guests feel the spirit of the city’s culture within these walls. From the location accessible to many attractions to the unique offerings, and to our commitment to giving back to the community, our guests are sure to enjoy an authentic, one-of-a-kind experience.”
The hotel’s first guest was made in partnership with St. Jude Affiliate Clinic at Huntsville Hospital for Women and Children for four-yearold Darcy Speegle of Decatur, who is battling leukemia. Speegle and her family have only traveled outside the home for chemotherapy treatments in the last 18 months.
Among the features at 106 Jefferson: • Huntsville’s origins dating back to the space race are woven throughout the custom artwork and offerings. The property showcases local, customized artwork that reflects the spirit of the community. Additional nods to Huntsville are found in on-property gift shop offerings, in-room partnerships and charitable components. • The hotel offers a window into
Huntsville’s past through the property’s chef-driven restaurant,
Revivalist, reminiscent of an old-time parlor with a modern twist, helmed by Chef Matthew
Mohler. The innovative menu reflects European classics and
American regionalism utilizing locally sourced ingredients from area farms and the property’s organic herb garden. • The rooftop lounge, Baker &
Able, features whimsical and earthy crafted cocktails paired with shareable appetizers and delectable desserts. The openair lounge pays homage to the two primates, named Baker and
Able, who were the first to survive spaceflight in a Huntsville-built
Jupiter rocket. • Event space and ballroom. 106 Jefferson celebrated its launch by honoring its mission to enrich Huntsville by celebrating its history and giving back to the community.
The hotel donated 10 percent of all food sales in August to local charitable organizations, including HEALS Inc., a non-profit that provides underprivileged children with free dental, medical and optometry care at school-based clinics in the Huntsville area, and Madison County 310 Board, an organization that supports Madison County residents with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities.
“We’re thrilled to welcome 106 Jefferson to the Curio Collection portfolio, and celebrate the addition of this remarkable hotel to Huntsville’s one-of-a-kind community,” said Jenna Hackett, global brand head, Curio Collection by Hilton. “With over 100 hotels around the world, Curio Collection properties are each handpicked to offer guests an authentic experience by integrating the community into the hotel, and 106 Jefferson is a perfect example. "From localized artwork to uniquely curated food and beverage offerings, travelers experience the essence of Huntsville that they cannot find anywhere else.” u
Entrepreneurial Paradise: gener8tor Unleashes its gBETA Accelerator
Technology startups in North Alabama have a new resource to speed up their growth trajectory, thanks to a partnership between RCP’s MidCity Accelerator Foundation and gener8tor, a national startup accelerator.
Accelerator programs are designed to help startups reach their next level of their development. To that end, the MidCity Accelerator Foundation and gener8tor endeavor to provide a focused experience with venture and partnering relationships available to applicants across North Alabama.
“This new partnership between MidCity Accelerator Foundation and gener8tor will provide entrepreneurs with the proven, successful gener8tor accelerator and its toolbox to build a successful growing concern around their product,” said Remy Gross III, co-founder of RCP Companies and creator of the MidCity Accelerator Foundation. “Gener8tor will foster and empower entrepreneurs by providing its groundbreaking ‘boot camp’ that catapults startups to the next level.”
As one of gener8tor’s programs, gBETA was designed to help startups gain early customer traction on their product or idea and establish metrics that can make them competitive applicants for equity-based accelerators or seed investment.
In gBETA, participants receive intensive and individualized coaching and access to gener8tor’s national network of mentors, customers, corporate partners, and investors.
Since its launching in 2015, gBETA program alumni have raised more than $192 million in capital and created more than 2,100 jobs across the U.S. and Canada. Avilution, GRAISIN Robotics, and SureMed Compliance, three Alabama startups, have been recently accepted into gBETA.
Huntsville-based Avilution is an avionics software startup that’s on the fast track in building the technology to power the next generation of crewed and uncrewed air vehicles. The company’s core software, eXtensible Flight System, ditches the outdated avionics designs that have long hindered the aerospace industry. As a result, the industry is destined to become more reliable, safer, and
By Lori Connors / Photo courtesy of gener8tor
more adaptable to new technology.
GRAISIN Robotics has combined AI and robotics to meet the challenges faced by Alabama’s workforce. Using advanced AI technology, the Huntsville-based company has been able to enhance automated labor, reduce overhead costs, and provide access to the most powerful on-demand employment platform on the market.
