Business Roundup: Slutty Vegan to Woodlawn, Acclinate to Parkside, new leader for BBA
Two minority-owned business enterprises recently made big news by announcing moves to the Magic City.
The Birmingham Business Alliance (BBA) has a new leader.
The Economic Development Partnership of Alabama (EDPA) has hired an executive vice president of innovation and entrepreneurship to help boost startups in the state.
In addition, an Arizona real estate leader with Alabama roots has come home to take a position with an industry organization in Birmingham.
BIG NEWS FOR WOODLAWN
The Woodlawn neighborhood received a big Christmas gift Dec. 23.
That’s the day Pinky Cole — CEO and founder of Atlanta-based food purveyor Slutty Vegan — announced she had bought a building on 55th Place North in Woodlawn that will serve as the first location for her restaurant outside of Georgia.
“The Woodlawn area is a culturally rich neighborhood that reminded me of my very first location in the West End of ATL,” Cole said, according to a REV Birmingham news release. “We specifically wanted to go into food deserts and locations right in the middle of economic and community revitalization.”
Slutty Vegan will open in Woodlawn in 2021, according to the news release.
It will be the fourth location for the restaurant, which makes plant-based comfort food and has attracted national attention for its vegan burgers.
Cole purchased the building from REV Birmingham, a nonprofit economic development organization that owns commercial property in Woodlawn.
“I am pleased that REV has been able to sell this property to a business owner who will bring even more personality to this vibrant neighborhood, not to mention a new healthy food option in her approachable vegan menu,” said David Fleming, REV Birmingham president and CEO.
REV Birmingham and the Woodlawn Foundation are also working with Cole to build relationships with the community.
Cole, 33, developed the Slutty Vegan concept in 2018 and launched her first brick-and-mortar location in 2019. Her mission is to provide quality vegan meals in communities that would otherwise never have that option.
BIRMINGHAM FOOTPRINT
Acclinate, a digital health company, announced recently it has moved its corporate headquarters from Huntsville to Birmingham.
In making the move, Acclinate cited the Magic City’s focus on health care and technology and the success of minority-owned businesses here, according to a news release from the BBA.
The company also chose Birmingham, in part, due to the presence of UAB, the news release states.
Acclinate launched in 2020 at the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology in Huntsville and will maintain an office there.
However, its primary operations will be in Birmingham, where Acclinate will occupy 3,000 square feet in The Denham Building in Parkside.
“It is very clear Birmingham is focused on healthcare and technology, and seeing successful minority-based businesses start here and grow strongly... made us want to establish a significant footprint in Birmingham,” co-founder Del Smith said.
Acclinate works with bio-pharmaceutical companies, contract research organizations and academic medical centers to diversify genomic research and clinical trials.
“We are uniquely positioned to help connect Birmingham’s robust healthcare community to the majority minority community that already exists within the city,” co-founder Tiffany Whitlow said.
The company employs four full-time employees and seeks to grow that number soon.
Acclimate has received support from the BBA, BioAlabama, Birmingham Bound, Bronze Valley and others.
For more information about the company’s efforts to reach out to minority communities, go to nowincluded.com.
NEW BBA HEAD
Veteran economic developer Ron Kitchens — with 30 years of experience in Missouri, Texas and Michigan — has been named president and CEO of the BBA.
“Ron is well-known among site selectors and location consultants and is a true leader in the economic development industry,” said Jim Gorrie, BBA chairman and CEO of Brasfield & Gorrie LLC, in a BBA news release Dec. 28.
Kitchens currently serves as senior partner and CEO of Southwest Michigan First, a privately funded economic development organization where he has worked since 2005.
During his tenure, the organization has received plaudits from media outlets such as Fast Company, Outside and Inc. magazines.
“I am truly honored to be selected to serve the Birmingham Region at this incredibly challenging time in our nation’s economic history,” Kitchens in the release. “I truly believe that Birmingham has the resources — people, place and passion — to reinvent what economic prosperity means in America.”
Kitchens is hired following the departure of BBA CEO Kenny Coleman in November.
HELPING ALABAMA ENTREPRENEURS
Miller Girvin was recently named executive vice president of innovation and entrepreneurship at the EDPA. She assumed the role in January.
The EDPA is a private, nonprofit organization that supports business recruitment and expansion efforts in Alabama.
Formerly the CEO of the Alabama Capital Network, a community engagement group to support Alabama’s startup ecosystem that she helped start in 2017, Girvin was also appointed to the Alabama Innovation Commission by Gov. Kay Ivey in 2020.
“After years of working with entrepreneurs, investors, and policy-makers I have some very clear and targeted ideas on how we can continue to accelerate our entrepreneurial growth,” Girvin said in an EDPA news release.
Girvin’s experience in startup development is needed to prepare young companies for the next phase, whether it be pitch competitions, capital raises or customer connections, the release states.
COMING BACK HOME
After a nationwide search, the Birmingham Association of Realtors (BAR) and Greater Alabama Multiple Listing Service announced recently it has hired Alabama native Amanda Creel as its new CEO.
An Auburn University journalism graduate, Creel assumed her duties with the organization in January, according to a BAR news release. Creel served as CEO of the Prescott Area Association of Realtors (PAAR) and its MLS in Prescott, Arizona, for four years.
During Creel’s tenure, PAAR received national recognition for creating partnerships with women real estate agents, building a leadership development program and implementing new technologies.