Olive Oil Store Opens in Mountain Brook Village
products and where to purchase them, visit www.asherriley.com.
A little drizzle of Italy is now available for Over the Mountain area foodies. OLI.O, a retail store specializing in the sale of premium olive oils and balsamic vinegars, opened recently in Mountain Hutton Fant, owner Brook of OLI.O in Mountain Village. Brook. Photo special to the Journal The products available in the store are carefully selected, owner Hutton Fant said. “Our balsamic vinegars are imported from a region of Italy called Modena. Our olive oils are being imported based on the harvest,” she said. “The standard that we set can’t be rivaled.” The store is not just a place for purchasing high-quality olive oils, Fant said. The shop also has a tasting bar where customers can walk in and sample any product in the building, she said. “OLI.O was designed to be a place where customers could engage in what they’re purchasing,” Fant said. “We would love to see it be a place used for friends and family to gather for supper clubs, girls’ night out or private tastings.” OLI.O is at 2411 Montevallo Road in Mountain Brook. For more information, call 802-5756 or visit www. oliooilsandbalsamics.com.
Couple Starts Hoover Music Studio, Academy
Needlepoint Creations Now Available in Stores A company started by a Hoover couple now has its wares in several Over the Mountain shops. Asher Riley, a needlepoint company started by husband and wife team Virden and Elle Hargrove, now has its products available at Hollywood Pet Feed in Cahaba Heights and The Pants Store in Mountain Brook. The company creates hand-stitched items ranging from men’s belts to dog collars that are designed by Virden.
Elle and Virden Hargrove of Hoover are the owners of Asher Riley. Journal photo by Keysha Drexel
“It was just a hobby at first,” Elle said. “But then as Virdin wore his belts in public, he began receiving requests for specialty designs.” The couple said the best part of their jobs as business owners is being able to make items that are truly personalized for their customers. “Putting patterns and pictures together to represent a particular personality is special,” Elle said. “The finished product is really like a piece of personalized art.” For more information on Asher Riley
Thursday, March 6, 2014 • 29
Business briefs
OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal
An Over the Mountain couple recently realized a lifelong dream by opening a music studio and academy in Hoover. Shane and Shauna Nichols opened Stickandstrum Academy on David Green Road in Riverchase in January. Stickandstrum Academy offers private and group music lessons in guitar, bass, drums, piano and ukulele. “What sets us apart is that where most teachers end with lessons, we are only getting started,” Shauna said. “Our focus is on students playing in bands together or cultivating themselves as a live solo acoustic act.” Shane has been teaching music lessons in the Birmingham metro area at studios, churches and music stores for about 10 years. He said he felt it was time he and Shauna opened their own studio. As a music teacher, Shane said his aim is to do much Shauna and Shane more than Nicholas, owners of keep his Stickandstrum Academy in Hoover. Photo special to students the Journal busy. “With no bigger goals to set their sights on, many students ultimately get bored with lessons and quit,” he said. “It would be like going to soccer practice every week for a year but never playing a game. What’s the point?” For more information, visit www. stickandstrum.com
Brick & Tin Opening in Mountain Brook Pretty soon, fans of Brick & Tin restaurant won’t have to travel downtown to get a taste of what owner Mauricio Papapietro calls “slow food meets fast food.” Papapietro is renovating a space at 2901 Cahaba Road in Mountain Brook Village with plans to open the restaurant’s first Over the Mountain location soon. The casual restaurant downtown opened in July 2010 out of the belief that “there is a market Mauricio Papapietro, and strong owner of Brick & Tin in demand for Mountain Brook. high quality Journal photo by Keysha Drexel food that’s accessible” to everyone, Papapietro said. “Everyone should be able to eat good food every day and not have to compromise their health and well-being by going to fast food chains and other outlets that are proven to cause health
problems,” he said. The restaurant uses only all-natural, humanely raised meats and carefully sources as many ingredients as possible from local growers and farmers, he said. “We strive to bring all the quality of the finest restaurants into a fast, casual and exciting new atmosphere in an effort to make wholesome, artfully crafted food an everyday option,” Papapietro said. For more information, visit brickandtin.com.
Homewood Has New Hearing Loss Clinic A hearing loss clinic in the heart of Homewood recently held an open house. Dr. Brian J. McCool and Dr. Tarika Bhuta hosted the event as the official opening of Sonology Hearing Clinic on Independence Drive. McCool and Bhuta, who are married, started seeing patients in the clinic in July after practicing medicine in the Birmingham area for more than 10 years. Both worked previously at St. Vincent’s, McCool said. Sonology is not just a hearing aid store, McCool said. “It is the only physician-directed hearing aid clinic in the Birmingham area devoted to hearing health,” he said. McCool said he and Bhuta have seen many patients with hearing loss that has been inappropriately managed. “We are board-certified physicians who have completed four years of medical school, five years of residency training and 10 years each of private practice,” he said. For more information, visit www. sonologyhearing.com or call 313-0395.
1442 MontgoMery HigHway, Suite 2 BirMingHaM nathanmarcus@allstate.com
OTM Chambers Plan March Luncheons, Events Over the Mountain area chambers of commerce are offering several upcoming networking opportunities and special events. David Proctor, a federal judge, will be the guest speaker at the March 11 Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce luncheon. Visit www.vestaviahills.org or call 823-5011 for more information. Howard Finch, dean of the Brock School of Business at Samford University, will be the guest speaker at the Homewood Chamber of Commerce’s March 18 membership meeting.To make reservations or for more information, visit www. homewoodchamber.org or call 8715631. For information on the Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce’s March 17 luncheon, visit visit www. hooverchamber.org or call 988-5672. ❖
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