"The number of places selling chicken in Cullman today is remarkable," Kent Weir said in August. That week his family closed the South Cullman KFC, ending a franchise history that started in 1968.
That one line explains more about this fall than any single closing does. Within six weeks, three restaurants with long histories or well-known brand names went dark across Cullman. In the same stretch, the brewery named for an island on Smith Lake stayed local, moving to an investor who has been with it since the beginning. What connects them is a dining market that has grown crowded enough to push out names people had come to see as permanent.
Six Weeks, Three Empty Dining Rooms
| Restaurant | Address | Last day | Reason given |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Cullman KFC | 1620 Second Ave. SW | Aug. 16 | Slowing business, changing preferences, more competition |
| Puckett's | 6076 Alabama Highway 157 | Sept. 18 | Difficult economic conditions |
| Wissota Chophouse | 1835 Main Ave. SW, inside Cobblestone Hotel & Suites | Sept. 26 | A different concept is being developed for the space |
Each closing has its own history. The KFC began as Jack and Blanche Kohl's original "chicken store," opened in 1968 with help from their youngest daughter, Mimi. That first store stood where Glover's Market is today. Kent and Mimi Weir marked their 30th year as franchisees in 2026, and the South Cullman store was the last of a family business that once reached Guntersville, Boaz, Arab, Hartselle and Hanceville.
Puckett's arrived in fall 2022 in the former Ruby Tuesday building on Highway 157. It was the Tennessee brand's seventh restaurant and its first outside Tennessee. A. Marshall Hospitality closed its Hendersonville, Tennessee, location at the same time. CEO Claire Crowell said the company would focus on improving its current restaurants and on communities where the brand has longer relationships, putting expansion on hold for now.
Wissota Chophouse lasted about two and a half years in the hotel on Main Avenue SW. Its closing announcement said a new concept is coming to the space. As of the Cullman Tribune's Sept. 23 report, nobody had released a name, owner, type of restaurant or opening date, and nothing suggested the hotel itself was closing.
Every Menu Now Competes With Every Other Menu
Weir's explanation is the most detailed one any of the three owners gave, and it reaches well beyond fried chicken. For most of KFC's history, he said, the competition was other restaurants selling bone-in chicken dinners. Today it includes places built around tenders, nuggets and chicken sandwiches, plus burger restaurants, grocery stores and convenience stores with prepared chicken.
The Tribune tied that crowding directly to the city's growth. Cullman's continued population, commercial and restaurant growth has given diners far more choices than they had for most of the South Cullman store's 58 years. In Weir's words, the restaurant was no longer up against one other fried chicken place across town. It was up against nearly every part of Cullman's growing restaurant and prepared-food market.
Downtown shows the same crowding on a smaller scale. This spring, The National at 216 First Ave. SE became Royale Burgers, Bourbon & Brews. The National's last day was May 16, and Royale held a soft opening May 28 through 30. Royale's own website lists smash burgers, chicken sandwiches, loaded fries, bourbon and beer. Those are the same burger and chicken-sandwich categories Weir named as his new competition, now served from a downtown address that already had a restaurant.
The closings mean less traffic at three places and more at everyone else. Cullman's other KFC, at 5799 Alabama Highway 157, is run by a separate franchisee and is still open.
Goat Island Stayed Local
The biggest food-and-drink news of the season wasn't a closing. On Sept. 23, Goat Island Craft Brewery announced that longtime shareholder Russell D. Warren Sr. had bought a majority stake from Brad Glenn, Mike Mullaney and John Dean, and had become company president. Warren has been an investor since the brewery's founding.
The founders aren't gone. Dean will run outside sales, and Glenn and Mullaney will stay involved through the transition. Gery Teichmiller, the fourth founder, rounds out the group that formed the company in early 2015. They spent nights and weekends turning an empty warehouse into a brewery and taproom, then opened in April 2016. The name comes from Goat Island on Smith Lake.
Warren's stated plans point toward more, not less:
"We also want to expand community events, introduce new products, and strengthen Goat Island's position as a destination brewery in North Alabama."
He named investing in the customer experience at both taprooms as his first priority. The Original, at 1646 John Cooper Drive SE, is the main production brewery and a music venue. The Goat at Cotton Creek, at 417 Third Ave. SW, Suite 135, opened March 19, 2025, with a smaller system for experimental and small-batch beers.
The company also plans to start distributing in Mississippi and other markets, building on a reach that, as of April 2025, included Alabama, Georgia, the Florida Panhandle, and the Nashville and Chattanooga markets in Tennessee. The announcement gave no timeline for Mississippi and didn't disclose the purchase price or the exact ownership share Warren bought.
The growth Weir described as crowding out a 58-year franchise is the same growth Goat Island's new owner is investing in. A brewery that built its own following over a decade has a different position than a store competing on price with grocery delis and gas stations. Warren is investing in what Goat Island already does well: events, new beers and the taprooms themselves.
Where Your Usual Order Goes Now
For anyone whose routine ran through one of this fall's closed dining rooms, here is what's open as of early October:
- Fried chicken from the KFC menu: the KFC at 5799 Alabama Highway 157 is open under a separate franchisee.
- A downtown burger and bourbon: Royale Burgers, Bourbon & Brews at 216 First Ave. SE.
- A pint without leaving downtown: The Goat at Cotton Creek on Third Avenue SW, with small-batch beers you won't find at the production brewery.
- Live music with your beer: The Original on John Cooper Drive SE.
- Coffee near the gym: The Blooming Barista, Emma Thompson's specialty-latte and flower business, which held its official grand opening in June on the gravel lot beside the Cullman Basketball Complex, 1366 County Road 715.
Four Things to Watch Before Next Fall
- The Wissota space. A new concept has been announced for the restaurant inside Cobblestone Hotel & Suites, with no name or date released yet.
- The South Cullman KFC property. Crews took down the red-and-white bucket sign the day after the last shift. No future use for the property has been announced.
- Goat Island's event calendar and new releases. Warren has promised both but hasn't given specific dates.
- The Shoppes at Heritage Park. Developer API Cullman's planned 156,000-square-foot, $58 million center at Swafford Road SW and Cherokee Avenue SW is expected to hold 15 to 20 businesses. Tenants haven't been named. Construction has to start by June 1, 2027, and the first store has to open by June 1, 2028.
The Heritage Park timeline means more competition is on the way. Whoever takes over the hotel restaurant space and the corner at 1620 Second Ave. SW will open in the same crowded market Weir described in August.
Businesses opening, closing and changing hands on your side of town affect more than where you eat on Friday night. If you'd like to know how this fall's changes fit into what your own property is worth, Team Sparkman is glad to talk it through with you. Request Your Free Home Valuation, and we'll give you an honest, local read.
