White Rabbit Expands to Third Location in Bayou La Batre

What began as a single shop opened by a 23-year-old with a knack for making stash containers has grown into a three-location Mobile County business. Jesse Holland, owner of White Rabbit, recently opened his newest store — and second tattoo shop — in Bayou La Batre.

From One Shop to Three

Holland opened his flagship location in Theodore, across from the dog track, on March 9, 2006. A second store followed in Semmes, on the corner of Moffett and Schillinger in front of the Walmart shopping center. The newest White Rabbit sits at 12993 N. Wintzell Ave. in Bayou La Batre, next to the old Sonic and across from the Raceway.

Holland describes White Rabbit as a tobacco-accessory, tattoo, gift and oddity shop. While flash art lines the walls, the team prefers fully custom tattoo work. The tobacco side, Holland says, is the "party favor store" — helping customers enjoy their products with a little more flair than a standard pack.

Reinvesting and Looking Ahead

Holland says he never planned on more than one store; expansion came from steadily reinvesting profits back into the company. White Rabbit is now moving into tattoo shops and hopes to become a wholesale distributor and possibly a glass-art manufacturer. A fourth location is not out of the question, though Holland says he is taking it one store at a time.

The owner, now 32, says the past few months have been humbling after his father, Charlie, was severely injured in an April car crash. Holland credits the experience with calming him and refocusing his priorities on family. Store hours are Theodore 11 a.m.–10 p.m., Semmes 11 a.m.–9 p.m. and Bayou La Batre 11 a.m.–9 p.m.

About Bayou La Batre

Bayou La Batre, a city in south Mobile County on the Mississippi Sound, is known for its seafood processing and boatbuilding industries and bills itself as the Seafood Capital of Alabama. It was also the fictional hometown of shrimper Bubba Blue in the novel and 1994 film “Forrest Gump.”