Kimbrough’s Used Cars / Penn’s Hamburgers

Prior to 1916, when the second of two fire outbreaks claimed all but one of buildings that comprised the original Hartselle business district, a restaurant and inn stood at the southeast corner of Main and Sycamore where the Something Blue Shoppe is currently located. Farmers who brought their cotton in a horse- or mule-drawn wagon to the gin often faced long wait times for ginning, forcing them to tie their mules to a hitching post for the evening and rent a room for the night.

On the north side of Main Street, just east of the Sycamore Street intersection was located Kimbrough’s Used Cars, which enticed automobile buyers with its trademark sign in the form of a car with an engine on both ends. Later, on a portion of the Kimbrough lot, Penn’s Hamburgers, which had opened in 1927, moved to this site in a small wood building. To see what the lot looked like before Penn’s moved here, tap the image below, then grab the arrow on the left-hand side and drag rightwards.

Businesses that have occupied this lot in the years since include Marilyn Jeffery’s Florist, operated by Joe and Merle Roberts’ daughter, and the Zoey’s Downtown gift shop.