Ashley Mac's, a cafe and takeout business with three locations in suburban Birmingham, plans to open its first downtown location in the former home of a famous old Magic City restaurant.

The cafe will move into the former La Paree restaurant space at 2013 Fifth Ave. North, Ashley Mac's co-founder and co-owner Ashley McMakin told AL.com this afternoon.

"Being a Birmingham native, it's great to see downtown reviving," McMakin said. "We are excited to be a part of the Birmingham food scene - especially downtown, as it's kind of booming down there."

The La Paree space has been vacant since that restaurant closed in 2003. It opened in the 1940s, and was once a popular breakfast and lunch spot for downtown office workers.

Earlier this summer, the Caribbean restaurant Miami Fusion Cafe opened in the former Cameo Cafe space next door to La Paree. That space also had been vacant for several years.

Construction on the new downtown Ashley Mac's should begin within the next couple of weeks and the target date for opening is late fall, McMakin said.

The restaurant should accommodate about 100 guests, she said.

"We will have a little patio, so we will have some outdoor seating, too" McMakin said.

The cafe, which will mainly cater to the downtown lunch crowd, will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, she said.

The Ashley Mac's menu features sandwiches, salads and side dishes, including chicken salad, pimento cheese, grilled chicken and ham-and-Swiss.

The "gourmet-to-go" menu also includes take-home appetizers, entrees, casseroles, salads and desserts, including Ashley Mac's famous strawberry cake.

McMakin and her husband and co-owner Andy McMakin started Ashley Mac's as a catering business about 10 years ago, and their business has since grown to include Ashley Mac's cafes in Cahaba Heights, Inverness and Riverchase.