Riverbend, East Bay Engraving, Morgan and Warren Slay, Fairhope

By: Zeb Hargett 

I love to meet people who grew up on the Eastern Shore. It’s fun to compare experiences and talk about the old days.  This is not to say progress hasn’t been a good thing, it’s just different. 

One constant thing is the little shop on Section Street called Riverbend, which is geared toward everything male. It’s a cool store and I always find something I want to buy when I stop by. I visited with Morgan Slay, co-owner with his dad, Warren, to learn more about the history of Riverbend. 

Besides the clothing and gifts they carry in the front of the store, they also operate East Bay Engraving in the rear. Here they customize all sorts of products through engraving, embossing, and embroidery for apparel and awards. Morgan tells me they have had the retail business for 25 years and counting, since 1999. There have been several moves along the way and plenty of challenges, but Morgan tells me his business is growing.

Morgan’s parents grew up in Fairhope. His great, great-grandfather, A.O. Berglin served as the 3^rd Mayor of Fairhope from 1914 until 1916. The brick inscribed in front of the Fairhope Welcome Center indicates that mayors during that time served two-year terms and it was a part-time job. 

The Berglins owned the local creamery, Azalea Brand Ice Cream, and the local ice plant, both fixtures in downtown Fairhope for many years. On his mother’s side of the family, the Moyers, his great-grandfather was one of the first pharmacists in Fairhope and owned Moyers Drugs.

“It’s pretty fitting that several generations later, we are in the retail business in downtown Fairhope,” says Morgan. The Slays even repurposed the old marble countertop from the Moyers drug store into a new fixture at Riverbend. 

Morgan and his extended family grew up when life was simple and Mobile Bay was the main attraction. We talked about jubilees and the bells that would ring out when one was happening. “The beaches were more accessible then.” 

His grandparents lived year-round in a home with a long pier and a two-story structure at the end, at the foot of Nichols Avenue. He and his cousins would sleep in the bunk room upstairs with a kitchen-eating area downstairs. “Sleeping with the windows open with the summer breeze in the morning and waves gently breaking, was special,” he says.

The story of Riverbend begins with Warren Slay. He was having some engraving done at a small trophy shop on the corner of Fairhope Avenue and Church Street, where Another  Broken Egg now sits. The building was the original Fairhope Theater where Gone With The Wind was featured when it first premiered.

"I remember as a boy, going to that theater in the summer." Morgan tells me he met the old projectionist who told him how he would take down the cinema marquee banner when a new film was coming,  He would lay it down on Fairhope Avenue after 5:00 PM and paint the new banner advertising the next film and hang it back on the front of the theater. That’s small-town stuff from years ago!

He tells me his dad called him one day and said he wanted to buy Village Square Trophy Shop but needed his help because of the technology involved. After joining his dad in the business, Morgan took a break to earn his Finance degree at the University of Alabama. He worked in a local bank for a couple of years after school but decided banking wasn’t for him, and rejoined his dad at what was then renamed East Bay Engraving.  “I had no idea I’d be doing this 25 years later.”

The original movie theater became a retail center. The original store focused on sporting goods, When Warren and Morgan took it over, they went the retail route and specialized in personalized gifts. “Anything that can be personalized, we can do it.”

The old Village Square building caught fire from an electrical issue and burned on November 19, 2010. Morgan says, “You know the old saying, ‘What the fire doesn’t get, the firemen do, that’s true.’ It was a 95% loss and we had to scramble to recover.” At the time, Morgan had an 18-month-old child, a pregnant wife at home, and no job; it was certainly a pivotal moment.

East Bay Engraving temporarily relocated operations to a small strip center on Fairhope Avenue across the street from Ace Hardware, next to the Post Office. They were back in business in 3 days. “It wasn’t ideal. We moved four times in four years. That’s when Vince and Lynn Boothe said, “We have a spot for you but it will be a while before it’s ready.”

The spot was the current location for Riverbend on Section Street. “The Boothes knew what we’d been through. They built a new building with three retail spaces and told us to pick any unit we wanted. They are good people, stayed true to their word and the space has been great.” When they moved into the new space in 2014, they renamed the business Riverbend, after a family farm on the Perdido River in north Baldwin County.

The store is geared toward men. It’s a gift and apparel shop specializing in custom gifts for men. A lot of gifts they offer can be engraved for a personal touch. “We do what we know,” Morgan tells me. “We know how to be men. We’ve had success with that. We are a unique retail store with a wide array of gifts and apparel. We always want to stand out from the crowd.”

Riverbend also has a creative side. From time to time, they will have custom-branded items like their Jubilee shirt and a T-shirt that has FAIRHOPE spelled backward. “It looks great in the mirror.” They can custom-design made-to-order items with the help of an in-house graphics designer. 

He tells me that they strive to create a lasting impression for their customers. “Do that and they will come back. I’ve enjoyed seeing and getting to know my repeat customers by name. Fortunately, we’ve been here a long time, and we have a strong base of support. I have lots of good things to say about the business and community environment in Fairhope. “Our business is diversified. The retail side and the service side feed off of each other. When retail slows, back-to-school or sports apparel picks up.  We always have something to do.” 

 “It’s different here. The Fairhope community does an extraordinary job of supporting each other. That’s why downtown Fairhope thrives. You don’t see that support everywhere. Fairhope has always had that eclectic element that makes it unique and fun, like the Tomato Lady or the Advice Ladies at Page & Palette.”

Morgan grew up playing sports as a kid and loves being involved as an adult. Through the business, they have developed a team sports element for local schools and youth athletics. In addition to team jerseys, t-shirts, hats, and other apparel, they still do lots of traditional awards and engraving. “We offer a reasonable price and meet our deadlines. It doesn’t have the same meaning if the award isn’t available when the ceremony takes place.”

Morgan is an understated guy and doesn’t necessarily seek attention.  He likes to focus the conversation on who he is talking to and never makes it about himself.  When he isn’t working he enjoys spending time with his wife, Tess, and their 3 children, volunteering with local sports leagues, and spending time on the farm.

We closed our conversation discussing the growth we have both witnessed. We acknowledged the attraction to living on the Eastern Shore.  "The growth is inevitable because we live in a beautiful place and I wouldn’t be able to have the business I have in the town I grew up in”.  Morgan says.

Thank you, Morgan. It’s been a pleasure!