Fall brings new businesses to Decatur

Nov. 18—Men's and women's clothing stores, a wings restaurant and physical therapy clinic are among the new businesses to open in Decatur recently while two others are working toward an opening and another changed its business model and location.

First cousins Patricia Pike and Margaret South opened Moss and Myrrh, a men's clothing store, recently at 712 Bank St. N.E. Patricia Pike's husband, Kyle, is also a co-owner.

Both are already established businesswomen, with Patricia Pike owning The Paper Chase and South owning Margaux's Specialty Shop. The new store is next to Margaux's, making it easier to manage two shops, Patricia Pike said.

Pike said they began talking about going into business together earlier this year and decided that Decatur needed a men's only clothing store. The store features "higher end casual" attire for men, business wear and upper-end clothing.

"We wanted to capture the outdoorsy feel but have that higher end, luxury style too," Pike said.

Pike said they don't sell men's suits because of "the way the world has changed. People don't wear suits to work anymore." — Permanent roost

After about three years of running a food truck, Travis and Leslie Chapman turned Just Wing It into a restaurant.

The couple had a soft opening last week and is now fully open at 1123 Somerville Road S.E. The new restaurant is in the former location of 2 Fish & a Toad across from Decatur Morgan Hospital.

Travis Chapman said he worked at NASA and in missile defense for 19 years before he was laid off because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He said he "had to figure out a way to start making money," so he started a food truck.

Travis Chapman said the business started out well, but customers were complaining they couldn't find the truck sometimes so he and his wife decided to set down more permanent roots. He sold the food truck about two months ago after finding the Somerville Road location.

Just Wing It features wings, hamburgers, sausage dogs, barbecue and Brunswick stew. The restaurant is open Tuesday through Saturday at 10:30 a.m. It closes at 8 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, at 2 p.m. on Wednesday and 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. It's closed on Sunday.

"We've had a good start so far," Chapman said. "We have a good following and a good location." — Red Sage change

Red Sage Communications, one of Decatur's success stories, has switched to a mostly virtual business with a small base office in Huntsville. The Decatur office on Bank Street closed Nov. 2, owner and founder Ellen Didier said.

Didier said the idea of everyone working at home came out of the COVID pandemic. She said the business has grown to 22 employees working in six states.

"We were ready to do it before COVID because of culture and other reasons," Didier said. "Now we have a team where a lot of them are remote in completely different states. The rest of us kind of enjoy working out of our homes."

She said they're keeping the Huntsville office "because it's a shared space. We just have a couple of rooms there that we use as storage space. There's also a conference space if we need it."

Didier said she spent a lot of time not only on her business plan but also on communication and infrastructure plans as she tried to figure out how they could work virtually. She said they look at metrics like billable hours and whether an employee is working a full 40-hour work week.

"We've been working on how this would work if we're not in the same building," she said. "We've been working on this for a couple of years. I feel like we've been pretty successful with it, and come a long way with helping people feel connected."

Didier, who lives in Decatur, said Red Sage will remain a presence in the city.

"We have a good bit of base in Decatur but our largest clients are not in Decatur," Didier said. "They're everywhere from Fort Payne to Scottsboro to First Solar in Moulton and across north Alabama."

Crystal Brown, president and chief executive officer of the Decatur-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce, said she hates to lose Red Sage but she understands.

"Business owners are constantly looking at how they need to change their business model and evaluating how they do business," Brown said. 'With Red Sage working in multiple states, it's understandable that they might look at a different model going forward." — Ice cream shop closes

KaleidoScoops, a longtime business at 1819 Sixth Ave. S.E., closed Nov. 5. The store's Facebook page says the owners closed the business because they're ready to retire.

However, the post also says they hope the closure is temporary and they can find a new owner to purchase the business. — Near opening

At Bank Street Northeast, the eclectic 609 Market is finally approaching a potential opening date.

