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Who We Are
We are southern. The members of the Southern Mercantile team were all born and raised in this small town that we still call home. This two traffic light, one high school, everybody knows everybody, tiny, sometimes maddening, wonderful little jewel of a town!
Sometimes it seems like life would be easier somewhere else. A retail busniness in a small, rural town is always a struggle but, Matt and Roxie Seale feel called to be in Ocilla, Georgia (population 3,400) to make a difference in their local economy and community. In business since in 2003, their store, The Shoppes at Fourth and Cherry, has become the heartbeat of the downtown community. A place for folks to gather, visit,relax and enjoy life! All who enter the doors of The Shoppes are made to feel welcome and at home, a part of the family. This is exactly the feeling they hope to convey when you visit southernmercantile.com. In 2013, The Southern Mercantile was created to share the love of southern traditions and to create an online community for folks to feel at home. Our blogs tell pieces of the story of our small town life here, in Ocilla, to freinds near and far.
Sometimes it seems like life would be easier somewhere else. A retail busniness in a small, rural town is always a struggle but, Matt and Roxie Seale feel called to be in Ocilla, Georgia (population 3,400) to make a difference in their local economy and community. In business since in 2003, their store, The Shoppes at Fourth and Cherry, has become the heartbeat of the downtown community. A place for folks to gather, visit,relax and enjoy life! All who enter the doors of The Shoppes are made to feel welcome and at home, a part of the family. This is exactly the feeling they hope to convey when you visit southernmercantile.com. In 2013, The Southern Mercantile was created to share the love of southern traditions and to create an online community for folks to feel at home. Our blogs tell pieces of the story of our small town life here, in Ocilla, to freinds near and far.
Matt and Roxie are commited to the revitalization of Ocilla. In addition to the upkeep of their 100 year old historic building, they have renovated a home in the neighborhood where Roxie was raised. In 2015 Matt was elected Mayor and has worked tirelessly since that day to use all resources available to him to make Ocilla a better place for it's citizens. Roxie works along side him in the community while also running the two retail businesses. Sales from The Southern Mercantile are growing a business that will create new jobs and a little hope for a small community that sometimes struggles in a rapidly changing world. We hope you'll feel at home here and become a member of our online family. If you are ever in the Ocilla area, we would love for you to stop in for a visit. We promise to show you some good, old fashioned southern hospitality! Whether you choose to support The Southern Mercantile by reading our blog posts, shopping in the online store, or by stopping by for a visit in person, we'd like to say thank you for being involved in the revitalization of this small, southern town, our home.
Roxie
For me being southern means yes ma’am, y’all, please and thank you. It means sweet tea, fried chicken, pimiento cheese and more delicious desserts than you could ever count. It’s church dinners, casseroles for shut ins, summer gardens and dinner parties. A place where gentlemen and ladies still exist, where your front porch is the most relaxing place in your home and where manners still mean something.
My parents were not from here so I guess I am technically still an
“outsider”. My father is from Colorado and my mother is from Arlington, VA. Even though my parents were not raised in the deep south, I have grown to appreciate my southern upbringing and cherish the lessons I have learned. My southern roots do run deep as my grandmother was raised in Selma, Alabama. Despite living outside Washington D.C. for 60 years, she never lost her classic southern drawl or her need to serve a fruit or congealed salad at every meal.
The idea of “The Southern Mercantile” has been with me for ten years. Something that I just couldn’t shake, that I just have to do! I have taken great care in curating a wonderful selection of goods that I feel represents the beauty and the ease of southern living. I do hope that, more than anything, The Southern Mercantile will be a place you can come and relax, read funny stories or helpful how-tos, and feel connected in some way to our little town and our crazy southern ways!
I worry that many of our southern traditions are being lost and that my generation doesn’t fully appreciate those ladies and gentlemen that went before us. The Southern Mercantile is to be a celebration of everything that is good about The South. Let’s remember how to host fabulous porch parties and wedding showers and how to can our own vegetables and make our own jams. Let’s take pride in our homes and our gardens and enjoy the best that life has to offer. “Simple Living, Southern Charm.” That pretty much sums it up! Simply living, by appreciating the beauty that surrounds us and taking the time to soak up the history and the nostalgia of our southern roots. There are so many wonderful things that my team and I have learned from growing up southern and we can’t wait to share them with you in hopes that you too will be able to embrace the ease of southern living!
