“We try to bring things that are kind of new to Madison and new to Alabama.”

That’s how Breland Companies President Joey Ceci describes the philosophy of recruiting retail to north Alabama’s fastest growing development, Town Madison.

“We’ve been very successful at it,” Ceci said.

It’s hard to argue with the results. Slim Chickens – one of the 18 restaurants currently open on the 550-acre site – was the first in north Alabama when it opened on Zierdt Road.

That was the case with Duluth Trading when it became one of the first retailers to locate on the site on the west side of the sprawling development along Interstate 565. The same can be said for BJ’s Warehouse, which is under construction on Graphics Drive and is expected to open in November.