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Renew
Summer 2026—February 2027
2026 SFA Film Residency, with multi-city in-person experiences and monthly virtual workshops ⟶

Oral Histories

The SFA oral history program documents life stories from the American South. Collecting these stories, we honor the people whose labor defines the region. If you would like to contribute to SFA’s oral history collections, please send your ideas for oral history along with your CV or Resume and a portfolio of prior oral history work to info@southernfoodways.org.

< Back to Oral History project: Birmingham’s Central Business District

ORAL HISTORY

Kathy D'Agostino

Chocolatá

Chocolatier Kathleen D’Agostino grew up in Ohio and Florida in the 1960s. As a young adult she traveled and lived in California and Japan. Multitalented, D’Agostino previously worked as a model, a window dresser, and an interior designer. Since 2017, she owns and operates Chocolatá, a chocolate shop in Birmingham, Alabama. The shop opened in a small storefront located in the Webb Building at the corner of 20th Street and 2nd Avenue North, the heart of the Central Business District.

Date of interview:
2021-11-30

Interviewer:
Michelle Little

Photographer:
Cary Norton

Download Transcript

“

“I like to take the ugly object and make it pretty. It’s just my favorite thing to do. And so I knew that this dilapidated little space, dirt floor practically, and crumbling walls, I could just see that with a little bit of love and attention, could be really magnificent. And it needed it. It’s like this building was screaming for attention.” - Kathy D'Agostino

Other Project Interviews

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Joe Phelps is the owner of Pilcrow Cocktail Cellar in Birmingham, AL.

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Josh Schaff

Josh Schaff is the co-owner of Cayo Coco Rum Bar & Restaurant.

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Bryan Stanfield

Bryan Stanfield is the owner of Trattoria ZaZa in Birmingham, AL.

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Rob McDaniel

Rob McDaniel is the owner of Helen Restaurant in downtown Birmingham.

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Kristen Hall & Victor King

Victor King and Kristen Hall own Feast & Forest, The Essential, and other successful ventures in Birmingham, AL.

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Andrew Collins

Long-time restauranteur, Andrew Collins owns The Collins Bar in downtown Birmingham, AL.

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Chris Dupont

Chris Dupont owns and operates Café Dupont.

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Jesus Mendez

Jesus Mendez co-owns and manages The Louis Bar and Unos Tacos in The Pizitz Food Hall.

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Michael Pizitz

Michael Pizitz ran his family's department store Pizitz Department Store in Birmingham, AL and now heads Pizitz Management Group with his brothers.

Interview

Tom Saab

Tom Saab owns Bistro Two Eighteen, which he opened in a historic building in Birmingham, Alabama.

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The Southern Foodways Alliance drives a more progressive future by leading conversations that challenge existing constructs, shape perspectives, and foster meaningful discussions. We reconsider the past with research, scrutiny, and documentation.

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