Yogi Daugher, co-owner of the building along with Steve Armistead, said the city issued the new market's certificate of occupancy Oct. 27.

Chef and market owner Michael Locascio said he hopes to get the business open by the first of December. He said he plans to start hiring soon, and he will need 22 to 30 employees.

Described as an "urban market," 609 Market will feature meats, breads and vegetables as part of a fresh provision shop, along with dining, a cocktail bar and pizza shop. — Barbecue added

Brothers Judah Frank and Jacob Frank, owners of Beam Coffee Roast Coffee, 3030 Modaus Road S.W., have opened Frank Bros. Barbecue at the same address. Nov. 9 was the first day for the new food offering, said Judah Frank.

The Frank brothers opened Beam in July 2022, and Judah Frank said they recently extended the coffee shop's hours to 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. In conjunction with the change in hours, they added barbecue on Thursdays and Fridays from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m., he said.

"My brother is passionate about barbecue and I've got a passion for coffee," Judah Frank said. "We've got a restaurant space and then we expanded our hours at the coffee shop. We decided we could utilize the longer hours to serve lunch."

The lunch features pulled pork and sides like baked beans, smoked macaroni and cheese, coleslaw and potato salad.

"Depending on how things go, we'll probably add more meat options," Judah Frank said. — New clothing

Michelle Hendry opened Hailos boutique and clothing store at 722 Bank Street N.E. in late October. The Decatur business is one of three Hailos stores.

The Hailos website says it is "expanding from a successful online presence and middle Tennessee locations." The other two stores are in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

The store website says it "offers the newest styles in men's and women's fashion, gifts and home goods." — Store sold

Janelle and Terry Welch recently purchased Glee Interiors and changed the name to Glee on Bank. The store opened at 707 Bank St. N.E.

Janelle Welch said Glee Sides, then-owner of Glee Interiors, called several of her best customers to inform them that she planned retire, Janelle Welch said.

"I asked her what she was going to do with the business, and she said she was probably going to close it," Janelle Welch said. "I said, 'We need to talk,' so we met over lunch."

Janelle Welch, a community volunteer for the last 20 years who also has experience in mortgage loans, real estate, event planning and retail sales, said owning an interiors store like Glee has always been a dream of hers.

"My husband is semi-retired and can do some of the backroom work," she said. "And I have time to buy and work in the store. It's great we can take over a business that's been successful for a long time and continue the tradition."

Glee's features home interiors, furniture and gifts. With 20 years of experience that include the last 10 with Glee Interiors, principal stylist Ginny Vinson offers a service in which she will design and decorate a home.

The store is open Tuesdays through Fridays from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. — New PT clinic

Decatur native Kate Graham recently opened P4 Physical Therapy at 2422 Danville Road S.W., Suite B.

Graham returned home recently after earning her doctorate of physical therapy from the University of Saint Augustine in Austin, Texas.

Prior to her doctoral program, Graham graduated from Calhoun Community College with an associate's degree in physical therapy assistance in 2015. She graduated from Athens State University with a bachelor of science degree in health science in 2020.

Her clinic offers sports medicine, physical therapy, gait training, neuro rehab and more. — Convenience store sold

The Canadian parent company of Circle K, Alimentation Couche-Tard, recently purchased company-operated fuel and convenience retail sites from MAPCO Express Inc. and Copec.

This transaction includes the Mapco stations in Decatur on Sixth Avenue Southeast at the corner of Eighth Street, and Beltline Road Southwest at the corner of Old Moulton Road. — December target

7 Brew Coffee, a drive-thru coffee stand, moved into its new coffee stand Tuesday at 1102 Sixth Ave. S.E. in Decatur.

A company press release said the stand expects to hire about 50 people. The target opening is mid-December.

The release says anyone interested in a position should apply at southernbrew.7brewcareers.com.

The stand plans to open in mid-December, the release said.

— bayne.hughes@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2432. Twitter @DD_BayneHughes.