Inside Armor House: a first look at Birmingham’s newest restaurant

Bee Armorya 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 to the restaurant’s November 8 debut .

“We want to be a great restaurant in the best city,” said Compton’s wife, Kristen Manolio Compton, the restaurant’s events and marketing manager. “We’re not trying to be the best restaurant here. . . .

“This whole city has such amazing potential in terms of food, drink, 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 part of that.”

The Comptons come to Birmingham via Auburn, where they met while working “Iron Chef Showdown” champion David Bancroft be with the acclaimed farm-to-table restaurant Acre.

Kristen, who grew up in the Oak Mountain area, returned to the Magic City to work for Rollins Montgomery, CEO of Montgomery Entities and one of the major investors in Armor House.

Jeffrey, who is originally from Destin, Florida, followed Kristen here as opening chef at The Battery in Homewood. He left there in April 2023 to prepare for the opening of Armor House.

The old building was completed in 1911, although construction began in the late 1890s. a processing facility and distribution center for Armor & Company meat packers.

Next to Armor House and its speakeasy-style cocktail lounge Pogo, the four-story Armor & Co. buildingwhich faces First Avenue North at the front and Morris Avenue at the rear, currently includes approximately 20 luxury apartments and a rooftop terrace with stunning views of Birmingham’s south side.

Christopher Architecture and interior — whose president, Chris Reebals, is another major investor in Armor House — did the design work for the restaurant, says Kristen Compton, and its sister companyBlackstone Constructionoversaw all renovations of the historic building.

The restaurant’s interior combines the building’s history with modern touches, including original brick tile floors, floor-to-ceiling windows and tables carved from reclaimed wood from the building.

In that sense, the old building has come full circle.

“Really,” says Kristen Compton. “And that’s why you see little (design) nods here and there to the beef industry that once was here.”

Read on below for a first look at the Armor House space before the restaurant opens for dinner on November 8.

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Al fresco dining

At the front of the restaurant, Armor House offers outdoor seating for approximately 60 guests at tables along First Avenue North.

A row of emerald green trees of life, potted in sturdy, steel planters, provide privacy for guests and form a barrier between the seating area and the street.

Twinkling lights dangle from cast iron A-frame trellises made by CH Welding of custom ironwork contribute to the urban, industrial atmosphere.

“These (trellises) were built specifically for Armor House,” Compton said. “They are shaped like an ‘A’ and are intended to give an almost European feel to the space. They are nice and long and create a beautiful landscape for the restaurant.”

A look into the past

Inside, beyond the hostess station, a twelve-seat bar with a lacquered mirrored arch and hand-glazed brick lining the walls offers guests a glimpse into the labor and craftsmanship that went into constructing 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 solid stones; they are not tiles,” says Compton. “Each stone was made, cast and glazed by hand, and all the stones you see on some of our curved corners were hand-formed because they didn’t have the equipment at that time to streamline the process.”

Armor House’s design team continued that look by integrating it into the curvature of the bar, she adds.

“Taking influence from the curves, they chose natural stone for the bar top, as well as the rounded shape of the bar top, to mimic the shapes of the bricks that are original to this building,” Compton says.

First impressions

As guests enter the main dining room, the glass and stainless steel dry-age lockers will whet their appetite for what’s on the Armor House menu.

“When you walk in, the first thing you see is all these beautiful Tomahawk steaks hanging in the window – prosciutto legs, fresh duck, all the goodies,” Compton says. “At some point, Jeffrey plans to hang a whole swordfish in one of these lockers and do a dry-age program on it.

“And it’s see-through, so you can see our chefs working behind you, just to get a glimpse of what you’re up against.”

The Armor House menu has not yet been made public, but according to a previous press release, dishes include a Black Angus tenderloin with pomme puree, charred broccolini, lamb shank gravy and bone marrow butter, and a bluefin tuna crudo with blueberry granita and champagne, Fresno peppers, Georgia olive oil and spices.

The view from the dining room

Including tables, booths and benches, the main dining room seats approximately 120 guests.

“All the seats, the cabins, everything here is 100 percent grained leather,” Compton says. “That just gives a nod to the beef production facilities here and the meatpacking facility.”

The dining room’s hardwood floors, which have been sanded and refinished, are also original to the building, as are the ample windows overlooking First Avenue North.

“The glass actually dates back to the 1890s, which means it has survived so much in this building, between fire and between storms here in Birmingham,” says Compton. “It’s one of my favorite features in this entire space. . . .

“It creates a very cool light that comes in during the day and gives you not the typical view, but a great view.”

A seat at the raw bar

The raw bar, which seats just five, offers guests an intimate, up-close view of Armor House’s 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 see how the chefs work and how the team communicates. And nothing is more exciting than being able to see these guys working together in harmony, because it’s just amazing to see the level of communication. . . .

“So our customers sitting at the raw bar will be able to see a little bit of everything,” she adds. “It’s a full show.”

Seating at the raw bar is available to walk-ins only on a first-come, first-served basis.

Down at Pogo

In the basement below the restaurant, the underground cocktail lounge Pogo has its own secret passageway for guests who want to drop in before or after dinner.

Guests can access Pogo via the stairs or elevator from the restaurant or through a separate entrance on the Morris Avenue side of the building.

There is a nice story behind the name Pogo.

“When Chris Reebals’ company first purchased this building in 2016 and they walked through the space, the only thing that was on the underground floor was a toy pogo stick.”

That same pogo stick is attached to a hidden door leading to the lounge.

“Once the door is closed, it’s almost completely seamless,” Compton says. “We do have a big, bright neon sign, but other than that, that’s our only cue to where Pogo will be.”

The Pogo room, which features a mini-jumbotron screen and a top of a resin river bar with LED rope lights underneath, is expected to open Friday, Nov. 22, Compton says.

Armor House opens Friday, November 8 at 2309 First Ave. North in Birmingham, Ala. For reservations and more information, visit armorhuis.com.