ARAB, Alabama — Arab, Alabama, a town born in 1892.
Like many places, Arab is constantly changing, just like the Farmer's Exchange, which started out as a focal point of commerce during the early years of the small town.
The Farmer's Exchange is now... The Flower Exchange!
"This is the heart of the city, this brings life to the city," said Manager of the local retail store Flower Exchange, Eunice Kennedy.
The retail store has been there for 20 years now but the history of this place goes way back, bringing memories with it.
"Lots of people come here and bring memories, lots of people, lots of visitors, over the different states or different counties and say, 'Oh, I remember when my grandfather bring me here and I remember the chickens, we come and buy seed, I have RC coke and a Moon Pie,'" said Kennedy.
Just down the block, at Four Knight's Coffee, this idea of revamping history into something anew continues.
"So, we really wanted to see not only a coffee shop; a place where people could get good coffee but a place where people could hang out, they can have birthday parties, come here on dates, study, do their homework," said Manager of the local cafe Four Knight's Coffee Company, Kayla LeFew.
This young, hip coffee shop has been able to thrive in this very historic downtown since 2018.
"I mean, it's amazing! I tell people every day that Huntsville gets a little closer to Arab and Arab grows a little every day. And what's cool is, not only do we have the 12 to 15 year olds that hang out, their parents drop them off here. But I even have, like for example, we have a group of old men that come in, very sweet - they hang out they have their little friend group meeting, so it's all ages are here. And I think that's amazing for our community just to have a place where literally everyone is welcome," said LeFew.
The success of this coffee shop speaks to the overall growth of the town itself.
"Our goal has been Arab and I think that most of the people in Arab know about us. We have a huge following from the high schools, from all the church groups and we're even seeing people come from further and further. We have people who come from Decatur and Cullman, I have a very sweet lady that tells me all the time that she drives an hour away. So, not only is that something for our community, that we're getting bigger, we're bringing in more people but it's people who are driving for us and that's a huge compliment," said LeFew.