A Tuscaloosa tire shop has been demolished after 26 years in business on 15th Street and the foundations are laid for a new Starbucks to replace it in that spot.

As the Thread first reported in 2023, the developers asked the city council for a tax abatement through a seldom-mentioned municipal program called Invest Tuscaloosa to incentivize developers to demolish T-Town Tire at 405 15th Street and build a new drive-through Starbucks there.

Although the city voted against the incentive program, they did unanimously rezone the property for the new use as the coffee shop.

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A year after our last update on the project, T-Town Tire has been fully demolished and the lot next to the 15th Street Dominos is an active job site as contractors work on getting the new Starbucks finished and open this year.

(Stephen Dethrage | Tuscaloosa Thread)
(Stephen Dethrage | Tuscaloosa Thread)
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The new coffee shop comes from RJ Development, a Montgomery-based firm specializing in developing new locations for national retailers including Publix, Walgreens, Chick-fil-A and Starbucks.

In 2023, Brice Johnston, a partner at RJ Development, said the new location would supplement, not replace, the existing nearby Starbucks cafes on Veterans Memorial Parkway, on University Boulevard, and inside Target.

"In a high-density area like Tuscaloosa with the traffic volumes it has, [stores] can get closer together," Johnston said. "Especially with the student dollars that are moving through Tuscaloosa, [corporate leaders] see [the 15th Street location] as an opportunity in a high-priority area for Starbucks generally and one of their highest priorities even nationwide, believe it or not."

In addition to this spot on 15th Street, Starbucks will also soon add two more locations in Tuscaloosa County - one on Lurleen B. Wallace Boulevard in Northport, and another on Rice Mine Road that the Thread will cover in a separate piece soon.

Editor's Note: When this story was first published, the Thread reported the city council granted a tax incentive for this project - a city spokesperson has since clarified that vote failed and the tax abatement was not granted. 

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

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