With a fresh take on some classic Southern dishes, Courtyard Cafe & Bakery is the newest restaurant to bring some culinary excitement to historic Bessemer. For that reason and more, this place is pretty sweet.

The cafe is housed in one of the oldest buildings — if not the oldest — in downtown Bessemer. It was built around 1887 as the Berney Brothers Bank by William Berney, who later went on to help found First National Bank of Birmingham.