Copyright AL.com
Those who never had a martini at the Blue Monkey Louge probably will never understand. At one time, Cobb Lane was Birmingham’s cobblestone version of Bourbon Street, running parallel to the 1300 block of 20th Street South in Five Points South. “My stepmother (Shelley Clayton) and Dad’s place was the top balcony overlooking Cobb Lane,” said Blush Salon owner Savanah Hrbek, whose business space was destroyed in a fire on Halloween morning. “It felt almost like New Orleans back there, the lights and the cobblestone, the bustling, it was just amazing. It just felt old and wonderful.” That era of Cobb Lane’s glory, which had already faded, may have come to an abrupt and decisive end with the Oct. 31 fire that displaced 19 residents and destroyed most of the Cobb Lane historic buildings, including some vacant former businesses that were once among the city’s most popular. “My stepmother and her family owned all of it,” before selling to H2 Real Estate by 2019, she said. The tenants were legendary. “We had Cobb Lane Restaurant, where we went to bridal parties and teas,” Hrbek said. “The Blue Monkey, the patio was incredible. The J. Clyde was a very cool spot as well. The Black & White newspaper years ago was in the building that burned down, that started the fire.” The Blue Monkey’s outdoor patio often featured a guitarist-singer playing in the summers and in cold weather they had a pianist playing in the furthest room in the back. You sat on couches and comfortable antique chairs like from somebody’s house, arranged around coffee tables. The waiter would bring you a blue martini and give you the leftover in a pouring metal mixer, so it was like two drinks. You could just refill your own martini glass. Romantic. Charming. Comfortable. Just a legendary place to anyone who ever went there, at one time the considered the best place to take a date in town. “It would just be bustling with life,” Hrbek said of Cobb Lane in the 1980s and 1990s. “It’s been a ghost town for years now.” There was Cobb Lane Restaurant, a delightful summertime patio dining experience. The Back Alley, followed by J. Clyde. Historic. Stylish. Elegant. On Jan. 31, 2009, Cobb Lane Restaurant closed after 61 years. Before it was a restaurant, knitting groups occupied the space. The original owner, Virginia Cobb, had a clothing shop that hosted knitting groups. She made cucumber, cream cheese and onion sandwiches for customers and they were so popular she expanded the downstairs space into a tea room that became the restaurant. Delta Blues Hot Tamales operated in the old Cobb Lane Restaurant from 2015-2020, recapturing a little of the magic. Blue Monkey was still serving blue martinis in the summer of 2010 but was closed by 2015. Hrbek knows the history of what was lost. She practically grew up on Cobb Lane. Her stepmother, Clayton, ran The Back Alley restaurant in the 1980s and lived in an apartment with a balcony overlooking Cobb Lane for more than 40 years before moving a year or two ago. “They ran the Back Alley, a really hip spot back in the day,” Hrbek said. “Since I was five, I was running around these buildings. I was a Cobb Lane kid.” On Monday morning, Hrbek stood outside her burned-out business, wondering why all her memories went up in smoke. “I don’t think it will be rebuilt,” Hrbek said. “I think we’re done. The city will clear it off for them.” She opened Blush Salon in 2016 and had several employees who did facials, hair styling and ran a tanning salon. Her employees showed up for work on Monday morning with nothing to do and nowhere to go. “I would love to find a spot just as special as this, which will be really hard to do,” Hrbek said. “It’s hitting hard today.” Hrbek said she believes most of the burned-out property was owned by H2 Real Estate, although a building on the north end consisted of condominiums owned by individuals. “We lease the building from H2 Real Estate,” Hrbek said. “They really haven’t been much help. We haven’t heard from them at all. I don’t think any of the residents have.” A representative from H2 Realty returned a call from AL.com on Monday, but said he would pass a message to an executive authorized to speak to the media. More than a dozen residents were displaced from two apartment buildings affected by the fire, some in the building where Blush is and some at the north end of the block in the condominiums, Hrbek said. Most of the legendary tenants were gone by 2020, but their legend lives on. “The community has lost a very special spot,” Hrbek said. “My hope is that they don’t build a tacky high-rise apartment building here, which is probably what will happen.” ATF investigators have been on the scene looking for the cause of the fire, Hrbek said. Late on Monday an arrest was announced. “We’re curious to find out, that’s for sure,” she said. “I’m thankful no one got hurt. Hopefully we can find out some answers.”
