Mo’Bay Beignet Co. is bringing its fried-dough fame to the Birmingham suburbs, with plans to open a new location at Chelsea’s Valley Post development before the end of 2026. The twist: this won’t be a standard Mo’Bay cafe. It’s shaping up as a mashup concept that folds in the company’s burger-focused sister brand too.
A New Hybrid Concept Heading to Chelsea
According to WBMA, the planned restaurant will combine Mo’Bay Beignet Co. and Bay Town Burger Co. under one name, creating a concept specifically built for the Birmingham area. The station reports the owner said the new spot will be unique to the Birmingham market and won’t look like any of the company’s existing locations. No specific opening date beyond “before the end of 2026” has been confirmed, and details on the eventual menu, hours or pricing haven’t been released.
The Valley Post development sits at 1012 Dunnavant Valley Road in Chelsea, a property that previously housed Little Donkey, Luca, Hero Diner and Rodney Scott’s BBQ, according to Bham Now. Those four restaurants, all owned by the Pihakis Restaurant Group, closed in April 2026 amid the group’s financial struggles, the outlet reported, leaving a chunk of prime restaurant real estate open along the Highway 280 corridor. Waldo’s Chicken & Beer is also set to fill part of that gap, with Bham Now reporting the chain plans a fall 2026 opening at Valley Post that would mark its fourth Birmingham-metro location.
From a Mobile Storefront to a Statewide Name
Mo’Bay’s roots trace back to downtown Mobile, where founder and owner Jacklyn Robinson opened the brand’s first brick-and-mortar shop in February 2020, per the Alabama Retail Association. The timing could have sunk a new food business, but Mo’Bay instead grew. By 2022, the company had expanded to seven cafes, a mix of corporate and franchised locations, plus two food trucks, the trade group noted.
That growth included a burger spin-off. Robinson told the Alabama Retail Association she created Bay Town Burger Co. as a sister company operating in West Mobile, and per Mo’Bay’s own site, that first Bay Town location launched in fall 2021. The brand describes its signature item as a homestyle smash burger seasoned and served on a buttered, toasted potato bun with a customizable choice of toppings. Mo’Bay also expanded its beignet cafes beyond Mobile during that stretch, with the Mobile Chamber reporting new locations opening in Auburn and west Mobile in 2021, followed by Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Orange Beach and Tuscaloosa in 2022, with a Saraland location planned for that fall.
The company’s rapid rise earned it statewide recognition. The Alabama Retail Association named Mo’Bay Beignet Co. its 2022 Gee Emerging Retailer of the Year, a distinction highlighted by the Mobile Chamber.
Why Chelsea Is Drawing New Restaurants
The Chelsea push fits a broader pattern for the fast-growing Shelby County city. Chelsea sits roughly 10 miles southeast of Birmingham along the U.S. Highway 280 corridor and is part of the Birmingham-Hoover metropolitan area, according to the City of Chelsea, which also notes the city functions as the retail trade hub for neighboring communities including Westover, Harpersville, Vincent, Wilsonville and Columbiana, along with unincorporated parts of Shelby County. The city had projected an additional 650 new homes by 2025 as its population kept climbing, per the same source.
That residential boom has fed a steady stream of new restaurants and businesses. WBRC reported in 2023 that Chelsea was growing with new businesses and places to eat, with several restaurants moving into the city at the time. The arrival of a hybrid Mo’Bay concept, alongside the incoming Waldo’s, suggests that trend hasn’t slowed.
For now, WBMA reports the owner is encouraging longtime customers to follow the new Chelsea location on social media and to share the news with friends and family across the Birmingham area as the opening date approaches.
