The month of May is National Historic Preservation Month! We want to take you back in time and show you the history of 104 North Main Street, known today as the Southern Broadway Dinner Theater!
The Building at 104 North Main Street was built by Dr. W.W. Grubbs sometime between 1900 and 1904. The placard on the sidewalk says 1904, but there are newspaper articles that indicate it was earlier than that.
The first business that we know of that occupied this building was W.L. Folkes in 1909. He was a registered pharmacist and was associated with the City Drug Company. City Drug Company sold "Folkes Liver Pills" and "Folkes Dandruff Cure".
Sometime around 1915, 104 North Main was a Barber Shop. For most of those years, it was Brackin's Barber Shop. Also during that time, various businesses and even an apartment occupied the upstairs, such as Versia's Beauty Shoppe (owned by Versia Davis) which occupied the upstairs from 1927 until 1948.
At some point, Hoss Jordan owned the barber shop though the Brackin family still owned the building. Clarence Adams bought it from Hoss. Clarence owned it from about 1958 until he died in 1983. Mr. Debbs Trimm was the next owner. During all of this time, the name remained Brackin's Barber Shop. . After Mr. Trimm, Jimmy Bass purchased it and changed the name to Jimmy's Barber Shop. Jimmy continued until he semi-retired and now cuts hair at his home in Bellwood. Gary Bradshaw owned the building briefly with the intentions of having his legal office there. However, he decided against it and sold it.
We now know 104 North Main as Southern Broadway Dinner Theater. Southern Broadway is an entertainment venue that serves up delicious three course meals followed by a live original stage performance. Owners Susan Gilmore and Lydia Dillingham purchased the historic building at 104 North Main in early 2015. They renovated the building hoping to create a unique atmosphere while retaining many of the beautiful historic features. They have enjoyed a steady growth of their patron base over the years to now include customers from Alabama, Georgia, and the Florida panhandle.