A high-end sporting goods store based in Birmingham will soon open a new location in Tuscaloosa, filling a downtown space that has been vacant since the closure of a locally popular bar in 2020.

For decades, Subs n’ You and the Downtown Pub shared a large building at the corner of University and Lurleen B. Wallace Boulevards, but the sandwich shop closed in 2019 and the Downtown Pub followed in May 2020 – an early COVID-19 casualty after 27 years in business.

Their former building has been empty ever since, but extensive renovations have recently begun to transform the 535 square metre building into something new – a third location for Birmingham’s premium outdoor store Tom Beckbe.

Founded in 2016 by Radcliff and Mary Menge, the retailer’s mission is to “enrich your outdoor experience” with jackets, vests, shirts and pants, hats, bags, leather goods and more, including many designs featuring the brand’s signature waxed cotton.

Their main store is located on Canterbury Road in Mountain Brook and they also have a second location in Oxford, Mississippi.

The Tuscaloosa store is part of an expansion that will also see Tom Beckbe open his first location in Virginia. Both new stores are expected to open next month.

“Tom Beckbe’s second Alabama location will open in Tuscaloosa in September 2024,” store officials said on social media. “Located on the corner of University Boulevard in Tuscaloosa’s bustling downtown, the newest Tom Beckbe store is conveniently located to the University of Alabama, great hotels and Tuscaloosa’s best restaurants. Just a few blocks from the Black Warrior River, this new Tom Beckbe store will serve students, alumni and athletes who enjoy the vast ecosystem that stretches along Alabama’s western border to the Gulf of Mexico.”

The Tuscaloosa store at 2427 University Boulevard is scheduled to open next month.

For more exclusive news on restaurant and retail development in West Alabama, stay tuned to the Tuscaloosa Thread.