SureMed Compliance is a Mobile-based healthcare software startup. It presents a comprehensive approach to end the opioid epidemic through training, chart auditing, and software integration. This program is the only Active Verification software solution available to patients outside of the office and helps to identify high-risk patients prior to initiating opioid therapy; thus, helping physicians make more effective prescribing decisions.
Since North Alabama is an area of unlimited high-tech opportunity, RCP wants to entice young startups to stay here – not head off to other markets.
Four annual programs for entrepreneurs are being offered through this collaboration. They include three annual gBETA “preaccelerator” programs and an annual “gener8tor Accelerator Studio” program. gBETA will operate in Huntsville and Florence-Muscle Shoals.
Local corporations, such Iron Mountain Solutions, Bank Independent, Arco Murray, Robins & Morton, Made in Alabama, and others have helped to fuel gBETA in North Alabama through their generous support and sponsorship.
“The collaboration between gener8tor and Huntsville’s MidCity Accelerator Foundation will enhance the vitality of North Alabama’s innovation ecosystem by providing the guidance and mentorship that entrepreneurs need at a critical time,” said Greg Canfield, Secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce.
Visit gener8tor/Huntsville. u
In the wake of President Biden's national goal for zero-emissions vehicles to make up half of new cars and trucks sold by 2030, a Huntsville company is driving to help motorists and businesses meet the challenge.
The Lioce Group is launching a line of electric vehicle chargers in a partnership with SemaConnect, company President Nick Lioce and Operations Manager Anthony Lioce announced.
“We’re extremely excited about the launch of our new product line and partnership. We are investing for the future, our customers, and our families," said Anthony Lioce. "Before us, there is a major shift from combustion engines to electric vehicles. Alabama is 50th in ranking of states in regard to providing EV charging and infrastructure. TLG hopes to change that."
TLG has been providing products and services to Huntsville since 1967 and we hope to carry on for another 54 years.
By Bud McLaughlin
The product line will consist of SemaConnect’s full series of commercial level 2 240-volt chargers.
SemaConnect, based in Bowie, Md., provides EV chargers for commercial applications – workplace, multifamily, hospitality, retail - and the public sector. u
All Aboard! Rolo’s Cafe is Back on Track
By Mike Easterling / Photos by Steve Babin
The trains are moving again at Rolo’s Cafe.
The popular “meat-and-three” restaurant off Airport Road in South Huntsville in Westbury Square is open again after closing just last month.
The store reopened last Friday and, by lunchtime, seats were full and a line was formed at the cash register.
“We have loyal customers, very loyal,’’ said new owner and former server Christy Michelle Parker. “The phone has been constantly ringing and people are knocking on the front door asking if we’re going to reopen.’’
Parker said she has a silent partner in the business ownership.
Parker is a graduate of Buckhorn High School and a resident of New Market. She answered an ad on the job hiring site Indeed and began working at Rolo’s in 2018.
When the previous ownership, derailed by the coronavirus, decided to close the cafe, Parker saw opportunity. “It definitely impacted the restaurant with staff issues,’’ she said of the pandemic. “I was praying everything (with the opening) goes off without any issues.’’ Rolo’s was founded by Rolo Weaver 30 years ago.
As reported earlier in the Huntsville Business Journal, Rolo’s serves Southern staples such as grits, sausage, country fried steak with gravy and eggs for breakfast along with bottomless hot coffee, and switching to burgers, pot roast, cobbler, vegetables, a cheesy patty melt and more for lunch or afternoon early suppers.
The cafe is open Tuesday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Parker said if she can get staffing, Rolo’s will add Mondays to open hours.
Parker said she saw a business that could thrive post-pandemic, and she wanted to keep the workers on staff employed.
“When I worked here, I treated the place as my own,’’ she said. “I knew it was profitable. I wanted to keep it open for the community, for the workers. They’ve been here for years and years.’’
When the cafe closed on July 2 Parker posted this message:
“This absolutely breaks my heart. For three years this restaurant was my life. My job, my coworkers, and the customers are what helped me make it through some pretty tough times. Yesterday was the last day we will be open. The doors will not reopen after the 4th of July. The only hope Rolos has of reopening is if someone buys the restaurant.’’
Parker made it happen. u
