While on vacation with his family in Nashville in the spring of 2002, Jim Watkins stumbled across a unique shop called Las Pa ... letas. It was a simple store, selling unique sweets called Mexican paletas—more commonly known as pops. But they were so much more than just pops! These delicious paletas were gourmet, brightly colored, all natural and healthy, too—simply unlike anything he’d ever had. When his family tasted these amazing pops, they decided everyone needed to know about this. Fast forward 9 years, Jim quit his job and began learning all he could about restaurant ownership. He and his mom developed all of the initial recipes and his wife, Amy, provided support in every way possible. Jim's four sons also worked hard behind the scenes doing countless errands and odd jobs. Jim says Steel City Pops is the result of his family and many of their closest friends coming together to support his dream. In early 2012, Jim started the build-out of his first storefront in Homewood, Alabama; from there, things unfolded rather quickly. They opened for business in May of 2012, serving pops out of the Homewood store, as well as from vending carts at local farmers’ markets and various places around Birmingham. In the past several years, Steel City Pops has grown to over 23 locations across the southeast. From the very first moment until now, Jim's desire has been to fill every day with a passion for his product and a desire to keep customers first. If Steel City Pops is not in your neighborhood yet, Jim hopes it will be soon! read more