Matt and Roxie Seale are owners of The Shoppes at Fourth and Cherry in Ocilla.
Matt and Roxie Seale, owners of The Shoppes at Fourth and Cherry, see their business as an opportunity to encourage revitalization in their small community of Ocilla, located in Irwin County.
The entrepreneurial couple was drawn together by The Shoppes, along with help from friends Chris and Jorjanne Paulk, who live in nearby Wray, Georgia.
Roxie’s dad, Terry Crain, owned The Shoppes, along with Lisa Davis, and renovated the historic downtown building to house a florist, retail space, café, and event venue.
After graduating from the University of Georgia, Roxie came back to Ocilla to help get the business started. “I told my dad I would stay one year, and I had no intentions of staying.”
The following year, Crain sold the building to Matt Seale, a young financial advisor from Atlanta who had become a frequent visitor in Ocilla.
“I was living in Atlanta and would travel to Savannah to meet with clients and come through Ocilla to visit with Chris and Jorjanne,” said Matt, who is originally from Hinesville, Georgia. “I fell in love with the town and developed a romanticism about living in a small town.”
After Matt purchased the building, he leased the space to Crain and Davis.
“I intended to be a landlord from Atlanta, and at that time I had no plans of moving here,” said Matt, who graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology. “However, life has a funny way of making its own plans.”
Roxie said things also didn’t go as she had envisioned. “I was looking to leave soon after the sale but stayed around longer than I planned.”
Matt’s trips to Ocilla became more frequent, and he and Roxie married in 2007.
Today, The Shoppes includes the retail space and café. Many of the items featured in the shop include homemade jams and sauces; clothing for men, women, and children; and beautifully crafted items from nearby residents.
In addition to Roxie, The Shoppes is run by a modern day “Designing Women” ensemble that includes her longtime friend Jorjanne, and newest member Tara Smith, an Ocilla native and University of Georgia graduate.
“Jorjanne and I went to high school together, and she started helping us with the café and now does a little of everything,” Roxie said. “Tara came back home after college and now serves as our general manager, baker, and photographer, among other things.”
Matt and Roxie Seale, owners of The Shoppes at Fourth and Cherry, were introduced by mutual friends Jorjanne and Chris Paulk.
There are no defined job titles or duties. It is a team effort from managing the shop to preparing lunch.
“We are all a tangled web,” Roxie said. “Each of us has our own talents, but at times we have to wear different hats and do whatever needs to be done.”
Through the years, The Shoppes has been a catalyst in the revitalization efforts in downtown Ocilla, which now draws people from surrounding communities to shop and eat.
Matt and Roxie also renovated a historic home in the same neighborhood where Roxie grew up, which is within walking distance of the downtown area.
“It hasn’t been easy, and we went to the school of ‘hard knocks,’ but Matt is very business oriented, and I have the creative side,” Roxie said. “Learning the business has been a challenge, but we have risen to that challenge.”
As with any business, there are peaks and valleys. In 2011, Matt and Roxie were at a crossroad regarding the expansion of their business and deciding whether to remain in Ocilla or move to a larger city.
“We did a lot of praying and being open to what our direction would be,” said Roxie.
Matt said this was a turning point in their lives. “I really felt that we were being called to stay here. At the time I didn’t know why, but we made the commitment to do as much as we could to make a positive impact on our community.”
Finding a way to give back to their community and build their business was part of the process in launching Southern Mercantile, an online store that features many of the items at The Shoppes—but with a more personal story.
“We knew we needed to build a bigger audience to keep going,” said Matt, who was recently re-elected as mayor of Ocilla. “Today, with social media and the internet, there are so many ways to expand your business outside of where you live.”-
With an online platform, Matt and Roxie use Southern Mercantile as an opportunity to share Ocilla’s traditions and charm with others throughout the southeast, and eventually across the country.
Day-to-day operations at The Shoppes at Fourth and Cherry are managed by Roxie Seale, Jorjanne Paulk, and Tara Smith
“Southern Mercantile has been something I have always dreamed of, but as more of an actual store,” Roxie said. “We wanted not only to expand what we offered here at The Shoppes but also share our town.”
Matt and Roxie spend their weekends traveling to markets throughout the southeast to promote Southern Mercantile and Ocilla.
Roxie said sharing a little southern hospitality and charm is part of the Southern Mercantile mission.
“The Southern Mercantile is more than an online store; it’s about small-town living,” she said. “It may seem strange to us living here, but people in bigger cities like the idea that we have a canning plant and everyone knows everyone.”
A part of sharing Ocilla is done through a blog on the Southern Mercantile website. Roxie, Jorjanne, and Tara write about all things southern, from family traditions and recipes to tips on renovating a historic home on a budget.
Roxie describes Southern Mercantile as the place to “relax, read funny stories or helpful how-tos, and feel connected in some way to our little town and crazy southern way.”