Tucked into Montgomery’s oldest residential neighborhood, a once-forgotten building is now home to a community hub like no other. Hilltop Public House—an all-day coffee shop, bar, and gathering place in historic Cottage Hill—was the vision of two friends who decided that instead of leaving the city to find community, they would cultivate it.
“I was thinking about doing what some of my other friends from Montgomery had done, which is to pack up and move on and try and go find a place to live that had the things that a 30 something-year-old would be looking for: vibrant night life and entertainment, wonderful outdoor recreation opportunities, just some of those things that tell you that a municipality or city have a pulse.”
Nearly convinced that this was the way forward, a friendly catch-up charted a new course. “I was talking to a buddy of mine, Will, who’s now my business partner, and in our conversation, Will posed this question: ‘Everybody keeps leaving Montgomery specifically to go find these things. What if we stayed and created some of that?’”
That simple concept was the spark that led to the creation of two powerful local initiatives: The revitalization of a set of historic commercial buildings in Cottage Hill and River Region Trails, a pedestrian infrastructure nonprofit that is similar to the Red Rock Trail System or Singing River Trail.
Determined to forge full steam ahead to fulfill this shared dream, the duo closed on the Cottage Hill property in early 2020. “And then two weeks later, the whole world shut down,” Andrew recalls. “We thought we’d made a huge mistake,” he admits. “But it ended up working out pretty well for us in the end.”
With no running water or electricity and some major repairs ahead, the project became a true labor of love. “We used that time to get to work in a really hands-on kind of way. We hired a father and son, two builders, and we had a guy that was a plumber that we knew, and we pretty much spent the depths of COVID doing tear down, refurb, and rehab,” he shares.
A Modern Take on the Historic Public House
After months of hard work and preparation, Hilltop opened its doors to the community. The concept was modeled after the English countryside public house—a cozy all-day gathering place where locals start and end their days.
“We’re open from six in the morning until midnight most days,” Andrew says. “We really did want it to be something that represented a fixture for the Cottage Hill neighborhood, Montgomery’s oldest residential neighborhood, that could bring in something kind of funky and unique.”
So far, the concept has proved a complete success. Hilltop has become a home base for everything from run clubs to roller derby and rugby teams. “On the weekends, we play English Premier League games and have soccer scarves hanging from the ceiling,” he shares.
“We do trivia on Tuesday. We have a really robust open mic night on Wednesdays that has singers, songwriters, and spoken word. It’s evolved into a lot of different things over time that we hope are meeting the needs of the neighborhood and the community.”
A History Worth Honoring
They also found that the building itself has remarkable roots dating back to the early 1920s. Owned for decades by the Ashurst family, it once housed a small neighborhood convenience store. After Hilltop officially opened, the son of local physician Dr. Ashurst noted that his dad had grown up in the buildings.
One story from his father’s era shows how significant these seemingly simple spaces can become. “When the voting rights march was coming through Montgomery, there were all these publications and propaganda about how there were going to be looters and arsonists [among the marchers].”
“Dr. Ashurst remembers being huddled inside, ready to keep an eye on the place no matter what happened,” Andrew explains. “The crazy thing was the morning that the marches were coming by, they could hear people singing and joking and being generally positive. They realized that these people weren’t looters and arsonists, and in fact, their father thought of an opportunity.”
“He quickly got his two sons, the brothers, to help him unboard the space and open up. As people were going by, they were selling cold beverages… They turned it into an opportunity.”
Community Through Collaboration
Beyond serving as a go-to bar or coffee shop with a rich local history, Hilltop centers community collaboration. When guests began mentioning the idea of food service, the duo decided against retrofitting a kitchen into the century-old structure. “We decided that we would instead start with a food truck,” says Andrew.
“We were talking to a friend of ours who had been interested in branching out on her own… So she found herself a food truck and we decided, ‘Hey, we’ll put you out back, and you’ll be a kitchen to our indoor space.’”
“That marriage has worked really, really well,” he notes. It is that spirit of community—and a deep belief in Montgomery’s potential—that serves as fuel for Hilltop’s growth.
“I think the future will be built from not just the public house, but the other spaces we have up there and finding business owners that are interested in long-term investment in the city of Montgomery,” says Andrew.
For Andrew, staying in Montgomery has become about more than opening a business—it is a commitment to changing the city’s story. “Montgomery is oftentimes thought of for what it can’t be or what it isn’t,” he shares. “But I find that exciting, because it means it can be anything.”
That belief has become Hilltop’s true legacy. Beyond serving as a place to gather, the community space is a prime example of what happens when people choose to stay, dream, and dedicate themselves to building something better together.
Courtesy of SoulGrown Alabama.
