Grocery stores in the Bayou have a long and storied tradition. I'm not certain that the entirety of the Internet has the space to contain the stories that could be shared about good times had at all of the grocery stores that have gone on before in our town. As a small child, a trip to the grocery store in the Bayou provided two options: Schambeau's and Greer's. Schambeau's was a longtime Bayou La Batre institution that has closed, sadly, after the death of its longtime proprietor Mr. Crum Schambeau. Volumes could be written about the original "one-stop shop" where you could find groceries, comic books, shrimp boots, and shotgun shells all in the same place (assuming you needed all of those things on the same trip). For more information on Schambeau's, check out this link.
Today, all we have left is Greer's Food Tiger. Greer's has a special place in my heart for a number of reasons.
1) First and foremost, I was an employee at the Grand Bay location for a few months as a high school student.
2) Greer's is not for the pretentious. If you live in Bayou La Batre, you never have to ask yourself if you are under dressed for a trip to the grocery store. After my kayaking adventure (see here) my wife had left a message asking me to go pick up a few things from the grocery store. I examined my situation: I was wearing gym shorts, a ratty t-shirt, a Milwaukee Brewers baseball cap, Crocs (yes, a grown man in Crocs, no shame at all!, and a healthy dose of Bayou water. I was worried for a second, and then realized, "Wait a second, I'm going to Greer's!"
3) No shoes, no problem. Greer's is where the term "grocery store feet" originated. More bare feet have walked across the floor at Greer's than any other grocery store in the world, most likely. During my sojourn in Central Alabama, I learned that amongst a certain subset of the culture, it was considered high-style for a family to send their children to church and/or school without shoes. The children would come to church in their fancy, dress-up clothes, barefooted. People of the Bayou, apparently we were far ahead of the curve.
4) You never know what you might find to eat at Greer's. Here are a few pictures that I took on a recent trip to Greer's. I'll try to let the pictures do the talking:
Chicken feet: They're what's for dinner!
Pigsnout: The other, other white meat.
5) The folks at Greer's are willing to go above and beyond to serve those of us who are in less cosmopolitan areas. Did you know that there are 16 Greer's stores in Alabama? They include a number of exotic locales: Coffeville, Eight Mile, Grove Hill, McIntosh, Millry, Robertsdale, Semmes, and Theodore.
6) For those of you who are less culturally fortunate, check out the following pictures:
That's right, Greer's has an entire section dedicated to crab boil, Cajun seasonings, and fish fry. As you eat your bland, boneless, skinless, baked chicken breast tonight, we'll think about you.
So, there you have it. I like Greer's. Earlier this week, my wife sent me to pick up some sugar for tea. There was no question where I'd go. I grabbed my little barefooted boy and we hopped in the truck for a quick trip to Greer's. I saw some familiar faces and my boy and I had a good time on our field trip. For more information on Greer's, check them out here:
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