By Hamilton Richardson
Staff Writer EA News
Photos from Southern Refinery
Life can be tough, especially these days with so many stresses, but for one Autauga County native, her newly-expanded boutique is one place people, especially women, can come and take a load off, enjoy some shopping and relax among friends.
The Southern Refinery Boutique, which has just expanded to a much larger space, started in Brittany Malone’s home in 2018.
“It started with me taking custom orders of hand-lettered signs,” Malone said. “I had always dreamed of having a storefront with clothing and gifts. I opened my first location in the summer of 2018 and quickly outgrew it. We moved to a larger location in 2019. We also quickly outgrew that location.”
The boutique owner said that she started looking for a larger location in 2021 and the shop is now having its Grand-Reopening in a 7,200 square-foot space where they can house their retail storefront as well as online inventory.
“This expansion is going to allow for more product offerings as well as a larger space for our customers to have a better shopping experience,” Malone said. “More room to browse, more dressing rooms and of course more fun times.”
The Southern Refinery, which is now located at 1336 South Memorial Drive in Prattville, offers women’s clothing sizes small to 3X, shoes, accessories and small gift items.
“One thing that makes us a little different is that I hand-letter signs and items for gifts,” she added. “I’ve painted thousands of signs, frames, ornaments and tags through the years.”
Malone said that although The Southern Refinery is a business, she has a bigger vision.
“We are all about helping women feel good in their skin,” she said. “Life is tough and if even for a 10-minute visit in the store a lady can decompress and feel good about themselves, then I feel like our job has been done. Even if someone doesn’t buy anything, we love to hear that our customers feel like our store is their happy place and when they are having a rough day, they know they can come in a leave with a smile. Spreading God’s love is what it’s all about and we love getting to serve our community.”
Malone was born and raised in Autauga County and has been married for 13 years and lives with her husband and two-year-old daughter on the same farm that her “PawPaw” and dad were raised on.
“I love our community and I have a passion for serving the great people that live here,” she said. “I hope our business story will encourage others to chase their dreams even when they seem out of reach.”
For more information on The Southern Refinery, check out their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/thesouthernrefinery.
