Double ribbon cutting for Neighborhood Hops & Vine, Steel City Apparel

Neighborhood Hops & Vine and its 28th Avenue South neighbor, Steel City Apparel, held a double ribbon cutting on July 17 with music and local brews. This is the second ribbon cutting for Neighborhood Hops & Vine, but a first for fledgling startup Steel City Apparel, which opened in November.

Chris and John Paul Bello, recent college graduates and co-owners of Steel City Apparel, said the timing for their store opening couldn't be better and went straight to work getting to know their new neighbor.

"When it came right down to it, they helped me get organized in [my store]," said Chandler Busby, owner of Neighborhood Hops & Vine. "Next thing I know, they were helping me with the drywall."

Busby stood next to his new beer tap much of the night, pouring local specialty beers for his customers and laughing with friends and clients. At his store, Busby sells beers that can only be found on tap at Birmingham bars. 

He said Chris and John Paul printed the Neighborhood Hops & Vine logo on the growlers he sold at the event, as well as their shirts and koozies.

Steel City Apparel does screen printing and embroidery for cloths, but what John Paul said sets them apart from their competition is their digital printer, one of the few in the state of Alabama. He also said the printer can print images on cloths at 1,200 dots per square inch and has 30,000 different colors.

"We don't have to do minimum orders," John Paul said. "We can do one shirt for somebody or we can do 100,000 shirts for somebody."

Steel City Apparel also prints the jerseys for Vestavia Hills High School's football team.

"It's cool because [Neighborhood Hops & Vine] sells local wines and beers," Chris said. "So, all around, we are both supporting locals. I love that."