Story By Staff Reports
FORT PAYNE, AL - Since the spring of 2021, Southern Torch has been a fixture in downtown Fort Payne. Company president Nick Jones' real estate company acquired the property at 225 Gault Avenue North to establish a new home and headquarters for Southern Torch. The property had previously been home to Piggly Wiggly, Western Auto Parts, and the Fort Payne First United Methodist daycare called Mother's Day Out. Today, the property houses the Times-Journal, DeKalb County's oldest enterprise, WKEA-FM 98-3 Wild Country and WMXN-FM 101-7 The Torch radio stations and the business office and operations center for the Jackson County Sentinel, the Sand Mountain Reporter, and Southern Torch's digital marketing division.
When the property was purchased, there were major upgrades to the building to go along with the image of historical downtown Fort Payne. With the improvements, two printed murals of other businesses were painted on the north side of the building in the spring of 2021. The businesses include Fort Payne Footworks, located directly across the street on Gault Avenue, and First State Bank, a locally owned and operated community bank.
On November 13, 2025, a criminal misdemeanor citation was issued from the city of Fort Payne's zoning and ordinance enforcement officer Nick Brown. The summons to court indicated that the Southern Torch building violated the 2024 OFF-PREMISES SIGN Ordinance number 44-559. The Ordinance reads:
Sec. 44-559. - Sign regulations.
(g) Murals. No type of mural may be erected, posted, re-posted, placed, replaced, hung, painted, or repainted in any district except in compliance with this section as follows:
1. Murals are permitted in the Main Street District, the Historic District, and within 125 feet of Gault Avenue between 24th Street N. and 12th Street S., where the complete sign is intended to be viewed from Gault Avenue, subject to the following restrictions:
A. All such murals shall be painted on an exterior wall of a building as designated in a comprehensive site plan.
B. All such murals located inside the Main Street District shall be accepted and endorsed by Fort Payne Main Street and approved by the planning commission after consideration of their location, size, and aesthetic enhancement to the Main Street District.
C. All such murals located outside of the Main Street District, but within the Historic District or within 125 feet of Gault Avenue between 24th Street N. and 12th Street S. where the complete sign is intended to be viewed from Gault Avenue shall be approved by the planning commission in consultation with Fort Payne Main Street after consideration of its location, size, and aesthetic enhancement to the Historic District or within 125 feet of Gault Avenue between 24th Street N. and 12th Street S.
D. All such murals shall consist solely of historical or communal subject matter with no commercial or private person or entity content.
Jones said Brown told him the murals violated the city ordinance and cited several complaints. Ultimately, Jones disagreed with Brown and the City's interpretation of the cited ordinance. Brown declined to give a comment to the Times Journal regarding this story.
According to Jones, neither the City of Fort Payne nor the Mainstreet organization informed Jones that the murals violated any city ordinance prior to the change in 2024.
Jones released the following statement:
"Since relocating our business to downtown Fort Payne, we have heard nothing but compliments on our participation in the downtown Fort Payne renaissance. I'm proud of what we have built here. We have one of the nicest properties in Fort Payne that we share with our customers, guests, employees, and the entire community. Nick (Brown) and the City are wrong on this - he (Brown) even implied to me that he did not want to pursue this but was being pushed to do so. The first call I got about this was in September of 2025. The timing is suspicious because in August of 2025, the Times Journal ran a story about political contributions in the municipal races and some of those raised eyebrows. This is selective, vindictive prosecution of someone that City Hall, Brown, and I guess the mayor, does not like. I'll see them in court."
In reviewing the previous Ordinances for the City of Fort Payne from 2008, which were in effect when the current Southern Torch property when the property was purchased, there is no mention of murals in the ordinances.
Jones argues that his property should be grandfathered in since there is no mention of murals in the ordinances from 2008, and he purchased it three years before the Ordinance change.
Fort Payne Police Chief David Davis said this in a statement to the Times-Journal.
“On September 16, 2025, Mr. Nick Jones was contacted by our Ordinance officer regarding two signs on the Southern Torch building that are in violation of the City of Fort Payne’s sign ordinance. From September 16 to October 27, 2025 several attempts were made by our ordinance officers to work with Mr. Jones to rectify the violation. After being unsuccessful in a resolution, a summons was issued to Mr. Jones to appear before the City Judge.”
When the Times-Journal reached out to Fort Payne Mayor Brian Baine for comment, he did not return the request for comment.
Jones' court date is set for Monday, February 9th at 4pm in Fort Payne Municipal Court.
