Happily Rooted in West Homewood

Jacob and Anna Snuggs along with their young daughter Nora (now 8) moved to Edgecrest Estates a little over six years ago. While several businesses, a renovated park, and aquatic center were non-existent at the time they chose to call West Homewood home, the Snuggs knew it would be a special place. “We could sense that the desire to create was very strong in West Homewood, and we knew this is where we needed to be,” said Jacob. Since their move to West Homewood, Jacob and Anna have welcomed their son Zeke (5) and daughter Joy (3).

It didn’t take long for Jacob to realize his intuition about West Homewood was true. As a creative entrepreneur, he found it very easy to connect with likeminded people at Seeds, a local coffee shop. It was at one of these meetings, his company Taproot Landscaping was created. Jacob discovered his passion for landscaping and horticulture even though his experience and training was as a youth pastor. Taproot connects his two loves by improving the beauty that surrounds us and serving the underprivileged by providing employment to men coming out of difficult situations, including homelessness and addiction.

Despite a worldwide pandemic, Taproot had an incredible and challenging year in 2020. Business picked up significantly for Taproot with so many people working from home. Jacob said, “It’s been an interesting year attempting to complete projects while abiding by contact tracing and Covid protocols”. All in all, he’s very thankful for a successful year and the ability to employ people while so many are struggling.

Somehow the Snuggs found time to take on several renovations projects of their own and set off on some new adventures in 2020. Just before the pandemic hit, they bought a 1980s camper and began renovations. They took their first camping trip last spring break when their beach trip was cancelled. Though they don’t recall relaxing much or getting any sleep during that first trip, they’ve taken several more trips around Alabama and plan to keep on adventuring. They also completed a home renovation and Jacob built their kids a hand-crafted treehouse in their backyard complete with emerald green turf. “Our favorite place is our backyard here in West Homewood. We love to have friends over and grill out. As a family we are passionate about inviting people to our home and providing a place for them to enjoy each other and God,” said Anna.

When asked how they feel connected to West Homewood, the Snuggs had many things to share, “Meeting friends at Patriot Park or walking to get a cup of coffee makes us feel like we are living a dream. West Homewood is a small community with such a welcoming vibe. We always see neighbors we know when walking through the neighborhood or eating at a local restaurant.” Anna recalls, “I remember writing in my journal as a little girl how all I wanted was a family and to live in a place where we could walk to school and playgrounds, and we have that and more!“

The Snuggs love the roots they’ve planted in West Homewood, and their hope is that people will open new businesses in the community and that diversity will continue to shape the community. They believe small business and diversity go hand-in-hand and are vital to West Homewood. “A welcoming, diverse community like ours has a cool opportunity to empower small businesses (and keep the creative, entrepreneurial spirit alive.”

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