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Service Key for Downtown Grocery

Posted on: Tuesday, 14 March 2006, 12:00 CST

By Marty Roney, Montgomery Advertiser, Ala.

Mar. 14--PRATTVILLE -- The new owners of Prattville's downtown grocery store are hoping a trip into the past will mean a bright future, and an improved bottom line.

Prattville Meat and Grocery, one block off Main Street, has been open three weeks. Recently a list of owners have tried to keep the location open through fits and starts of success. Before four investors stepped forward recently, the store had been closed about two months.

"We might not have all the brands the chains have, but we're a full-service grocery store," said Bobby Bledsoe, managing partner. He also runs the meat department, a calling card for the business. "We get a chicken truck in five times a week, so our chicken is fresh. We'll custom cut your meat. We want to be the place that puts service back into shopping, the way things used to be."

Mike Hicks, Mickey Owen and Larry Caldwell round out the partner list. Hicks and Owen own insurance companies in Montgomery, and Caldwell owns the South Side Meat and Grocery, also in the Capital City. The building went up in 1955, at a time when Prattville's population was well below the 7,500 figure. Census estimates for 2004 put the population at 27,500.

"I love it that we have a store downtown again," said Ida Simpson, a downtown Prattville resident.

At 73, she remembers the time when Prattville was a smaller town and the pace was slower. "I walked to this store for years. I can remember when the courthouse was open half a day on Saturday so the country people could take care of all their business when they came into town. I love being able to walk to the store again. It saves me a trip up the hill."

"Up the hill" and "Prattmont" are the terms Prattville natives of a certain age use to describe the mid-town area. Most of the town's development trends have bypassed even Prattmont for the surging areas of east Prattville.

That suits the new storeowners just fine, said Owen.

"There's a tremendous customer base right here in downtown and areas in west Prattville," he said. "Our first three weeks have been great. We have more and more customers coming in every day. We don't want to put the chains out of business. But we do want to take care of our customers."

One of those customers is Mayor Jim Byard. The store is within a few feet of City Hall, and about two blocks from the Byard home. The mayor said he always has been a supporter of downtown, representing the area on the city council before becoming mayor.

"It's really very convenient just to drop by and pick things up," he said.

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To see more of the Montgomery Advertiser, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com.

Copyright (c) 2006, Montgomery Advertiser, Ala.

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Source: Montgomery Advertiser

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