The Whole Family Could Spend An Entire Day Having A Blast At This Pizza Palace In Alabama
By Lisa Battles|Published June 17, 2024
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Lisa Battles
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Lisa has traveled the U.S. for over a decade, seeking out and sharing the stories of its most interesting places, people, and experiences. A journalism graduate of Auburn University, she has been a content strategist, editor, and writer for more than 25 years. Lisa has worked in community news, PR, and marketing with a focus on tourism, hospitality, and economic development. Besides following her curiosity around every corner, she's a devoted dog mom of two and advocate for animal welfare.
Celebrating over 60 years as a family-run business, the proof is in the pizza at Davenport’s Pizza Palace. Another key to its longtime success is being a favorite kid-friendly restaurant in Birmingham, Alabama.
While you could spend hours there on its own, also consider it’s less than a mile from two of the top fun things to do in Birmingham with kids – the Birmingham Zoo and the (free) Birmingham Botanical Gardens. That sounds like a perfect family day trip with at least one thing each person will love.
Now with two Birmingham-area locations, the original Davenport's Pizza Palace is in Mountain Brook, which is southeast of the city center. Founder Rex Hollis named it after his childhood friend, professional baseball player Jim “Peanut” Davenport of the San Francisco Giants. The two men grew up together in Siluria, Alabama.
Rex and Ardyce Hollis opened the restaurant in Mountain Brook Village in 1964. While Jim Davenport was a household name locally, pizza was not (can you believe it?). So the Hollises often took pizza to neighbors around the restaurant in those early days.
The Hollises kept the menu simple with just pizza and salad. After all this time, that's still what you can expect. For the pizza, there are four "special" options with preset toppings, or you can build your own. The salad is a simple garden salad with croutons and bacon bits on the side and a choice of five dressings.
Besides a gluten-free crust option, not much else has changed about the place. Now in its third generation of family ownership, just as many or more generations still love sharing the tradition of visiting Davenport's Pizza Palace. While it can be tough to keep up with a world that changes so quickly, Davenport's is an oasis of deliciously comfortable predictability.
If you’ve not been to this kid-friendly restaurant in Birmingham, Alabama, having two locations gives you less of an excuse! We think you will love the food and fun, and your kids will thank you. You can check out the topping options and hours of operation for both locations on the Davenport’s Pizza Palace website and keep up with specials and current events on Davenport’s Pizza Palace Facebook page.
And if you love the idea of pairing this family-favorite restaurant with a day of exploring Birmingham, here’s a tip to maximize your trip: A Birmingham Area Multi-Attraction Pass covers admission for over a dozen attractions at one low cost.
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