The Main Street side of the Whaley Shopping Center was the last phase to be completed. The display windows of the Montevallo Drug Company store were oriented toward Middle Street with its entrance facing the intersection of Main and Middle. The side along Main Street was a large nearly blank brick wall with only a fairly small single window that displayed a neon sign that read, “Prescriptions.” As store spaces were completed one-by-one in the final phase, occupants began moving in and opening for business. The first of these was a new short order cafe operated by Bob Sewell, a newcomer to town who had previously owned and operated a much larger restaurant on Highway 31 in Clanton. He apparently had a sense of humor about the size of his new establishment compared to the one he had before and named it the “Dinky Dine.” It quickly became a favorite hang-out for high school and college students. Bob could make a good hamburger and french fries and offered plate lunches every day. He had quite a way with a milkshake too. Bob brought in a jukebox he kept stocked with the current hits of the day, and it was not unusual for him to push a few tables out of the way on Friday and Saturday night to make room for couples to try out the latest dance steps.
Next door to the Dinky Dine was the Falcon Book Store. The primary source for new and used text books at the time was the University of Montevallo Book Store, which was conveniently located for students in the “SUB” on campus, but the Falcon Book Store on Main Street did try to compete by buying and selling used text books, school supplies, and study guides. They also had a good selection of used paperbacks and offered a variety of magazines not normally available at the drug store newsstands. The Falcon went through several changes of ownership during its run and was a mainstay on Main Street for about a decade.
A local housewife, Elizabeth Meyer, opened the Elizabeth Shop dress shop next door to the Falcon in the first year the Shopping Center was completed. Her small but bright and accessible store attracted female customers ranging from local teenagers and their mothers to UM coeds and faculty. Mrs. Meyer was known as an active and generous booster for local organizations and causes and was rewarded with enviable customer traffic and strong sales for many years.
A bit later, another tenant catering to female customers, Marie’s Gift Shop, moved into the Whaley Shopping Center next door to the Elizabeth Shop. Marie was Marie Fancher, who had started her original business as an offshoot of her husband’s radio and TV repair shop next door to the old Albright Building. Once Marie’s business outgrew its first location, the Fanchers moved down the street about a block to a larger building. They did well there but saw that the progressive businesses in town were all now in the Whaley Shopping Center, so they decided to join them in a space that had become available. Marie took advantage of her new situation to expand her inventory beyond gifts into ladies’ ready-to-wear. Marie Fancher and Elizabeth Meyer were both very popular merchants in Montevallo and it could be easily argued that they enhanced each other’s businesses rather than the opposite.
The final space to get an occupant in the Whaley Shopping Center was a much larger store at the end of the Main Street segment. It sat vacant for a few months after it was completed, but the owner of the Food Center supermarket, Mr. Moss, soon decided to expand his interests into the appliance business. He opened Moss Appliance Center in this space, which was really ideal for showing and displaying ranges and ovens, refrigerators, freezers, washers and dryers, and smaller items. After a few years, Moss sold the business which was renamed Lawley Appliance Center.
Thank you Clay Nordan, Vice President of Montevallo Historical Society, for this information!
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