Alabama's First Chick-fil-A Is Closing

HOMEWOOD, AL — As the future of Brookwood Village seems more ambiguous, another restaurant in the mall announced it is closing. Chick-fil-a will close its Brookwood Village location July 31, according to the restaurant's owner.

This was the first Chick-fil-A in the state, opened nearly 50 years ago.

Owner Jerry Cotney posted on Instagram that the store would leave the mall at the end of the month, in anticipation of the new location opening in Cahaba Heights.

The mall, which is one of Birmingham's oldest, has seen eateries and retail stores such as Brio, Cocina Superior, Books-A-Million and others close in the last 18 months, leaving the mall somewhat empty as its future seems uncertain.

A new buyer for the mall surfaced recently, after a previous plan to turn the property into a mixed-use development fell through.

Colliers International of Alabama and Arlington Properties submitted plans to the Homewood City Council in October that would have redeveloped the mall into a mixed-use development, but the companies have since backed out of the project.

Fairway Investments has had the shopping mall under contract for about three months, according to the Birmingham Business Journal.