Local grocers Brooks and Lisa Davis have purchased the Elm Shopping Center in Iuka intending to build a new, larger version of their popular Brooks Grocery.
Timing for construction is still to be determined, reported businessman Brooks Davis on Tuesday. But their intention is to demolish current structures and build something larger than their current 12,500-square-foot store just across Battleground Drive, but smaller than their 20,000-square-foot one they opened in Tupelo in 2021. They also intend to have gas pumps, like at the Tupelo Coley Road store, he said.
The Elm Shopping Center on Battleground Drive was built in the 1970s, and was long anchored by Fred’s discount store and pharmacy, but Fred’s left in recent years and now there are about eight tenants from AutoZone, beside Piggly Wiggly, to where Indian Creek crosses under Battleground Drive. Davis says he thinks that stores south of the former Fred’s location will likely remain in place, including the popular Iuka Hospital Wellness Center, AutoZone, McMillians DVD store, and others.
Brooks Grocery opened in Iuka in 2009, in the former Nelson’s grocery store on Battleground Drive. Grocery entrepreneur Brooks Davis, from Red Bay, Alabama, made many changes, aimed at attracting a larger and more varied clientele, targeting the needs of not only local shoppers, but also the hundreds of Pickwick Lake visitors. Offerings like ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook foods, their “fresh foods, friendly service” motto, and an intentionally friendly atmosphere appeals to shoppers who enjoy frequenting upscale markets like Whole Foods or Publix, but appreciate being able to get all that in their hometown.
“We’d just like to be able to offer more, and we are out of space in our current location,” said Davis. They hope to modify the design of the Tupelo store for the new Iuka store.
