Foley, Ala. – (OBA) – After being closed since 2007, one of Foley’s oldest buildings will reopen later this year as the Colt Grill Barbecue and Spirits restaurant.

Renovation work has been going on for more than a year at what was originally the Foley Bakery at the corner of North Alston Street and West Laurel Avenue.

The new restaurant was one of several businesses coming to downtown Foley that were announced Tuesday, June 4, at a meeting of Foley Main Street, the city’s downtown development group. The Colt Grill is scheduled to open in the fall.

Mayor Ralph Hellmich said residents have been waiting for many years for the Foley landmark to reopen.

“Everyone has wanted to know what is going on in the old bakery building, or if you are a more recent transplant, the Cactus Café building,” Hellmich said. “We have been waiting two years for this and for the last year, we have been trying to keep quiet about who is exactly moving in, so it is my pleasure to let the cat out of the bag.”

Hellmich introduced Brenda Marie Clouston, one of the owners of the new restaurant. He said the new business will be an asset for downtown and all of Foley.

“She came up with the idea for the design and many of the menu items while traveling from their residence in North Carolina,” Hellmich said. “As a Southerner, she knows what it will take to make people feel welcome.”

Colt Grill has four locations in Arizona. Clouston said they chose Foley for the newest location after considering many communities in the region.

“We've opened up restaurants in local Arizona cities and we have chosen Foley to put down roots here because it's just an amazing place,” she said. “We were looking at cities to expand to and we always loved the South.”

She said the restaurant will specialize in smoked meat barbecue and will also offer entrées such as hamburgers, salads and tacos.

The building renovation will also include adding several apartments and a restaurant office on the second floor of the building.

“We're going to provide employee housing upstairs. As we all know who are in small business, it's difficult to find employees. So that's one of the investments for us. To use those apartments,” Clouston said. 

Foley’s mixed-use zoning ordinance will allow the building to be used for residential and commercial purposes.

“That mixed use component is hard to figure out sometimes, but when it's done right, it's fabulous as you know,” she told the Foley audience.

The building in which the Colt Grill will be located was constructed in 1925 and served as a bakery for many years. It was most recently the site of the Cactus Café restaurant, which closed in 2007.

The city of Foley acquired the historic building in 2012 to preserve the site. The city later sold the structure to developers Mark Wright and Jeremy Freidman who have been working to renovate the building and attract a great tenant for the historic site.

The Colt Grill is one of several businesses that will soon open in downtown Foley.

The building that had housed Fortis College is being renovated as the new location of Camellia Dermatology. The law firm of Milam and Milam is moving into a location on East Laurel Avenue and Cheeseburger Randys will be opening on Alston Street. The former Jan’s Art Studio on East Laurel Avenue will be converted into the South Baldwin Social.

Darrelyn Dunnmore, Foley Main Street executive director, said several other businesses have also recently opened in the downtown area including the South Baldwin Chamber of Commerce moved into its new downtown location on North Alston Street.

She said city support has helped bring new life and business to downtown.

“The city is so supportive,” Dunnmore said. “We are so blessed to have a city that invests so much in our downtown.”