7 minute read
NEWS
Four Generations and Counting
SHAIA’S
From Page One national, state and local awards and “has become one of the most respected men’s stores in America.”
The Shaia family held a centennial party at the store May 15.
J.L.’s grandfather, S.G. Shaia, was a 16-year-old Lebanese orphan who came to the United States in 1896, J.L. said. At first the teenager, who didn’t know a word of English, went to Lexington, Kentucky, and Nashville, then came to Birmingham in 1905.
“He was a peddler and carried a 100-pound pack on his back, selling his wares in Jefferson and Shelby counties,” J.L. said. His grandfather saved his pennies and in 1921 bought lots in Homewood. Seeing there were no grocery or drug stores in the area, he decided to open a store in 1922.
His business license, dated 192122, shows S.G. was authorized to sell bottled drinks and cigarettes. He expanded the goods he sold to include what the community needed, something that has driven the family business through the years, J.L. said.
By the 1930s, when he was no longer working in the store, S.G. was not only a successful businessman but a beloved member of the Homewood community. He visited the store daily, and people sought him out due to his ability to “conjure” warts away, according to family lore, J.L. said.
“He had some secret an Indian told him” for banishing warts and those afflicted went to him for help, his grandson said. “I don’t know what he did. He couldn’t tell the secret.”
S.G., a widower who never remarried after his wife, Badia, died in 1931, lived to be 96 and died in 1976.
In the 1930s, the second generation, S.G’s son Alex Shaia, led the business. His brother, George Shaia, was the store’s bookkeeper but left to work at Southern Railway and in the late 1940s, then took the civil service exam, eventually becoming a Homewood city inspector.
Expanding the Store’s Focus
Meanwhile, back at the store, Alex Shaia added a variety of items so that Shaia’s was like a department store, J.L. said.
“My dad wanted it to be a junior department store,” with sections for ladies, boys and babies, J.L. said.
So it was through the next decades. J.L. started working at the store in 1953 and in 1955, the store moved just two doors down from its original address, 2814 18th Street South to 2818 18th Street South.
J.L.’s brother, Leo Shaia, joined the business in 1957. By the 1970s, the brothers were co-owners who wanted to remodel the store and change the business focus to fine quality menswear.
“We decided we did not want to compete with Parisians (department store). We found our customer was a professional person in most cases.” Since then, every generation has added its own touches to the business, adapting and improving products and service.
“We found lines that weren’t as well-known but were of good quality,” such as Ralph Lauren Polo, which Shaia’s carried for 10 years before the designer launched his own stores, J.L. said.
When casual Fridays became prevalent in the office, Shaia’s expanded its line of men’s shoes, which the store had carried for 30 or 40 years at that point.
Above, a current photo of J.L. Shaia and son Ken Shaia. J.L.’s brother, Leo Shaia, joined the business in 1957. By the 1970s, the brothers were co-owners who wanted to remodel the store and change the business focus to fine quality menswear. Below left, Shaia’s founder, S.G. Shaia, sits on the steps of a house in Homewood that was next door to the original shop, which opened in 1922. Below right, a shoe sale was underway when Alex Shaia, left, and his father, Shaia’s founder S.G. Shaia, posed for this photo in front of the family business in downtown Homewood.
Renovating While Preserving the Past
Improvements also have come to the bricks and mortar aspect of the store, J.L. Shaia said. The store itself has been remodeled three times since 1955, and in 1982 Shaia’s expanded to the retail space next door. That project marked a fresh overhaul for the shop, with Birmingham architect Fritz Woehle, who was a Shaia’s customer, designing the space. At first, Woehle, who designed home interiors, not retail, walked out of the store when approached about the project. He later agreed to do the project.
“We didn’t want another cookie-cutter store,” J.L. said.
Behind the wallpaper and paneling of the store at that time, a 13-inch-thick brick wall was discovered, which now makes up a key element of the interior décor. So does the skylight that Woehle added to the ceiling, which lets in natural light. The store has been remodeled twice since 1982, and the brick wall and skylight have remained.
One personal touch that has remained is the handle on Shaia’s front door, J.L. said. The grapevines climbing up the handle reflect the family’s roots in Lebanon.
“Our heritage is deep and our ancestors were the Phoenicians, the first merchants,” he said, noting the ancient people of Lebanon who were seafaring merchants and traded throughout the Mediterranean.
Leo Shaia retired in 2015 and J.L. retired from the business in 2020 after the COVID-19 pandemic hit, but he goes into the shop to meet friends and see old customers. His son, Ken Shaia, who represents the fourth generation, is “holding the reins. He’s been with us for 25 or 30 years.”
Photos courtesy
Banking Executive to Head Mountain Brook Chamber
By Anne Ruisi
The Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce has a new executive director.
Emily Jensen will succeed Suzan Doidge, who is retiring after 14 years as the chamber’s executive director. Jensen came onboard July 5 and is working with Doidge until Doidge leaves at the end of
September.
During the transition period, she is learning all aspects of the organization and meeting chamber members and community partners who’ve helped sustain the organization, she said. She also wants to build on Doidge’s accomplishments for the chamber.
“There are so many moving parts,” Jensen said.
As executive director, she will be in charge of membership development and communication, strategic planning and marketing, financial management and fundraising and general oversight.
Jensen’s business background includes 17 years in the banking industry, where she worked in managerial positions at Iberiabank and Regions Bank. Her most recent position prior to joining the Mountain Brook chamber was at First Horizons Bank, where she was private client relationship manager.
Her alma mater is the University of Alabama, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts.
Jensen is active in community service, which includes serving on the executive board of Childcare Resources. She is a sustaining member of the Junior League of Birmingham and served two terms on its junior executive board. She also participated in Children’s of Alabama Committee for The Future.
Chamber members who haven’t met Jensen may do so at the organization’s quarterly luncheon Aug. 2 at the Country Club of Birmingham. The featured speaker will be Jennifer Ryan, founder and owner of the restaurant Blueroot and creator of the Croux app, which helps restaurants fill shifts quickly with local talent. Tickets are available until July 31 at www.mtnbrookchamber. org.
Emily Jensen, above, will succeed Suzan Doidge, who is retiring after 14 years.
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