Birmingham chef George Reis enjoyed a nearly decade-long run at his Five Points South bistro 26, the next-door neighbor to his seafood restaurant Ocean.

But in March, Reis decided to close 26, give the restaurant a major makeover, and reopen it as an oyster bar and gastropub.

The work is done, and after a soft opening the past couple of weeks, Reis and his staff are ready to crank it up full -blast at his new 5 Point Public House Oyster Bar.

"It's been fun to do this," Reis tells AL.com. "We had a 10-year run with 26, and it was still running as a great restaurant. We just thought it was time to kind of freshen it up. And it was wonderful for me to see how excited I got about it. It kinds of pumps you up."

To see what all Reis has done to the place -- and to get a glimpse at some of the dishes on the menu -- check out AL.com photographer Tamika Moore's photo gallery at the top of this story.

In the meantime, here are a few things to know about 5 Point Public House Oyster Bar before you go.

1. A reinvestment in the neighborhood.

Reiss opened Ocean in 2002 and 26 about four years later, so he's entrenched and invested in Five Point South. His new place is way of reminding folks that Five Points is still rocking and rolling, and that he intends to stay. "We have some great new (entertainment) districts that have popped up in town," he says. "It's wonderful to see the city growing like it's growing. Avondale, Lakeview and Second Avenue (North) are all growing, and it's fantastic. But I'm invested in Five Points. I've been here since 2002, and there are a lot of other people who have been here a lot longer. I just wanted to keep it fresh."

2. It's 5 "Point" Public House Oyster Bar, not "Points."

While he's proud to be a member of the Five Points South community, Reis dropped the "s" in the name of his restaurant on purpose. "We wanted to be identified with the neighborhood, but we didn't want it to get lost as the neighborhood, if that makes sense," he says. "It's associated with the place, but it's not the place."

3. The chef has an eye for design, too.

Reis did the interior design work himself, incorporating such elements as old-fashioned Edison light bulbs, antique doors, reclaimed wood tables, and a cast-iron beer tap tower. "It was all kind of my ideas," he says. "I just wanted this warm feeling, and I could just see it and it just started coming together in my mind. I had some great people who worked with us. A bunch of my staff (from 26) stayed on and did a lot of work. My contractor did the carpentry and build-out work, and I have to give my hats-off to my plumber because he helped build all of the tap towers."

4. A trip back in time.

The vintage photo behind the oyster bar was taken in the 1920s, when trolley cars still carried passengers to and from Five Point South. And the caption "It All Began in Five Points South" is from an old postcard from 1910, Reis says. "I thought the two went together really well and would help anchor us to this neighborhood."

5. Oysters any way you like 'em.

The oysters are served on the half-shell, baked in a wood- fire oven, and even fried in a sushi roll variation on Oysters Rockefeller. "All of the oysters that we're doing are going to be Southeastern coast -- from Virginia to Louisiana, highlighting some (oyster) farms in the Carolinas and Georgia, then a touch of Florida and highlighting Alabama, which has five distinct oyster farms going on now and is leading the way in the Southeast for oyster farms. It's a great hats-off to those guys down there that are doing this, and it's just another great thing about Alabama seafood."

6. Check out the pub grub.

Since 5 Point is also a public house, the menu feature such pub food such as the Chicken & Biscuit Sandwich (fried chicken, bourbon-maple butter and pickles on a white cheddar biscuit, with succotash on the side); Alligator Tail Tacos (with lager-beer-grilled gator tail, caramelized onion, grilled pineapple, salsa verde, queso fresco and cabbage); the Pub Rub Beef Brisket (oven-smoked beef brisket on sourdough bread, with white cheddar, apple fennel slaw and beer-bourbon-bacon jam, served with house fries); and a Brussels Sprouts Pork Belly Potato Hash and Farm Egg.

7. Reserve a seat at the tap table.

Craft beer connoisseurs may want to round up a group of their friends and reserve the tap table, which is made from 180-year-old poplar wood and seats up to 10 people. Two private taps run from behind the bar to the table, and guests may pour their own brews from 5 Point's selection of 32 beers. "We call you up the day before your reservation and tell you what beers we have available, and you can pick two of those," Reis says. "So when you arrive for your reservation, those beers are on tap at your table." Guests at the other tables may also order beers by the pint or by the growler.

8. Yes, that is wine; no, this is not chemistry class.

5 Point also has eight keg wines available by the half-glass, a full glass, the half-beaker or a full beaker. Yes, beaker, like in chemistry lab. Just to be different, Reis decided to serve the keg wines in beakers instead of carafes. "It's a new thing -- wine in keg," Reis says. "It's kind of like an experiment, so we tied in the idea of beakers instead of carafes.

9. In case Mother Nature calls.

Should you need to go to the restroom, pay close attention to - and get a chuckle out of -- the signs on the smoked-glass doors. There's "Seeing a Man About a Horse" on the door to the men's room, and "Mother Nature Calls" on the women's room door. The two unisex rooms are labeled "Madam, I'm Adam" and "Ambidextrous Inc." If you get confused, maybe you'd better knock before entering.

10. And by all means, save room for dessert.

Oh my, does Reis ever have a sweet tooth. The decadently delicious dessert menu includes the Coke Float & a High 5 (Coca-Cola, vanilla ice cream and Reis' take on a Kit Kat/Almond Joy candy bar); Beerimisu (tiramisu with ladyfingers soaked in stout beer instead of espresso); Go Home Cookie, You're Drunk (a tempura-fried chocolate-oatmeal cookie with cream filling and a reduced stout beer and sweetened condensed milk sauce); and our personal favorite, Peanut Butter Jelly Time (a slice of pound cake, lightly griddled with butter, and served with strawberry preserves, peanut-butter ice cream and peanut-bacon brittle bacon). All of the cookies, cakes, preserves, candies, fillings, sauces and ice creams are made in-house.

5 Point Public House Oyster Bar is at 1210 20th St. South in Birmingham. The phone is 205-918-0726, and the website is www.5pointpublichouse.com. Hours are 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 11 a.m. to midnight Fridays, and 5 p.m. to midnight Saturdays.