Munchies on 5th may be Avondale’s newest restaurant, but the establishment has quickly become a favorite in the Magic City. Christopher Hollamon has quickly turned the old gas station location next to Taco Morro Loco into a premier sports bar yet a family-focused environment that brings new personality to the 41st Street entertainment district. Munchies is currently hosting karaoke on Fridays, live jazz and blues music on Saturday nights, and has a wide variety of fun happy hours specials planned. The establishment is currently open on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 11am to 10pm, Fridays and Saturdays from 11am to midnight, and Sundays from 11am to 4pm for a brunch that features chicken and waffles, fish and grits, $4 mimosas, $5 bloody marys, and other classics.
Hollamon has been building a reputation as the ultimate party host for years now, and opened up the Fairfield-favorite Faces Lounge nearly a year ago. After quick success with this venture, Chris was reached out to by Randy Shunnarah about the current spot and eventually decided to take up Randy on his offer. The two partners got to work on creating the new restaurant, and haven’t looked back since. “We’ve been busy every weekend man, it’s been wonderful,” Hollamon shares.
“I just really had a vision for this,” Chris shares of the location that features a sleek inside with lots of televisions, fun signs, and plenty of beer on display. The interior design is matched by an impressive outside featuring a brand new neon “Munchies on 5th” sign and manufactured green space added to the old gas station parking lot. The bar owner goes on to tell a story about two women who were next-door neighbors, but didn’t know that or each other until they met at Munchies. “That’s what I want and we’re on our way,” Hollamon explains. They’ve added a large Connect 4 set, cornhole, and will even feature a projector screen outside for special occasions. “We have some big stuff poppin off for the summer. It’s going to be really good around here,” Chris explains, and that includes bringing out their already-popular mechanical bull when the weather gets consistently nice outside.
The food at Munchies is off-the-charts good, and once you figure out who is making meals in the kitchen it makes plenty of sense. The wonderful people behind Thelma’s Kitchen, who’ve built a loyal following with their tasty dishes over the years, have known Chris for a good while and were ready to bring one of the city’s top menus to his newest location when asked. “We’ve been friends for over 30 years, and I already told them once I get a fresh corner storefront we coming in. I’m bringing them in with me,” Hollamon shares. Top sellers included the loaded fries and catfish, and the Beyond Burger that this author tried was quite delicious.
“That’s the key, having good food and good drinks,” Chris shares, and the drinks are equally as tasty thanks to the wonderful imagination of manager “Star the Bar”. Their signature drink Munch Punch is now joined by the Boom Boom Punk, which includes Spiced Captain Morgan, triple sec, lemonade, pineapple juice, and orange and cherry garnishes. Happy hour is weekdays from 3-7pm, and Star is having fun coming up with unique specials throughout the week as well.
Chris will also be announcing “The Clubber” soon, which is an entertainment bus that will circle through popular nightlife areas in Birmingham like Avondale, Lakeview, Southside, and Uptown throughout each evening to give customers a consistent ride to see the city. There is no set schedule-just check out the map, find the location you want to visit, and plan your night around the bus schedule. This joins another exciting plan called “Dog and Brews”, which brings together two of Birmingham's favorite things. “I want (customers) walking in noticing a good vibe, good customer service, great food,” Hollamon shares of his intentions, “Friendly family atmosphere also, pets welcome. Around here pets drink first.”
The Munchies on 5th team opened in an already-ideal corner bar located across from Avondale Park right on the edge of an entertainment district. They were going to find customers from foot travel alone, but we are thankful for the time and effort put in by the entire team to ensure that this is a uniquely wonderful Magic City experience. Y’all support Birmingham’s newest social hub!
