Photos by Jeff Thompson.
Cars and Coffee
Birmingham Cars and Coffee founders Chris Hallmark, Dave McKee and Andrew Bowers stand on top of the parking deck at Colonial Brookwood Village during a meet in February.
On a sunny Saturday, a flag bearing the word “Fiat” blew in the wind above Colonial Brookwood Village. From Lakeshore Drive, it was the only visible evidence of the huge assembly going on behind it.
Every Saturday morning, automobile enthusiasts from around the area converge on the parking deck between Colonial Brookwood Village and Target for Cars and Coffee. They park in the sun and pop their hoods, and one-by-one they file through the O’Henry’s Coffee line.
Then, they just hang out.
They tell each other stories of harrowing track days and epic searches for specific parts while visitors meander around the deck, each snapping photos of the Dodge Viper and the Ferrari 458. Everyone has an opinion on every set of wheels, and there’s a kind answer for every question a novice throws out.
It’s not a car show. There are no prizes. It’s simply people who have cars who meet up with people who like them. It’s fun, family-friendly and free.
Cars and Coffee was brought to Birmingham in 2012 by a pair of Volkswagon owners — McCalla resident Andrew Bowers and Mountain Brook resident Dave McKee. The two met in an online forum while McKee was living in California. McKee said he was moving back to Birmingham soon, and they decided to park their Golf GTIs in the same parking lot when he did. They picked the one in front of O’Henry’s.
They quickly made a habit of meeting up, and pulling from other enthusiast gatherings they’d attended from Georgia to California, they organized the official Birmingham Cars and Coffee through a Facebook page. Bowers and McKee recruited their friend Chris Hallmark and held their first official meeting.
Eleven cars showed up, and it was a victory. So, they started growing the brand.
“We became vigilant about getting the word out,” Bowers said. “I remember stopping the car while I was on the way to dinner with my wife so I could stick a [Cars and Coffee] business card under the wiper of a Nissan GTR.”
Attendance at the meet grew steadily over the next two years, but this year it exploded. Behind that Fiat flag, more than 125 cars lined the deck.
While growth is great for the group, any crowd of vehicles has the potential to create an image problem. Recent TV shows and films about cars and the people who drive them has drifted into hyperbole. To combat it, Bowers, McKee and Hallmark set strict rules for the meet — no revving, speeding, burnouts, loud music, policing passersby or littering.
“For everyone that rolls up, we ask them to have respect for the property,” McKee said. “And I mean actual respect because we want this to continue.”
Colonial Properties noticed the lengths taken by Cars and Coffee organizers to take care of the space and supports the event.
“Andrew [Bowers] came to me when he first started and asked about using the deck,” said Robert Thurmond, Colonial Properties head of security. “I did have concerns at first, but now I have none. These guys police themselves.”
Thurmond — owner of a 1968 Chevy Camaro that he’s had since 1971 — said Brookwood businesses were also happy with the way the event has evolved. That encouragement has been helpful for Bowers, McKee and Hallmark, who said they would love to see all five levels of the deck filled every week.
But for now, they’re happy with what Cars and Coffee is offering the greater-Birmingham area — a place for enthusiasts to be who they are and talk about what they love on a regular basis.
“It’s more a community of people than cars,” Hallmark said. “Cars don’t meet. People do.”
For more, visit facebook.com/BhmCarsCoffee.
