Three Greer’s Grocery Stores, Including Two Downtown, Seek Mobile City Council Approval to Sell Hemp Beverages

MOBILE, Ala. — Three Greer’s grocery stores in Mobile, including two locations downtown, are seeking city approval to sell consumable hemp beverages under Alabama’s new state licensing system.

The Mobile City Council will consider recommending approval of all three applications during its meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Government Plaza.

The Three Locations

All three applications were submitted by Autry Greer and Sons Inc., the company behind the Greer’s family of grocery stores. The stores seeking licenses are:

• Cash Saver 35 — 851 Government Street (Downtown)
• Greer’s Saint Louis Market — 260 St. Louis Street (Downtown)
• Greer’s Cash Saver 11 — 4055 Cottage Hill Road

Greer’s is a longtime, family-owned grocery name in the Mobile area, and its stores serve neighborhoods across the city, including downtown, where the Saint Louis Market location provides a grocery option for residents living and working in the city center.

What the License Allows — and What It Doesn’t

The licenses being sought are known as Retail Food Store Consumable Hemp Products Licenses. Despite the broad-sounding name, they do not allow grocery stores to sell every kind of hemp product.

Instead, this category of license allows qualifying grocery stores to sell hemp-derived beverages specifically.

State Rules for Hemp Drinks

Alabama’s rules place several conditions on how grocery stores may sell these drinks:

• Behind glass: Hemp beverages must be kept behind glass in a separate area of the store.
• Away from children’s drinks: The products must be kept away from beverages intended for children.
• Clear signage: Signs must state that the products contain hemp-derived compounds.
• Age limit: Signs must also state that the products can be purchased only by people 21 and older.

Those requirements are intended to keep hemp-derived drinks clearly separated from ordinary soft drinks, juices and other beverages on grocery shelves, and to make sure shoppers know exactly what they are buying.

Why the City Council Is Involved

The applications are going before the City Council because Alabama law requires approval from the local city or county government before the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board can issue a consumable-hemp retailer license.

That process is similar to the way local governments weigh in on certain alcohol license applications. The council’s role is to consider whether to recommend approval; the state ABC Board is the agency that ultimately issues the license.

Alabama’s state licensing system for consumable hemp products took effect on Jan. 1, 2026. As a result, businesses across the state that want to sell regulated hemp products have been working through the new application process this year, and local governing bodies have been receiving requests for recommendations.

A Growing Product Category

Hemp-derived beverages have become a growing product category nationally in recent years, appearing in a range of retail settings. Alabama’s licensing system is designed to bring sales of these products under state oversight, with rules governing where and how they may be sold and who may buy them.

For grocery stores, the separate license category reflects the state’s approach of allowing these drinks in a retail food setting only under specific conditions — including physical separation, clear labeling and an age requirement.

What Happens Next

At Tuesday’s meeting, the council will consider whether to recommend approval of the three applications. If the council recommends approval, the applications would move forward to the Alabama ABC Board for final action.

Residents who wish to follow the item can attend the meeting in person at Government Plaza or monitor the council’s agenda and proceedings.

At a Glance

• Applicant: Autry Greer and Sons Inc.
• Stores: Cash Saver 35 (851 Government St.), Greer’s Saint Louis Market (260 St. Louis St.), Greer’s Cash Saver 11 (4055 Cottage Hill Road)
• License type: Retail Food Store Consumable Hemp Products License (hemp-derived beverages only)
• Key rules: Behind glass, separate from children’s beverages, signage required, 21 and older only
• Meeting: Mobile City Council, 6 p.m. Tuesday, Government Plaza
• Final authority: Alabama ABC Board