For Chris and Lynne Taylor, opening a little shop in a small town wasn’t just a business decision, it was fulfilling a dream. Tired of the big corporate world, Chris called his wife from work one day and said he wanted to quit and follow the dream. “She thought I was joking. Then I showed up at the house,” he laughed, “I was just tired of it, you know? And life is too short. It was time to just make it happen.”
Saturday, June 8th, they made it happen in downtown Centreville, fittingly next door to the old Cleveland’s Grocery building. Several people came out for the ribbon cutting for Cahawba Mercantile’s grand opening day, including Mayor Terry Morton. “This is a real good thing for Centreville,” the mayor commented, “It helps our economy, and it gives the message to other businesses that this is a good place to be. And they’re really nice people, too.”
Besides formerly having regular jobs, the Taylors have been in the fireworks business for 18 years, owning locations in Prattville, Montevallo, and South Shades Crest. They hope to make this new venture successful by keeping it local. “We’re carrying as many local and Alabama products as possible,” Mr. Taylor said. They stock Amish peanut butter from Calera, Medders Family Farm peanut butter from Montevallo, non-alcoholic muscadine wine also from Shelby county, and several other close-to-home sourced items.
“We’re also going to have what we call ‘lunchables’ every day,” Chris continued, “with fresh made lunches delivered to the store here daily that people can buy as a grab and go sort of thing.” In addition you will find locally sourced fresh produce and hard to find (around Bibb County) items such as coconut milk, hand crafted cheese and butter, and much more.
Store hours are 7:30 – 6:00 Monday through Saturday. Stop in, have some free coffee, and see what they have to offer. You just may find more than you expect. They accept, credit and debit cards, Apple Pay, and even cash. You can also follow them on Facebook at facebook.com/CahawbaMercantile.
