When the popular and acclaimed pizzeria Post Office Pies announced this month that it was leaving Avondale after 10 years, it shocked many and raised some questions.

Avondale has seen a lot of shakeups in its thriving restaurant and bar scene the past few years, but has the booming neighborhood revitalization stalled out?

In December, Rodney Scott’s Whole Hog Barbecue closed its Avondale location that had opened in 2019 in the closed Bottletree, which had been a popular music venue.

Avondale Common House recently moved out of the building it took over from the defunct Wooden Goat in 2016 and announced it merged into Ferus on 41st, which took over the Fancy’s on 5th restaurant that operated from 2016 to 2021 across the street from the entrance to Avondale Park.

Melt Avondale moved to Lane Parke in Mountain Brook in 2022 after holding down a key spot on 41st Street in Avondale since 2014.

“We are definitely concerned about businesses moving out,” said Jeff McGee, president of the Forest Park/South Avondale Neighborhood Association.

Avondale still has its key anchor businesses, including Avondale Brewery (now owned by Good People Brewery), and Saturn, which opened in 2015 as a music venue, Saw’s Barbecue and 41st Street Pub & Aircraft Sales.

McGee noted that Lag’s Eatery, which closed years ago in Homewood, plans to reopen in Avondale soon.

To some extent, Avondale may be a victim of its own success as increased demand has led to increased rent for businesses.

“What I’ve heard is behind that is that the landlords are going up on their lease rates significantly,” said Birmingham City Council President Darrell O’Quinn, whose district includes Avondale. “Landlords are trying to recoup lost revenue from having to make some concessions during the pandemic.”

During the lockdown of 2020 during the pandemic, restaurants were hit hard and many are still trying to bounce back, along with landlords.

“I think it’s the normal business cycle,” said Bob Vines, a commercial real estate developer with Arc Realty who played such a pivotal role in the revitalization he was nicknamed “Mr. Avondale.”

The situation with each restaurant is different and affected by many factors, he said. Post Office Pies Chef and founder John Hall, who started the pizzeria in an old Avondale post office, moved to Oregon and is focusing more on family life, Vines said.

Post Office Pies has a Mountain Brook location that continues to operate. The sign at the former Rodney’ Scott’s in Avondale refers customers to its Homewood and Trussville locations.

“The restaurant industry is difficult,” Vines said. “It seems glamorous, but it’s not. It’s every day, all day.”

While some restaurants have moved out of Avondale and key buildings are vacant, it’s poised to bounce back, Vines said.

“There is a lot of change,” Vines said.

But he said he’s confident in the future of Avondale.

“Things change,” Vines said. “Things move around. Things grow out.”

Avondale Brewery and Saturn continue to book major acts for concerts throughout the year, he said. “I think they did 40 shows last year and just packed out,” Vines said of the brewery’s concert venue. “Just an amazing amount of people who went to the shows at Avondale Brewery.”

That will keep business booming and entice other restaurants, he said. “It will open up opportunities for others,” Vines said.

There’s also a constant shifting in the popularity of neighborhoods, Vines said.

Five Points South once reigned supreme in the 1980s and early 1990s for its nightlife, but the development of bars and restaurants in Lakeview pulled business away.

“All those people who were going to bars in Lakeview are now over in Avondale,” Vines said.

The same thing happened with Avondale pulling business away from Lakeview after Avondale Brewery opened in 2011. The revitalization of downtown and Uptown has businesses in those areas competing for many of the same bar and restaurant customers.

“There is shifting,” Vines said. “There is movement.”

Hunter Renfroe, principal owner of Orchestra Partners that owns several buildings in Avondale, declined to discuss the current situation but said positive changes are coming.

“We will be making some announcements in the next few weeks,” Renfroe said in an email. “Suffice to say, there are some positive developments that are almost ready for publicity that will far outweigh the negative press lately.”