(Left) 730 Middle Street following a spruce up in 2021 as part of Montevallo Main Street’s successful “Facade Grant” program for improving the appearance of older store fronts in the Main Street district. We’ll tell the story of the adjacent 720 Middle Street in our next installment.
Back issues of various local publications indicate that the first cafe opened in the 730 Middle Street building in 1924. It was called Walker’s Cafe (after Mrs. Walker, the owner). By 1929 Walker’s had become the Montevallo Cafe.
It appears that Mrs. Walker remained in the restaurant business at this location until 1934/1935 when the McGaughy brothers moved their bakery operations out of their grocery store across the street. This was the same year that they sold their Middle Street grocery to J.A. Brown’s Montevallo Grocery Co.
As we have seen in a previous installment, J.A. Brown did not operate the old McGaughy grocery business for very long, and soon sold it back to the McGaughy brothers who also vacated their relatively new bakery, selling it to Mr. and Mrs. P.E. Wooley, who then renamed the business the Montevallo Cafe and Bakery.
The Wooley’s were able to succeed in this venture at this location for more than ten years. They closed the business in 1947. By 1948, local businessman, Don Lovelady, opened the first location of his Lovelady Sales and Service business. He had been on Middle Street for only a few years when he was presented with the opportunity to move to the new Joe Klotzman owned building on Main Street that was constructed where George Kroell’s landmark mercantile building had stood for decades. Lovelady was to thrive on Main Street and eventually take over two other nearby store spaces.
Following Lovelady’s relocation a small hardware store moved into 730 Middle Street. It lasted for a few years until another cafe took it’s place in the early 1960’s. Nina’s Cafe got its start in the building and did well enough so that Nina could also soon take over the old Plaza Grill cafe on Main Street and call it Nina's Restaurant.
730 Middle Street is today home to Goliath Lending.
Thank you Clay Nordan, Vice President of Montevallo Historical Society, for this information!