Chamber of Commerce celebrates 127-year-old company

The Crenshaw County Chamber of Commerce selected W. L. Petrey Wholesale Co. Inc., better known as Petrey Wholesale, as its March Business Highlight. Established in 1898, the historic operation started as a retail mercantile business and now serves as a wholesale grocery distributor with operations in Petrey, Montgomery, Birmingham and Atlanta, servicing 1,800 customers in the Southeast.

“They are a vital part of our community,” said Amanda Martin, board member for the Crenshaw County Chamber of Commerce. “They’ve been in business for a very, very long time and are always eager to support the community however they can.”

Petrey Wholesale started as a mercantile company, selling and trading goods to the farmers in the area. Local residents would trade with the company on credit, and when they reaped their crops, the farmers would take them to Petrey Wholesale as payment. 

Petrey Wholesale soon acquired the building in Petrey where the company is housed today – just across the road from where they originally began. At the new location, Sid Jackson – the third generation to work in the company – started selling goods and delivering them to different stores in the area, beginning the wholesale branch of the operation. 

Petrey Wholesale is now a sixth-generation company, with owner Bill Jackson and President Will Jackson serving as the fifth- and sixth- generation leadership. 

“The business itself feels like a part of our family,” Will Jackson said. “It’s one of those things we are extremely proud of. You just don’t see that many businesses that go that many generations [and] remain part of the original family. It becomes something you are really, really proud of, that you have a true desire to continue to grow and leave your mark on that business as a generation to pass it on to future generations. [There’s a desire] to diversify the business in a way that you’ve seen previous generations before you diversify.”

The company has stayed within the family for over 120 years, with owners hoping to have the business continue for even longer. Jackson said they feel it is important to continue to be a part of Crenshaw County and to maintain their ties to the local community.  

“We are very proud as a family and as a company to be from Petrey, Alabama,” Jackson said. “If you look at our address or any official paperwork, our official place of business is still this address in Petrey, Alabama, and it is something that we as a family and we as a business are very, very proud of.”