Downtown Tuscaloosa Restaurant Closes After 6 Months, Birmingham Location Still Open

One of the newest restaurants to open in downtown Tuscaloosa's Temerson Square has permanently closed after six months in business.

As the Thread reported this summer, entrepreneur Jason Perryman opened the first Creole Connection restaurant in Birmingham in late 2023 and quickly expanded to the Druid City.

Just half a year after opening in Birmingham, Perryman came to Tuscaloosa and moved into the space in Temerson Square once occupied by another ambitious restaurant, Reggae Flava. Since June, he has tried to make his New Orleans-inspired concept sustainable there.

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In October, Perryman asked the Tuscaloosa City Council to extend his operating hours to capture more of the downtown district's late-night crowd. That measure passed 6-1 and allowed the restaurant to remain open until 11 p.m. each night, but the longer hours were not enough to keep the Creole Connection afloat.

On Tuesday, restaurant ownership confirmed the Tuscaloosa location is permanently closed and the original Birmingham will remain open for business.

"Many have seen the post going around on Facebook saying Creole Connection is closed permanently. That post is referring to the Tuscaloosa, Alabama location," a Facebook post read. "We decided to permanently close that location last week."

For more coverage of restaurant and retail development in west Alabama, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.