By james art At Armor House, a new neighborhood brasserie and raw bar opening soon in the 113-year-old Armor & Co. building. in downtown Birmingham, chef Jeffrey Compton and his team are counting down the days until the restaurant debuts on November 8.
“We want to be a great restaurant in the best city,” says Compton’s wife, Kristen Manoglio Compton, the restaurant’s events and marketing manager. “We’re not trying to be the best restaurant here. . . .
“This whole city has such incredible potential for food, drink and wine and everything it has to offer,” she adds. “There is so much to love and experience here. I can’t wait for this company to be a part of that.”
The Comptons come to Birmingham by way of Auburn, where they met while working for Iron Chef Showdown champion David Bancroft at his acclaimed farm-to-table restaurant, Acre.
Kristen, who grew up in the Oak Mountain area, returns to the Magic City to work for Rollins Montgomery, CEO of Montgomery Entities and one of the major investors in Armor House.
Jeffrey, who hails from Destin, Florida, followed Kristen here to become the executive chef at The Battery in Homewood. He left there in April 2023 to begin preparations for the opening of Armor House.
Completed in 1911 – although construction began in the late 1890s – the old building was formerly a processing facility and distribution center for Armor & Company’s meatpacks.
In addition to Armor House and its speakeasy-like Pogo cocktail lounge, Armor & Co.’s four-story building, which overlooks First Avenue North in front and Morris Avenue in back, currently includes about 20 luxury apartments and a rooftop terrace with stunning views of the South part of Birmingham.
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Christopher Architecture & Interiors — whose president, Chris Riebels, is another major investor in Armor House — did the design work for the restaurant, says Kristen Compton, and its subsidiary, Blackstone Construction, oversaw all renovations to the historic building.
The restaurant’s interior combines the building’s history with modern touches, including an original tiled brick floor, floor-to-ceiling windows and tables cut from reclaimed wood from the building.
In this sense, the old building has come full circle.
“It really does,” says Kristen Compton. “And that’s why you see these little (design) nods here and there to the beef production that was once here.”
Continue reading below for a first look inside the Armor House space before the restaurant opens for dinner on November 8.
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Jeffrey Compton, who grew up in Destin, Florida, and previously worked at Acre in Auburn and The Battery in Homewood, is the executive chef and partner at Armor House. (Photo by Eleven Productions; used with permission from Sprouthouse Agency)
Outdoor dining
At the front of the restaurant, Armor House will offer outdoor seating for about 60 guests at tables along First Avenue North.
A row of emerald green Arborvitae trees, planted in sturdy steel pots, provide privacy for diners and create a barrier between the seating area and the street.
Twinkling lights hanging from A-frame cast iron grills created by CH Welding Custom Iron Work add to the urban industrial vibe.
“These (pergolas) were constructed specifically for the Armor House,” says Compton. “They incorporate the ‘A’ shape and are meant to bring an almost European feel to the space. They are nice and tall and create this beautiful landscape in front of the restaurant.”
The 12-seat bar at Armor House features a lacquered mirror arch and hand-glazed bricks that are original to the building. (Photo by Eleven Productions; used with permission from Sprouthouse Agency)
A look into the past
Inside, beyond the hostess station, a 12-seat bar with a lacquered mirror arch and hand-glazed brick walls offers guests a glimpse of the labor and craftsmanship that went into the construction of the Armor & Co. building. more than a century ago.
The glazed bricks are original to the building and survived a devastating fire in 1952.
“They are whole bricks; they’re not tiles,” says Compton. “Every brick was hand-made, molded and glazed, and any of the bricks you see on some of our corners that are curved were hand-molded because they didn’t have the equipment in that period to streamline the process.”
The Armor House design team continued that look by incorporating it into the curve of the bar, she adds.
“They took the influence they found from the curves and chose the natural stone for the bar top as well as the rounded shape of the bar top to mimic the brick shapes that are original to this building,” says Compton.
The glass and stainless steel meat cabinet will display some of the meats featured on Armor House’s menu.(Photo by Eleven Productions; used with permission from Sprouthouse Agency)
First impressions
As guests enter the main dining room, glass and stainless steel cabinets will whet their appetite for what’s on the Armor House menu.
“Once you walk in, the first thing you’re going to see is all these beautiful Tomahawk steaks hanging in the window — prosciutto legs, fresh duck, all the good stuff,” says Compton. “At some point Jeffrey plans to hang a whole swordfish in one of these lockers and do a dry age program for it.
“And it’s see-through, so you can see our chefs working behind you, just so you can see what you’re walking into.”
Armor House’s menu has not yet been released, but dishes, according to an earlier media release, include Black Angus beef tenderloin with pomme puree, charred broccolini, lamb shank jus and bone marrow butter, and bluefin tuna crudo with huckleberry and champagne granita, Fresno peppers, Georgia olive oil and herbs.
The Armor House dining room, which includes four curved booths, will seat about 120 guests. The floor and windows are original to the building.
(Photo by Eleven Productions; used with permission from Sprouthouse Agency)
The view from the dining room
Including tables, booths and banquette seating, the main dining room will seat approximately 120 guests.
“All the chairs, the booths, everything here is 100 percent full grain leather,” says Compton. “It’s just a reminder of the beef production facilities that are here and the meat packing facilities.”
The dining room’s hardwood floors, which have been sanded and repainted, are also original to the building, as are the expansive windows that look out onto First Avenue to the north.
“The glass actually dates back to 1890, which means it’s survived so much while it’s been in this building, between fire, between storms here in Birmingham,” Compton says. “This is one of my favorite features in this whole space. . . .
“It creates a really great light that comes in during the day and gives you not your typical view, but a great view.”
The construction of the Armor & Co. building. began in the late 1890s and the building was completed in 1911. For decades it was a manufacturing facility for Armor & Company’s meatpacks.(Photo by Eleven Productions; used with permission from Sprouthouse Agency)
A place in the raw bar
The Raw bar, which seats just five, will offer guests an intimate, up-close view of the Armor House culinary team in action.
“I’m so excited to be able to offer this,” says Compton. “When we go to restaurants, I like to be able to watch the chefs work, watch the team interact. And nothing is more exciting than being able to watch these guys work together in harmony because it’s just amazing to see the level of communication. . . .
“So our diners who will be sitting in the raw bar will be able to see a little bit of everything,” she adds. “It’s a full show.”
Raw bar seating will be available for walk-in only on a first-come, first-served basis.
The pogo stick at the end of this hallway opens the secret door to the underground Pogo cocktail lounge, which is located in the basement below the Armor House restaurant.(Photo by Kristen Compton; used with permission)
Down in Pogo
In the basement below the restaurant, the subterranean cocktail lounge Pogo has its own secret passageway for guests who want to pop in before or after dinner.
Guests will access Pogo via the stairs or elevator from the restaurant or through a separate entrance on the Morris Avenue side of the building.
The name Pogo has a funny story behind it.
“When Chris Riebels’ company first acquired this building in 2016 and they were walking around the space, the only thing that was in that basement floor was a toy pogo stick.”
This same pogo stick is attached to a hidden door that leads into the lounge.
“Once the door is closed, it’s almost completely seamless,” says Compton. “We have this one big, bright neon sign, but other than that, that’s our only signal of where Pogo is going to be.”
The Pogo space, which features a mini-jumbotron screen and a resin river bar top with LED rope lights below, is scheduled to open Friday, Nov. 22, Compton says.
Armor House will open Friday, Nov. 8, at 2309 First Ave. North in Birmingham, Alabama. For bookings and more information visit armour-house.com.