Redevelopment of the old Chrysler building on U.S. 31 South will produce three new restaurants for Cullman later this year.

A second redevelopment will also follow in the former Fred’s building across the street.

Ming Enterprises of Athens purchased the building Wednesday, as well as the old Fred’s building across the street. The development will cover two phases named Cullman Row East (Chrysler building) and Cullman Row West (Fred’s), said Bill Ming, owner of Ming Enterprises.

Cullman Row East will be host to Firehouse Subs, Diablo’s Southwest Grill, and Marco’s Pizza, Ming said.

“We’ve been looking at an opportunity to invest in Cullman for more than a year,” Ming said. “We have some clients for Cullman Row West, too, but we will announce more about that project later. Our priority is to Cullman Row East open by the third quarter this year. We also think this will open up more development opportunities on U.S. 31, which is Cullman’s highest traffic area.”

Ming said work is already under way on the Chrysler building.

“A lot of people get excited with development projects and new buildings, but we also do a lot of work in redevelopment with existing spaces,” Ming said. “When the project is completed you will never realize there was an old building in that location. We work top to bottom, including the parking lots.”

Firehouse Subs was founded in 1994 in Jacksonville, Florida by former firefighter brothers Robin and Chris Sorensen. Firehouse has opened nearly 1,100 franchise restaurants across 44 states, Puerto Rico, Canada, and Mexico.

In 2005, the Sorensens created the Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation providing funding, life-saving equipment and educational opportunities to first-responders and public safety organizations. The company has awarded more than $31 million since starting the program.

Diablo’s Southwest Grill was started by Carl Wallace and brothers Brandon and Brad Wall, all of Augusta, Georgia. The company has nine locations in Georgia.

Marco’s Pizza has 800 locations in the United States, including the Birmingham area of Alabama, the Bahamas, Puerto Rico and India. 

The franchise is based in Toledo, Ohio, It was founded by Italian immigrant Pasquale “Pat” Giammarco in 1978.

Ming Enterprises is a commercial real estate development company providing brokerage services, site selection, tenant representation, design/build construction, and tenant specific build-to-suit leasebacks.