Associated Grocers

Alan Langley, born and raised in Montgomery, AL, moved with his mother and 3 siblings to Fort Deposit, AL in 1974, at age 14. From a very early age he knew that he would have to work to have extra money. The year he moved to town he began working for Mr. Fred Hatfield at the Fort Deposit Chopping Block. He swept and mopped the floors as well as worked the service counter. This is where he first learned the importance of good customer service. Knowing and caring about the needs of his customers would be a lesson that would shape and pave the path for his future. Another thing that strongly influence his future was Mr. Hatfield. He took Alan under his wing and at age 14 began to teach him the skill of meat cutting. In the same year, he met the girl who would eventually become his partner in business and life, Kathy Lewis. In 1979 after graduating high school, he moved back to Montgomery and on March 15, 1980, he married Kathy. They moved back to Fort Deposit and began a family. Over the next 16 years he would work his way from a meat cutter to market manager to store manager. On Labor Day, in 1995, he went to work for Mr. Norman Olive at the Cloverland IGA on Court Street in Montgomery. After 42 years Mr. Olive decided to retire and sell his beloved grocery store. Mr. Olive believed in Alan so much, that after being market manager for only two years, he sold him his first grocery store, Cloverland AG, on March 31, 1997.