Stepping back in time

In the ’80s and ’90s, Jaime Thursby remembers that distinct aroma of peanuts wafting through the Morris Avenue area, where people would often pop in to grab some freshly roasted peanuts to take back to work or the family. 

Since 1907, the peanut business has been a staple on one of Birmingham’s oldest cobblestone streets, and now owner and co-founder Thursby is revamping the tradition with Alabama Peanut Co., located in the same space that’s always sold peanuts to the Birmingham community. 

Thursby said the reason he decided to keep the tradition going is simple: people just love peanuts. They’re timeless snacks and bring back beloved memories for so many people in the area. People from all over the Birmingham metro area come to buy peanuts, and sometimes even people from all over the nation, he said.

“We've had customers [who] have been coming here since they were 5 [years old] and now they're in their 80s,” Thursby said. “We go through a lot of peanuts. It’s a classic Birmingham feel.”

On June 1, the Alabama Peanut Co. re-opened the doors with the addition of a lifestyle and apparel store. The concept and atmosphere of the shop, though, Thursby said, has stayed largely the same, now a “throwback” to how it used to be.

“It’s like you step back in time. We are being really careful to keep that feeling there,” he said. 

There’s still no air conditioner, just big fans around the shop, and Alabama Peanut Co. sells classics like glass bottles of Buffalo Rock, Grapico and Coke, as well as MoonPies. The walls are sprinkled with old-timey Mr. Peanut pictures and vintage license plates, as well as large photographs of what the hustle and bustle of Morris Avenue used to look like a hundred or so years ago.

Employee Jonathan Lee said people pop in all day to check out the revamped shop and grab some peanuts, sometimes several pounds. The nostalgia, he said, is part of the experience and part of the reason people have been coming back since their parents brought them when they were children.

“We love the location. [Morris Avenue] is amazing — the best street in Birmingham,” Lee said. “It’s coming up again, getting new restaurants and businesses,” and foot traffic, he added.

Since they opened, Thursby said they’ve “stepped up their game” on selling peanuts.

“We do a different flavor every day, and my goal is to have several flavors each day,” Thursby said.

So far, they have about 15 flavors, including Sriracha Lime, Spicy Bloody Mary, Salty Pickle, Kick’n Dill Pickle, Salt & Vinegar, Salsa Verde, Salty Pickle, Lemon Garlic, Cajunpeno, Garlicky, Jamaican Jerk, Coconut Curry, Spicy Dale’s, AL Hot Nut and Ranch and Classic Salt, which is still the most popular flavor, Thursby said.

“If you start out trying the traditional classic salted, there’s no going back. People love it,” he said. 

Their merchandise, which he said is going to expand in the upcoming year, includes shirts and tank tops with phrases such as “Southern & Salty,” “Bama Boiled” and “Blazed and Boiled,” and will soon include a variety of hats, Thursby said.

Keeping with tradition, Alabama Peanut Co. still uses the natural gas antique roaster that has been in the store for about 87 years, and it takes about 20-25 minutes to roast the plain peanuts in-house. The flavored peanuts are prepared out of store, from a distributor. They also plan to use the even older antique roaster, which can hold even more pounds of peanuts, in the upcoming months as the store gets more popular. 

“We’re really gearing up for football season, for people to get their tailgate peanuts,” he said. They are also setting up the option for people to pre-order peanuts and provide same-day shipping for fresh peanuts. 

Thursby started his peanut business two years ago along with his brother-in-law, Darrel Graff, as a stand in Bluff Park after he noticed that there wasn’t any boiled peanut stands around anymore for people to get fresh peanuts at events. John Cassimus, the most recent owner and caretaker of the Morris Avenue peanut shop, found Thursby as he was looking to hand over the peanut business his grandfather started in 1907. 

Thursby said he was excited to have the opportunity to keep the tradition going in a storefront. 

In the last few years, he said they had developed a huge following in the Bluff Park area and plan to keep doing the stand for Bluff Park events, as well as attend pop-ups at breweries in the downtown area. Since moving to Morris Avenue, they’ve added a variety of roasted peanuts to the menu, keeping with the tradition of the shop.

In the near future, Thursby said they will be adding some more tables and chairs to the storefront, so that more people can sit inside and enjoy their peanuts in the shop. Typically, a large cup of peanuts is $7 and a small cup is $5, with the prices varying slightly for flavors. Alabama Peanut Co. will also continue to sell at Pepper Place Farmers Market.

For more, go to alabamapeanut.com or follow them on Instagram @alabamapeanut.