La Fran Marks is the owner of Chateau Bevvy Winery in Bessemer. (Reginald Allen, The Birmingham Times)
By Mia Watkins | For the Birmingham Times
What’s old is becoming new again in downtown Bessemer. As work to restore the historic Lincoln Theatre continues, another long vacant building is now bustling with new life as Chateau Bevvy Winery prepares to open its doors on September 26 as the first and only Black-owned urban winery in Jefferson County.
Outside, the historic building built in 1910 looks unassuming. Inside, visitors are greeted by exposed brick walls covered in farmhouse decorations and seating areas furnished with vintage pieces.
Further into the building, there’s a large custom-built wooden table made with remnants of the building found during renovations, like floor joists, columns and old beams. Towards the back of the building is where the magic happens — side rooms contain vats for winemaking and storage for labeled bottles of different types of wine, like the Riesling that owner La Fran Marks makes himself.
La Fran Marks, owner of Chateau Bevvy Winery, loves the experiment that comes with winemaking. (Reginald Allen, The Birmingham Times)
The Art and Science of Winemaking
Marks became interested in winemaking through his travels around the world with the Army. He said that he fell in love with the different kinds of wine he tried, then tried his hand at making his own.
“One day, I said I wanted to try and make some wine,” he said. “I tried to make some wine, but it wasn’t the best for the first round. The second round wasn’t much better, but I kept going, and it got a little better. After a while, I started letting people try and taste it. I perfected what I was doing, and after a while I said I wanted to open a winery and sell some wine.”
He said he loves the experimentation that comes with winemaking.
“I like the art of it,” Marks said. “To me, there’s the art and the science. The science is mechanics and the process, but the art of making that product and seeing it go from harvest to bottle is pretty rewarding. I like the fact that I can try to make different wines.”
He describes drinking wine as an intimate process.
“My palate is totally different than yours,” he said. “What I like, you may not like.”
“This is my building.”
Marks decided to follow his passion by opening up a winery once he retired in 2023. After years of international travel, he and his wife knew they wanted to come back to the Birmingham metro area.
Marks said that the building chose him.
“I saw this building in January 2024,” he said. “I passed on this building and didn’t buy it until 2025. The building sat waiting on me to come and purchase it. I looked at a lot of different places. None of those buildings really jumped out at me. When I came back to this location, I thought, ‘This is my building.’”
Originally built by Sam Dunn as a pub, the building served as a hub for up to three businesses at once, including a barbershop and pharmacy.
“On 1st Avenue North, you had the drugstore, which was right here,” Marks said. “You had the Lincoln Theatre right next door. You had Lumzy Funeral Home on the corner, and you had a bunch of bars and pool halls along 1st Avenue. All that across the street was all businesses. This is where everybody came and hung out. This is where all the hustle and bustle occurred.”
It sat vacant after the pharmacy closed in 1998.
This year, the building was brought back to life when Chateau Bevvy hosted its soft opening in the middle of August. Marks said the community response was tremendous.
“It was just nonstop,” he said. “We thought we had enough people working, but friends that I knew were like, ‘Hey, how can I jump in and help out?’ It really did my heart some good. It was really, really cool. We saw a lot of customers come through the door, and the support from some of those folks was really, really overwhelming. They were like, ‘We love the space, we’re glad you’re here, we’d rather come here than drive to other wineries because of the vibe.’”
Chateau Bevvy Winery in Bessemer will officially open on September 26. (Reginald Allen, The Birmingham Times)
A Sign of Prosperity
In all, he aims to make the winery as comfortable for customers as their own living room.
“When you come here, they can expect to walk into a place that feels like walking into their front door,” he said. “People can expect to come into a place where they can relax and chill. That’s what I want people to feel about the space.”
Eventually, he would like to host a wine festival in front of his building and wine blending classes for customers.
He also hopes to be a sign of prosperity for Bessemer as it grows.
“Downtown can be whatever Bessemer wants it to be,” he said. “[Chateau Bevvy] also represents growth. Businesses can come here and have an opportunity to grow and plant roots, creating a space that can be really and truly enjoyed by all.”
Chateau Bevvy officially opens its doors on September 26, starting at Noon. Learn more at www.chateaubevvywinery.net.
La Fran Marks is the owner of Chateau Bevvy Winery in Bessemer. (Reginald Allen, The Birmingham Times)