My parents were not from here so I guess I am technically still an
“outsider”. My father is from Colorado and my mother is from Arlington, VA. Even though my parents were not raised in the deep south, I have grown to appreciate my southern upbringing and cherish the lessons I have learned. My southern roots do run deep as my grandmother was raised in Selma, Alabama. Despite living outside Washington D.C. for 60 years, she never lost her classic southern drawl or her need to serve a fruit or congealed salad at every meal.
The idea of “The Southern Mercantile” has been with me for ten years. Something that I just couldn’t shake, that I just have to do! I have taken great care in curating a wonderful selection of goods that I feel represents the beauty and the ease of southern living. I do hope that, more than anything, The Southern Mercantile will be a place you can come and relax, read funny stories or helpful how-tos, and feel connected in some way to our little town and our crazy southern ways!
I worry that many of our southern traditions are being lost and that my generation doesn’t fully appreciate those ladies and gentlemen that went before us. The Southern Mercantile is to be a celebration of everything that is good about The South. Let’s remember how to host fabulous porch parties and wedding showers and how to can our own vegetables and make our own jams. Let’s take pride in our homes and our gardens and enjoy the best that life has to offer. “Simple Living, Southern Charm.” That pretty much sums it up! Simply living, by appreciating the beauty that surrounds us and taking the time to soak up the history and the nostalgia of our southern roots. There are so many wonderful things that my team and I have learned from growing up southern and we can’t wait to share them with you in hopes that you too will be able to embrace the ease of southern living!
Jorjanne
The southern women in my family raised me to be a lady, crossing my legs at church while wearing my Sunday best, and never going out in public without my “face” on! My father and boy cousins taught me to appreciate the outdoors, including hunting and fishing, and especially the fun of playing in the mud. Somehow, I have learned to balance all that is southern with my own personality. I have rebelled against my aunt Wanda by never wearing lipstick. To my father’s dismay, I do not hunt or eat fried fish. I have pleased (perhaps impressed?) my mother and grandmother by learning to cook and provide comforting meals for my sweet, loving husband and two rambunctious, snuggly boys.
I look forward to sharing with you all that I have learned about being southern, but especially southern cooking and hospitality. There is a wonderful sense of pride in watching those you love enjoy what you have worked so hard to prepare. I hope that you will be able to take what you learn here at The Southern Mercantile and provide such an experience for yourself and your own family. So sit back, relax, and drink in all that is southern - though you will have to make your own sweet tea!
I look forward to sharing with you all that I have learned about being southern, but especially southern cooking and hospitality. There is a wonderful sense of pride in watching those you love enjoy what you have worked so hard to prepare. I hope that you will be able to take what you learn here at The Southern Mercantile and provide such an experience for yourself and your own family. So sit back, relax, and drink in all that is southern - though you will have to make your own sweet tea!
Tara
Being born and raised in Ocilla, Georgia, I have experienced my fair share of southern living. And after graduating from The University of Georgia, I couldn’t wait to move back home. When I speak about the South, I am referring to a place where everybody knows everybody, there are less traffic lights than you have toes, and people have the courtesy to call you when your cows “get loose”.
As I reminisce about my sweet grandparents and childhood, I hope you feel like you’re cozy in my living room. When I share recipes from my relatives’ kitchens, I hope you try them all yourself and decide to share them with your family. When I give updates of my endeavors as a newlywed living in this small town, I hope you get a few laughs. These are all things I plan to share with you in hopes that you might gain a sense of belonging in our world. As you get to know who we are and why we are investing in The Southern Mercantile, know that this is more than a geographical description we speak of, but rather a way of life, a taste of heaven, a sense of style, and a celebration of tradition.
As I reminisce about my sweet grandparents and childhood, I hope you feel like you’re cozy in my living room. When I share recipes from my relatives’ kitchens, I hope you try them all yourself and decide to share them with your family. When I give updates of my endeavors as a newlywed living in this small town, I hope you get a few laughs. These are all things I plan to share with you in hopes that you might gain a sense of belonging in our world. As you get to know who we are and why we are investing in The Southern Mercantile, know that this is more than a geographical description we speak of, but rather a way of life, a taste of heaven, a sense of style, and a celebration of tradition.
