Neighborhood-Owned Ice Cream Shop Coming To West Homewood

BIRMINGHAM, AL — West Homewood — a tight-knit residential area known for neighborhood-friendly activities like the farmers market and Patriot Park pool — is soon to get another addition to its offerings: an ice cream shop named Neighbors West Homewood.

The name, it turns out, is no coincidence. The shop was established by 17 West Homewood families and will be the first neighborhood-owned business in the area.

In a news release, ownership group spokesman Michael Eady said the business, housed in the former Magic City Sweet Ice space, aims to add value and diversity to the neighborhood.

“We’re excited to bring a local ice cream shop back to the West Homewood neighborhood,” said Michael Eady, spokesperson for the ownership group. “However, we’re most excited to have an ownership group that properly represents the true diversity of our neighborhood. Each of the families investing in this business desires to serve our neighbors well and recruit others to eat, shop and live in West Homewood.”

The store is set to open in early 2021, pending construction and renovations, according to the release.

The storefront is located in the Westwood Shopping Center. Its owner, Derek Walchack, said the shop, while small, could have a large impact on businesses and real estate dealings in the area.

“I haven’t been this excited about a new tenant for one of our properties in a long time. Micheal Eady has a strong business and branding background. I can’t wait to bring my kids to Neighbors, West Homewood,” Waltchack said in a statement. “I love how he’s involved the West Homewood neighborhood in the ownership. This could be a new model for retailers going forward.”

According to the release, the shop intends to be hyper-focused on its service to West Homewood residents and on attracting visitors from outside the area.

Eady told Patch the neighborhood group that owns the ice cream shop aims to add value to the area by complimenting other businesses in the area such as Ash, the restaurant that anchors the shopping center.

"It’s a small, tight-knit community," he said. "We want the shop to do well, we want [Ash] to do well."

Neighbors West Homewood, he said, is "something that complimented the other things that complimented the strip center, not something that would ultimately compete."

Neighbors West Homewood is owned by:

• John and Leslie McElheny
• Will and Jana Flinkow
• Payton and Heather Junkin
• Paul and Apryl Simmons
• Jonathan and Maria Fleisher
• Carlos and Mercedes Alemán
• Bernard and Stephanie Mays
• Michael and Sarah Beth Eady
• Christopher and Jenna Bailey
• David and Rebekah Ytterberg
• Andrew and Trista Wolverton
• Erik and Lauren Gibson
• Johnny and Courtney Grimes
• Brittany and Robert Sturdivant
• Matt and Amanda Leach
• JW and Becky Carpenter