Ladies of the Camellia City

By Kaitlyn Neese

The ladies of the Camelia City are doing big things for downtown and Greenville as a whole.

Multiple businesses have opened downtown in the last few years, including: Sweet Heart Alabama, The Last Blossom, Artitude, Likha Salon, Salon on Main, Alabama Grill, and Elements Yoga. All of these businesses were opened and are owned by women.

These businesses added to a re-burgeoning Greenville, especially downton. There are many successful business women in Greenville, here are a few examples.

Blush Beauty Boutique is a beauty supply store that was opened by Chae Brown in 2011. In 2013, Brown opened her second business, Southern Mint Boutique. Three years later, she rebranded the business to True South Outfitters.

Brown’s original move to Greenville was not with a goal of starting a business. In 2004, she moved here to help her mother with her store, Young’s Fashion. She planned on staying a year then moving back to Auburn, but she found Greenville to be her home.

Brown says that the history of downtown Greenville appealed to her, and if there was one more open door that was one more thing to bring life back to our street.

“I never imagined in my twenties, that at 38, I would own two businesses and call Greenville my home,” Brown said.

Sonya Rice opened Sonya’s Dance and Fitness 20 plus years ago. After years of teaching classes, she decided to retire the fitness portion of her business and just instruct dance.

During those years she fell in love with the aerial arts. “It was on my bucket list to learn and perform aerial dance through the circus arts” said Rice, “After practicing for several years, I wanted to bring this passion to life and share it with my community.”

Elements Yoga offers Earth, fire, water and air classes. The Earth classes include candlelight flow yoga, golden years chair yoga, and a self-care Sunday class. The fire classes build heat and make you sweat which include Yogalates, Qigong, and Ashtanga Yoga. The water classes include meditation and gentle Yin yoga. The air classes include all the different levels of aerial yoga.

While Rice brought something new to our city, Resa Bates and Allan Bloodworth decided to bring back something old.

The most recent addition to downtown Greenville is the newly reopened Alabama Grill. The restaurant originally opened in 1947 and closed in 2001. But this year, Resa Bates and Allan Bloodworth re-established the historic restaurant.

“This place had a lot of good memories, and we wanted to bring that back to our community,” Bates said.

The Alabama Grill serves fresh and healthy food choices sourced in the local area as often as possible.

From old businesses to new businesses, it’s safe to say women are doing big things for downtown Greenville.

Even the Greenville Area Chamber of Commerce, which is a vital part of our community, is run by Tracy Salter and her assistant Courtney Rudowski.

These are just a few examples of successful business women in downtown Greenville. And downtown Greenville is just a small portion of successful business women in the world.

The list of businesses being ran or owned by women is still being compiled and a good many will be featured in future articles.

To date, the list includes: A&E Marketing and Consulting, LLC; Abbie Gardener Ballew State Farm; All Occasions Creations; Alabama Grill; Artitude on Main; Camellia City Bakery and Deli; Blush Beauty Boutique; Camellia City Bakery and Deli; Cheveux Salon; Element’s Yoga Studio; Harriet B. Foshee, O.D.; Keri Pope Stanley, DMD; Likha Salon; Marilyn’s Hair Design, McFerrin’s Jewelry; Modest Apparel; Salon on Main; Sonya’s Dance; Stuckey’s Barber Shop; Miss Susan’s School of Dance; Sweet Heart Alabama; The Faith Project; The Last Blossom; The Pineapple; True South Outfitters; Vesta Taylor Interiors; Young’s Fashion and Beauty; Karey Rainey Interiors; Farmers Insurance; RE/MAX Camellia Realty; First Realty of Greenville; Hot Waxx; Major’s Cleaners; Mary Robinson 4808 Beauty & Style; Modes Apparel; Barba’s His and Hers; Johnson’s Grocery; 365 Fyne Studion, Dreamland Tax Services and Dreamland Graphic Design and Printing; Fashion Snobs; A Step Above Beauty; J&M Restaurant & Catering; and Sholam Enterprises.

If you are a female business owner in Butler County, give us a shout at 334-371-9900 or publisher@thegreenvillestandard.com. We want to include everyone’s business name.

You are vital to the growth of Butler County and we do not want to leave anyone out.