Pepper place

Pepper Place magazine

The blossoming heart of the city

{ Journal

Pepper Place has become one of the most vibrant and creative districts in Birmingham. It also happens to be walkable and urban as well as an integral part of the neighborhood. We are very proud of the growth and excitment that surrounds Pepper Place and really want to spread the good news.

We decided the best way to share this with you is by publishing a monthly chronicle of all the great things happening at Pepper Place. We have made it digital, a cross between a blog and a magazine, because we think this new format is the best possible way to keep you informed.

Inside this new kind of magazine, you will find the magic of Pepper Place: The Pepper Place Saturday Market and our new Tuesday Street Market; great annual events such as Fashion Week headed up by Heidi Elnora, one of our community’s brightest lights; music at venues like The Red Cat and Ona’s Music Room; performances at TNT. For me there is no better showcase for our city’s jazz and blues talent than Pepper Place’s Ona’s Music Room. Inside you can read about Ona and what his extraordinary talent and famous club mean to our city.

Another great story this month comes with a special congratulations to James Lewis for his James Beard nomination. You may remember that James appeared on the cover of F&W magazine as one of the best young chefs in America. His new restaurant, Vittorio has opened up next to Bettola and brings a brand new culinary hot spot to Pepper Place.

We hope you will make Pepper Place magazine a regular reading habit and that you will visit this special corner of Birmingham.

Cathy Sloss Jones

Sounds

of PepperPlace

Ona’s Music Room is the “IN” place for relaxation and live musical entertainment. It is noted as one of the “top 10 jazz clubs in the nation” by USA Today.

The venue is a favorite of celebrities and locals.

Ona Watson is a musical legend in Birmingham.

The club he founded in the city has put Birmingham on the national blues and jazz map with its cool quotient.

The club has been a great addition to Pepper Place and the Lakeview entertainment district of the city. With exposed brick and an overall super stylish interior, Ona’s Music Room is a comfortable, exciting place to listen to the coolest music in town.

Great Acoustic Music at The Red Cat

The Red Cat At The Red Cat they love music, and the venue at the Martin Biscuit Building has become one of the premier locales for the nation’s best acoustic singer/ songwriters to showcase their talents. The Red Cat sports high ceilings, an abundance of windows, and a wide-open space. Along with coffee that is roasted on site, The Red Cat also carries an array of fine beers and wines. Come imbibe your favorite beverage and soak up the harmonies. Music and coffee from The Red Cat keeps Birmingham humming along.

Flashback FashionWeek

Birmingham Fashion Week was founded on the ideals of bringing unity to our community through fashion. Local and national designers, alongside local and national boutiques, will gather together to promote and inspire our rising stars. Models, make-up and hair stylists will showcase their talents on the runway. The home of Birmingham Fashion Week for the past two years has been Pepper Place, which has been transformed during the week into the city’s fashion district.

The Market The Pepper Place Saturday Market was established in 2000 in response to a growing need to help small family farms, and provide a connection between these family farmers and the people of Birmingham, Alabama.

From our beginning with a few tents in the center parking lot of Pepper Place, we have now grown to about 100 tents spread across parking lots and streets around Pepper Place. Our attendance also has grown at times to over 8,000 people at the height of the season. Originally running from mid May until early October, our market now begins in mid April and ends in mid

December.

All of our vendors are local, from a rough geographic range of about 100 miles. All of the farmers who sell to you at the Market are the actual growers, their family members and friends.

Ofttimes we will see 3 generations working the market together; evidence that our farmers markets are making a difference in the viability of small Alabama family farms.

The Market expands and contracts with the seasons, ranging from wonderful bedding plants, herbs, lettuces and strawberries in the spring to the summer’s incredible blackberries, blueberries, peaches, sweet corn and a wonderful array of heirloom and hybrid tomatoes. As we progress into fall, we see a variety of squashes, sweet potatoes, greens, pumpkins and wonderful greenery to decorate for the holidays. We also have cheeses, eggs, meats, honey, breads, pastries and sausages from an array of vendors We have great bakers and cooks who serve food to eat, and to take home, from breakfast burritos, sausages to pimento cheese and barbecue, just to name a few.

All through the years we have wonderful artists, artisans and craftspeople who can help decorate your home with their creations...and provide great gifts. www.pepperplacemarket.com

The Market At Night The Pepper Place Market is now lit by starlight.

Farmers, food trucks and dancing are on 29th Street South between 2nd Avenue and 3rd Avenue South from 4 to 8 p.m. every third Tuesday.

“This monthly market will give people who work in the city center a chance to pick up fresh produce on their way home from work. They can also visit Lakeview, meet their friends and eat a wonderful meal from one of our local food trucks or the restaurants at Pepper Place. There will be live music and dancing. It’s smaller than the Saturday market and a great way to celebrate summer in the city,” said Cathy Sloss Jones, founder of the Pepper Place Saturday Market.

The Red Cat Coffee House will stay open late to serve beer and wine as well as traditional coffee beverages. Cantina will serve margaritas and other refreshments on their patio. And Bettola and Vittoria will be serving dinner inside and outside on the patio.

Vittoria The newest restaurant from award-winning chef James Lewis has won rave reviews for its creativity and style, which has brought to Birmingham an exciting new dining concept.

The charcuterie and cheese platters are works of art.

Meat is at the center of the plate at the new restaurant from James Lewis. Vittoria Marcelleria is a restaurant and butcher shop right next door to Lewis’ extraordinary Italian restaurant Bettola. Vittoria specializes in high-quality, humanely-raised lamb, beef, pork and poultry.

Named in honor of his grandmother in whose kitchen Lewis learned to love food and its careful, loving preparation as she prepared the Sunday meals for the family and he served as taste-tester.

The new restaurant’s exciting menu features cured meats and aged cheeses, poultry, lamb, beef and pork, as well as snacks, sides, sweets and veggies.

Customers pick and choose from the various options to create their own platter.

Vittoria Macelleria 2901 Second Ave. South Phone: 315-4366 www.facebook.com/VittoriaMacelleria Hours: 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 5:30 to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays