Pell City Square

New retail ventures taking region to next economic level

Story by Carol Pappas
Photos by Graham Hadley

It was kind of like dominos falling – only in a good way. One by one, ribbons were cut, doors opened, and shoppers rushed in. Pell City Square – 147,900 square feet of retail stores – had finally arrived.

Actually, it’s still arriving. The final openings – Hobby Lobby, Ulta and Pet Smart – were all expected to open by Oct. 9. The early birds signaling a new era for retail development for Pell City and St. Clair County were Ross Dress For Less, TJ Maxx, Old Navy, America’s Best Eye Care and Five Below, which opened in August and September.

Those brand-name retailers are expected to provide more than just a bonanza for shoppers here at home. The dollars they generate are expected to pump more than $25 million in gross taxable sales into the local economy in the first year. When the outparcels are developed, that $25 million is expected to turn into $30 million. And that’s “conservative,” said Pell City Manager Brian Muenger.

“It will have a very material impact,” Muenger said. “It takes our tax base to another level.” The city had been growing incrementally within its retail footprint in recent years, but Pell City Square enables the city to “capture dollars leaving as opposed to moving dollars around.”

OLD NAVY is stocked with merchandise and open for business

The property fronting Interstate 20 has four outparcels in addition to the outdoor mall. On the west side of the property are parcels controlled by the developer, Noon, and City of Pell City. The city-controlled parcel was “earmarked” for a national sit-down restaurant and the other for a fast casual restaurant. Both have tenants committed with announcements coming soon, and construction and completion are expected in 2024.

The parcels on the east side are controlled by the original developer, Bill Ellison, president of I-20 Development. “I’m really excited about the future development potential of the property,” he said in September. “I am waiting to market it until all the stores in the center are open.”

The Pell City Square represents the completion of a 10-year effort to redevelop the old county hospital site. “A large retail center with major brands missing from our community was always the vision for that site,” said St. Clair Economic Development Executive Director Don Smith. “But removing the old hospital, obtaining a purchase option on surrounding property, and finding a development team with the experience and resources to build it took time and patience.” 

Because of Pell City’s size compared to other markets where these retailers locate, Smith described the years long efforts as a “bit of a challenge.  Bill Ellison and Noon Development did a great job in showing that Pell City is much larger than just its population with the visitors to the lake and others living in the surrounding area.” 

Officials say the project was one of the most complicated in the county’s history and required all involved to work in the same direction. But the dividends of teamwork are evident. “It has already started to attract the attention of other major retail brands that had turned down the market in the past,” Smith said.

Making progress on Hobby Lobby construction

Muenger agreed, saying, businesses recruited in 2015-2017 that declined to approve Pell City as a location are now approving sites quickly. “It demonstrates the growth in our market. People are seeing that we’re a natural hub of commerce between Anniston and Birmingham.”

“One of the things that set the leaders in St. Clair County above others is our ability to work together strategically on economic development projects,” Smith added.  “The new retail center at Pell City Square and the QT travel center at the Eden exit are just another example.”  The City of Pell City worked closely with the St. Clair County Commission and the developer from beginning to the end of the project to overcome infrastructure upgrades and other challenges. “It was a collaborative effort the entire time.”

Despite the challenges, Muenger noted, “It has been enjoyable to watch this project progress. It’s fun to see the reception the center is getting and bringing that space to life.”

QT: QuickTrip opens

Eden project signals new era of development

Story and photos by Carol Pappas

For years, even decades, the Eden interchange of Interstate 20 has been like a blank canvas – a perfect place for commercial development but lacking in the infrastructure to make the picture complete.

There were many suitors over the years, but without sewer service, they turned away. But three years ago, Quik Trip, a Georgia-based travel center, eyed the property and secured an option.

There was still the hurdle of sewer service, but eventually a partnership among QT, City of Pell City and St. Clair County swung a deal that not only paved the way for the travel center but future development in that entire area.

The city joined with the county to leverage the investment by QT that would be scalable to other properties near the interchange – close to 200 acres. They built a lift station and made infrastructure improvements worth $1 million.

The investment should be well worth it, according to Pell City Manager Brian Muenger and St. Clair Economic Development Council Executive Director Don Smith.

“The Eden exit has always been an area of potential, but it lacked sewer service at that interstate interchange,” Smith said. “The executives at QT understood this and were willing to partner with the city and county to extend a sewer line over 1,000 feet and large enough to handle fully developing the interchange for the future.” 

St. Clair EDC Executive Director Don Smith addresses the positive impact the development will have on future

So, what does that investment and partnership mean? “This opens up hundreds of acres for development in the future. QT’s motto, ‘More than a gas station,’ is exactly what this project means to that interchange.”

Muenger agreed. The entire area around it – 200 acres – is now ripe for development in both commercial and residential. As an example, Muenger called nearby Roberts Mill Pond Road area “ideal for higher density residential subdivision. It’s commutable. You can get to any company headquarters in Birmingham in 30 minutes. We continue to get looks as an exurb,” an area beyond suburbs where people can live and work.

“When you plant the seeds of future growth in infrastructure investments,” Muenger continued, short and long term goals of the city are all within reach. With the $10 million total investment already made, which includes QT, Eden is quickly moving up on the priority list for future development projects. Case in point: This is only the third or fourth QT venture into Alabama for this national brand travel center. And business tends to breed business.

While the U.S. 231 interchange is a major thoroughfare with massive development, having an appropriate travel stop at the Eden exit is “value added” for Pell city, Muenger said. “It’s consistent, it’s immaculate. They have great food and great coffee.” In addition to the hefty return from gasoline tax for a center that size that caters to trucks and passenger vehicles, “we’ll be capturing our share of that revenue.”

While it has been a few years in the making, Muenger said, “we are proud to have QT in Pell City. We knew it was a great fit for us.”

Mariott hotel headed to Pell City

While much of the attention of late has centered on Pell City Square, the 100,000+ square foot retail center, officials see it not as an end to the story, but a new beginning.

It seems there is more good economic news on the horizon already. Mariott has broken ground on a $14 million hotel project just across I-20 next to Home Depot on Vaughan Lane. The 89-room venture is a higher end, medium stay hotel that can cater to business travelers.

It is a high-quality hotel with pool and other amenities, giving the city more capacity to market accommodations for events all around the region, not just in Pell City. Event venues like Talladega SuperSpeedway, Barber Motorsports, Lincoln’s Landing, Civilian Marksmanship Park and Top Trails will benefit from the increased capacity the hotel provides for travelers. And the lodging tax it generates only serves to strengthen Pell City coffers, enabling the city to reinvest in infrastructure, services and quality of life, according to Pell City Manager Brian Muenger.

None of the current economic shots in the arm happened overnight, officials are quick to say. Plenty of needs identification, planning and goal setting preceded the series of announcements made in recent months.

The city identified the “biggest gaps” in its retail and restaurant landscape and set out to fill them, Muenger said. Because of the comprehensive planning effort, “All the things we said we wanted, we’re on track to do.”

Crawford Skinner Agency a ‘Top Performer’

Crawford-Skinner Agency retains its Best Practices status, once again becoming a part of an elite group of independent insurance agencies around the United States. This status comes by participating in the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA or the Big “I”) Best Practices Study group. The annual survey and Study of leading independent insurance agencies documents the business practices of the “best” agencies and urges others to adopt similar practices.

 “Crawford-Skinner Agency is proud to be recognized again as one of the best agencies in the business,” says Brian Skinner, Crawford-Skinner Agency president. “Since my grandfather founded the agency in 1944, we have consistently provided the best possible service to our clients. We look forward to continuing our legacy of service for years to come.”

The Crawford-Skinner Agency was founded in 1944 and can offer insurance products from a number of different companies including Auto Owners, Progressive, Liberty Mutual, and many more. 

Since 1993, the Big “I” and Reagan Consulting, an Atlanta-based management consulting firm, have joined forces to study the country’s leading agencies in six revenue categories. The agencies comprising the study groups are selected every third year through a comprehensive nomination and qualifying process and awarded a “Best Practices Agency” designation.

The agency was nominated by either an IIABA affiliated state association or an insurance company and qualified based on its operational excellence.

The selected Best Practices agencies retain their status during the three-year cycle by submitting extensive financial and operational data for review each year. This is the second year of the current three-year study cycle, where over 2,600 independent agencies throughout the U.S. were nominated to take part in the annual study in 2022, but only 287 agencies qualified for the honor. 

To be chosen, the agency had to be among the 35-45 top-performing agencies in one of six revenue categories. 

Editor’s Note: Founded in 1896, the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (the Big “I”) is the nation’s oldest and largest national association of independent insurance agents and brokers, representing more than 25,000 agency locations united under the Trusted Choice brand. Trusted Choice independent agents offer consumers all types of insurance—property, casualty, life, health, employee benefit plans and retirement products—from a variety of insurance companies.

Looking five years ahead

EDC develops road map to
St. Clair County’s future success

For some, talk of five-year plans conjures visions of a small gaggle of decision makers in a back room, setting a course for the masses.

But when St. Clair County’s Economic Development Council crafted the county’s growth blueprint for the next half decade, EDC Executive Director Don Smith made one thing plain: This is a countywide team effort. The council listened to hundreds of voices, folks from the incorporated areas to the farmlands, the lakefronts to the riverfront, corporations, small business owners and every entity in between.

“The EDC’s success is the result of the partnerships we create throughout the  county,” Smith says. “That’s really the secret to our success. It’s not what the EDC does. It’s what we’re able to do by working with others.”

Springville’s downtown drawing new businesses, visitors

The  recently approved new five-year plan was crafted after a series of public meetings across the county and input from hundreds of citizens.

“From that, we were able to create a vision of what we need to focus on achieving in the next five years,” Smith says, “The plan helps us to stay focused and to dedicate resources to make sure we achieve our goals.”

The wide-ranging  plan focuses on six key areas – infrastructure development, marketing and communication, recruitment and retention, community development, leadership and tourism.

 Some key areas include job creation, growing agritourism, including farm-to-table initiatives, and assisting municipalities in tapping into a deep pool of available state and federal grants through EDC’s Grant Resource Center.

“We had a lot of input from our smaller municipalities about the difficulty in knowing what grants are out there and being able to obtain those grants,” Smith says. “When you talk about a municipality that has a budget of $1 million, and they can get a grant for $200,000 for infrastructure or something else, that’s a major impact for them.”

The plan also envisions an industrial park to create more wealth along the county’s section of the burgeoning Interstate 59 corridor. Development along the vital transportation artery is a key component in the goal of creating 1,200 jobs over the life of the blueprint.

“That’s going to be a major priority for us over the next five years – to create more jobs along (I-59),” Smith says. “I think we identified 300 acres as being  part of our goals. Those goals are very important because over the last 15 years, since I’ve been head of the EDC, we’ve achieved all of our goals. We put all of our efforts  in making sure those things take place.”

The EDC is also looking at reinvigorating hands-on workforce development in partnership with local schools and Jefferson State Community College. The COVID-19 pandemic stalled those efforts.

Workforce Development

“There’s going to be a renewed focus on getting these programs – from K-12 to Jefferson State, to our employers – reconnected and utilized so that benefits our citizens, that benefits our employers, and it benefits our educators,” Smith says.

“We have a tremendous asset in Jefferson State Community College, and I don’t believe it’s being fully utilized by the citizens of St. Clair County,” Smith adds.

A heightened communications and marketing presence is also on the horizon. Competing counties, like Walker in northwest Alabama, have stepped up their advertising presence in the Birmingham TV market and beyond. Look for St. Clair County to do the same, along with a larger social media presence.

“One of the things we learned from the tourism initiative is there’s a desire to know what’s taking place in the community. So we’re going to take that focus and extend it on, not just tourism events, but all the successes and opportunities that a fast-growing community like St. Clair County offers to not only the citizens of the county, but outside of our county as well.”

Industrial and small business growth, combined with  an exodus from crowded big cities like Atlanta and Birmingham, fueled growth of nearly 10,000 residents between 2010 and 2022, according to the Census.

Here  is a brief snapshot of some other highlights of the five-year plan.

In infrastructure: As noted earlier, the development of the I-59 corridor is “absolutely a top priority,” Smith says. Obtaining more grants is near the top as well.

Marketing and communications: Greater use of the EDC website is expected to be a priority moving forward, Smith says.

Recruitment and retention has been the cornerstone of the EDC since 1999. A recent ribbon cutting for an industrial park in Moody illustrates that effort and will move the county toward such goals. “That’s going to continue, along with new manufacturing parks that are going to be identified and developed in the future,” Smith says.

In the area of leadership, the 17-year-old Leadership St. Clair County has been an incredible success, Smith says, connecting governmental and business leaders to develop relationships and to solve common problems and foster cooperation. The EDC hopes to conduct four Leadership  St. Clair County classes in the next five years.

Smith praised county commissioners for supporting the EDC tourism initiative, which began in 2019. The county’s lodging tax revenue has increased by 87 percent since the push for more visitors began, an estimated $200,000 in additional revenue.

“With that, comes the opportunity for more hotels and more opportunities for short term rentals. Ultimately, it means that more folks are coming to the festivals we’re having and visiting the resources we have here.”

The county also gets a tourism bounce from nearby marquee events at Talladega Superspeedway and Barber Motorsports Park.

Ecotourism is also blossoming, as fly fishing, sailing, kayaking and other water sports grow on the Coosa River and Neely Henry and Logan Martin lakes and their accompanying tributaries.

A byproduct of the EDC roadmap to the future?

EDC staff, from left: Executive Director Don Smith, Tourism Coordinator Blair Goodgame, Retail and Marketing Specialist Candice Hill and Director of Industry and Workforce Development Jason Roberts

“Ultimately, as this county continues to grow, having cooperation between the County Commission and the municipalities is going to be paramount,” Smith says. “Otherwise, we’ll become fragmented and dysfunctional like many counties are in Alabama.”

Endeavors like the five-year plan help to build county unity, something much needed in a fractious national political and social climate.

“The EDC has trained specialists in different fields,” Smith says. “But we never want to be in a bubble, because then we’re not going to be focused on what’s important to the citizens and elected officials of St. Clair County.”

He adds, “The only way that we can know what’s important to people is to get them to tell us – to listen, to document it and then to publicize it and to hold ourselves accountable for meeting those goals.”

And those goals are crucial to  St. Clair County’s success, keeping the main thing the main thing

“Just like any business, or any successful organization, when you write down your goals and you look at them every day, it helps keep you focused,” Smith says. “It helps best utilize your funds and ultimately, it helps bring you success in ways you don’t even dream of.”

Upcoming Ribbon Cuttings

Courtesy of EDC Director Don Smith

Note: These are projected dates and may changes

Ross Dress For Less: September 11

T.J. Maxx: August 6

Old Navy: August 16

ULTA: August 13

Five Below: July 28

Rack Room: September 29

Americas Best: September 1

PetSmart : September 5

Hobby Lobby: September 28

Klarissa’s Cakery

From camper to storefront, cake creator cooks up success story

Story by Scottie Vickery
Photos by Mackenzie Free

For lots of folks, the idea of graduating from high school a year early and building your own business from scratch at 18 would be a tad daunting. For Klarissa Hendrix, it was a piece of cake.

Her mobile bakery business was such a hit, in fact, that three years later she decided to mix things up and make it permanent. This past December, she opened Klarissa’s Cakery in an Odenville storefront and has enjoyed sweet success ever since. It turns out that her ability to dream big and willingness to take some risks, coupled with a lot of hard work and creativity, were the perfect ingredients for a booming business.

Custom Hot Wheels cake

“From sunup to sundown, I’m going all day,” she said, adding that she starts baking around 5 each morning. “Most Saturdays, we have a line outside waiting on us to open. It’s been crazy.”

Customers can’t get enough of the mouth-watering treats, which include an ever-changing assortment of cupcakes, brownies, cookies and cakes that are sold whole or by the slice.

Her cake decorating skills help set her apart, and she’s created everything from beautiful tiered wedding cakes to cakes featuring superheroes, lobsters, unicorns, footballs and mermaids – all handmade from fondant icing. “Sometimes people will bring in pictures of what they want, but I love when they tell me I have free rein,” Klarissa said.

Her cakes come in all shapes and sizes, as well. She’s crafted cakes shaped like baseballs, whiskey barrels, pineapples and an RV. Her most popular cake is a Highland cow.

Cupcakes flavors range from strawberry, wedding cake, watermelon and orange Dreamsicle to pina colada, red velvet, lemonade, pistachio, banana pudding and key lime pie.

She’s pretty much done it all – well, almost. “I still really want to do a pickle cupcake,” Klarissa said with a grin.

Although lots of her customers are new fans, many were familiar with her cakes and cupcakes from her first business, Klarissa’s Cakes and Cupcake Camper. In addition to making custom cakes and filling cupcake orders, she hosted birthday parties and sold cupcakes at pop-up events – all from her refurbished 1970s camper.

“I went to Tennessee with it and took it to all kinds of events,” she said. “I’d do birthday parties and let the kids decorate cupcakes, and I even took it to schools so teachers could decorate them. It was a cute party idea, and people loved it.”

At the time, it was a great way for Klarissa, who had always planned on being a cosmetologist, to explore a new dream that was just beginning to take shape.

Cooking up a career

Klarissa, who lives in Springville, first began baking as a child. “My mom started letting me use the oven when I was about 9 years old, and I loved watching Cupcake Wars,” a televised cupcake-baking competition on Food Network, she said.

Her grandmother, Vicki Smith (also known as Gammy) has always baked for the family’s holidays and provided additional inspiration. Once they started baking together and exchanging ideas, Klarissa’s excitement grew. “Gammy really helped me,” she said. “We teach each other.”

When Klarissa turned 16, her grandmother made her a cake that featured a sculpted purse with makeup brushes, powders and lipsticks she made out of fondant, an icing that can be molded, shaped and rolled. “I saw her making all these amazing things, and they looked so real,” Klarissa said. “I got really excited about it, and I’d go to her house, and we’d try out all these new flavors and decorations.”

About the same time, Klarissa was working part-time at a bakery in Trussville and began to have second thoughts about cosmetology school. “I didn’t know what I wanted to do,” she said. “I took a tour of the cosmetology school, and it didn’t really feel right, so I started praying about it.”

Humble beginnings in a trailer

Although Klarissa didn’t know what her future held, she knew she wanted it to come quickly. “I was the type who was ready to be done with high school and wanted to start working,” she said. Klarissa, who was homeschooled through Faith Community Christian School, worked hard so she could graduate a year early.

By then, friends were asking her to fill cupcake orders. She got a request for her first wedding cake and began thinking she might be able to turn the hobby she’d fallen in love with into a career. “I knew I couldn’t open a storefront at 17, and I began thinking about a food truck,” she said. “The next day, a friend posted a camper for sale.”

Her parents, Leslie and Bridgett Lupton, renovated the camper while Klarissa focused on baking at home and getting the necessary licenses and permits. Soon, she was able to take her business on the road – literally – and she hasn’t looked back since.

“It’s been working out so far,” she said, adding that after running the Cupcake Camper business for several years, she was ready to find something permanent. After finding the perfect storefront in Odenville, her family, which now included her husband Kody, helped get it ready for the opening in December – just months before her 22nd birthday.

Forecasting success

Opening day was a busy one. “We sold out in the first hour,” Klarissa said. “My grandmother and I were trying to throw cupcakes and cookies in the oven, so we’d have enough to sell. December was a crazy month. We had 27 cakes go out in one day alone, and it really hasn’t slowed down at all.”

Although she’s got lots of repeat customers and is busier than she ever dreamed, Klarissa said she got one review that was extra-special. James Spann, the chief meteorologist for ABC 33/40, declared a creation she made to be “one of the greatest cakes ever.” Spann posts photos on social media of the hundreds and hundreds of decorated cakes and cookies he gets when visiting schools to present weather programs. 

“I’ve always wanted to do a James Spann cake,” Klarissa said. She got her wish a few months ago when Leeds Primary School placed an order. “I immediately called Gammy and said, ‘We’re doing a James Spann cake.’”

Although the planning took a while, the pair spent about a week making the different pieces of the creation. It featured a house with an overturned car, a swaying tree, and a tornado with a trampoline in it since Spann often refers to trampolines that go airborne during storms as the “state bird.” The cake, which was completely edible, also showed a family wearing appropriate safety gear in front of a television in the basement.

“One of the greatest cakes ever,” Spann posted. “It even features someone wearing a helmet watching our live coverage in an underground basement. Amazing!”

Not just desserts

Not long after opening her bakery, Klarissa began getting requests for breakfast, so she now offers sausage balls and a variety of muffins. “I want to say I have the best sausage ball recipe,” she said. “I know that’s a bold statement, but I stand by it,” she said.

Breakfast has been such a hit, she hopes to one day be able to offer lunch as well. For now, though, she’s going to enjoy her success and the fact that her family has been a part of it all. Her grandmother does some of the baking, her mother helps at the counter a few days a week, and her 16-year-old sister, Chloe, has started working there, too.

Although Klarissa wasn’t sure she could make a bakery business work, her mom said she and her husband knew it would be a success. “We knew she was too young at 17 to enter into a legal contract, but the camper was a great way for her to start,” Bridgett said. “She took it and ran with it. She’s always been so mature for her age, so we didn’t doubt she could make it.”