In the South Main Arts District of downtown Memphis, there’s a building that served as a grocery warehouse in the 1920s, ’30s and ’40s. Today it’s the home of South Point Grocery, a small-format yet full-service store that has become a fixture for area residents since its opening in March 2022.
A second South Point opened last November in Southaven, Mississippi, just across the state line from Memphis. The developer of Silo Square had visited the South Point Grocery in Memphis and wanted to export the concept, according to Taylor James, president of South Point parent company Castle Retail Group.
“Our developer and landlord down there came to our downtown store and said, ‘I want this down there,’” James said.
Son of Castle Retail Group founder Rick James, Taylor James took on the role of president of Castle Retail Group this past spring. Rob Ikard, president of the Tennessee Grocers & Convenience Store Association, calls James “a rising star in the grocery world in Tennessee.”
Grocery store built for a neighborhood
The South Point Grocery in Memphis has been an evolutionary journey in terms of what the store sells.
“The product mix in that store from [2022] to now, it’s completely different,” James said. “You’ve got to open with something, some product mix, but you really have to listen to what the customers want and tailor that store to them.”
The selections in meat, produce and beer largely stayed the same, but just about every other section was assessed and changed as needed.
That willingness to adapt comes from a simple philosophy about who the store really belongs to.
“We own the store, but it’s not our store; it’s the customers’ store,” James said.
In addition to the core departments, as well as a wine section, South Point features a large selection of prepared meals and to-go foods.
The deli anchors a strong lunch business drawing from the office workers and residents who move through South Main daily. 
“A great lunch crowd, a ton of folks working down there, coming through,” James said. “In our sandwich shop we have kind of grab-and-go, easy on-the-run stuff.”
Improvements in ready-made offerings have made it easier to offer quality choices as well.
“The ‘convenience foods,’ as we call them, folks are always looking for those, and they’ve gotten so much better,” he said.
Getting the downtown space in the first place required a landlord with a vision for adaptive reuse.
Tom Archer, whom James calls an “amazing guy,” specializes in trying to get these old buildings “a second, third, fourth life.
“He wanted to be the one to bring downtown a grocery store, and he was really committed to that.”
Visitors are greeted by a piece of only-in-the-South branding: a mosaic tile floor at the entrance reading, “Welcome, y’all.”
Store that came before South Point
South Point wasn’t Castle’s first small-format store, and it wasn’t even the one that gave the company its foothold downtown. That distinction belongs to High Point Grocery, a neighborhood market on High Point Terrace with roots stretching back to 1949.
“It became High Point Grocery in 1967 and was family owned all the way up until 2020, when we bought it,” James said.
When Castle acquired the store, changing the name wasn’t really an option, as both history and location made it a keeper.
High Point’s deep community ties shaped how James thinks about Castle’s small-format stores generally – as neighborhood fixtures rather than interchangeable retail boxes.
High Point has become a beloved part of its neighborhood. Longtime residents are known to encourage new neighbors to try it, James said.
Reaching those new to downtown Memphis, especially residents of apartment complexes, is an ongoing effort.
“We’re trying to make sure people understand the idea that you can easily live downtown and have all the stuff that you would have if you lived out in any of the suburbs,” he said. “You don’t even have to leave the zip code; you can just pop right around and get what you need, whether it’s from us or obviously all the great restaurants, a couple of other little retail spots. You can easily spend your dollars there.”
When it came time to name the second small store, the naming convention used at High Point led the way.
“We were like, ‘well, we’re in South Main,’ so we made it South Point,” James said.
Since the stores have two different names, it has been natural to keep them distinct.
“Each of the ‘Point’ stores is its own unique little thing with its own little quirks. We let them be as individualistic as possible,” he said.
Lessons that traveled across the border
James says four years of running the downtown Memphis store, plus the earlier experience at High Point, directly shaped how the Silo Square store in Southaven was stocked from day one.
As James said earlier, the merchandise at the downtown South Point Grocery changed significantly from the initial product mix, based on what was selling and what they learned from shoppers. Many of those lessons translated well into the new store.
“Product mix and what we felt worked – promotions and what we should focus on – definitely helped inform us and set us up a little bit better down at Silo,” James said. “There’s some stuff that we thought would maybe work at Silo that didn’t maybe quite work downtown but, in fact, no, it’s actually much more similar to our downtown experience… We were able to move past some of those speed bumps we had downtown.”
Thus, the Silo Square store also features a mix of national, regional and local items. James highlighted a couple of things – Certified Angus Beef prime and fresh-cut produce – as important differentiators for the stores.
While the Southaven store is not allowed to sell wine like the Memphis store due to state laws, the Silo Square store did allow for some additional features thanks to additional space. One of those is a coffee shop. It’s a shortening of the store name – SoPo Café – and features coffees from a local roaster.
Rooted in downtown, watching for what’s next
Castle Retail Group now operates six stores in all: three larger-format Cash Savers stores and the three small-format “Point” stores.
James describes downtown Memphis as central to the company’s identity even as growth continues elsewhere.
“We’re very involved in the community down there, whether it’s the South Main Association or Downtown Neighborhood Association,” he said.
James believes downtown Memphis still has room to grow and sees Castle’s stores as part of that momentum.
“Downtown has not grown quite the way I think some of us thought it would, but there are some really good signs right now, and we’re trying to be part of that,” he said.
As for further expansion of South Point Grocery, James isn’t ruling anything out, but the focus for now is on the two stores already open.
“Right now, we’re focused on our new Southaven store … and focused on downtown,” James said. “But we’re certainly always listening and always interested in things … and growth in and around the city. So, yes, if it makes sense, we would look to pursue that.”