Lucy Greer can’t help but smile when talking about her family’s newest grocery store.

“We heard that it’s being called Club Greer’s, which is fun,” Greer said. “We are so happy to see the joy of not only the community that lives and works down here but there’s so many areas from Baldwin County and Mobile County, residents that are just coming to visit this part of the city. That’s exciting.”

How Greer’s St. Louis Market is changing downtown Mobile from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

Greer’s St. Louis Market is the 29th store operated by the Greer family in Alabama, Mississippi and Florida, but what makes this store unique begins with its design.

“This place was a funeral home and then an auto parts store,” Greer said. “To develop it into an operating grocery store, we feel like the outcome has been really great.”

The opening of Greer’s St. Louis Market marks the return of a grocery store to downtown Mobile. Ironically, Mobile’s first downtown grocery store opened in 1916 when Lucy Greer’s great-great-grandfather, Autry Greer, started the family business at the corner of Water and Saint Michael streets.

“We’ve always wanted to come back,” said Greer, who is also the company’s spokesperson. “We just felt like it was the right time for us to invest in this area of the community.”

(Courtesy of Alabama NewsCenter)