Tommy Cain got a job as a grocery store bag boy when he was 15 years old. He’s still working in the grocery business, but his job couldn’t be more different.

Cain, a fourth generation grocery store owner, spent his life working his way up from that first job—where he made $1.25 per hour—to currently owning four successful independent grocery stores in Fairhope, Foley, Loxley and Mobile.

“It’s a business that you can’t go to college and learn,” Cain said. “It’s on-the-job training.”

Although Cain enjoys his work, service and philanthropy are his biggest passions, he said.

He is an active member of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Robertsdale, and he has been on the advisory board of Catholic Social Services in Robertsdale for 22 years.

“I believe in trying to solve a lot of the problems in society and helping people who are hungry,” he said.

As a local business owner, Cain said he makes sure to invest in the communities around his stores.

“There’s about 30 different charities and schools that I write checks to every month,” Cain said. “When I move into a community with another store, I try to go through the elementary schools and make arrangements to give them some kind of financial aid, and even private schools, too.”

The schools can use the money to help needy children, to buy new books and supplies or to help pay for field trips. Cain said the principals allocate the funding to the areas that need the most support.

It is important to support independently owned businesses because all of the money stays in the community, Cain said.

“Most of the time, the money that you spend in the large stores will go elsewhere,” he said. “One of the things I always try to do is reinvest in Baldwin County. They’ve helped me; I’ll help them.”

Buying local produce and products is also important to Cain.

“I’ll buy all the local produce that the farmers need to sell, and there’s even some products—honey, bakery products that people produce—I handle that for them and put it in the store to sell,” he said.

Cain also strives to treat his employees and customers with respect and familiarity. When he first started, his store in Loxley employed 18 people. Now, he signs paychecks for almost 200.

“I consider him to be probably the fairest boss I’ve ever had in my life, and that transcends to all the employees,” said Kim Fram, the store manager at Cain’s Piggly Wiggly on Fairhope Avenue. “He definitely has an open-door policy. His employees absolutely love him.”

Until recently, Cain was almost the only person in the company in upper management, and he worked seven days a week with few vacation days. He realized he needed to delegate some of his responsibilities, so he hired a human resources manager and is currently in the process of selecting a general manager.

“I belong to a group called Vistage, which is a membership of other CEOs of different corporations around, and they’ve been helping me figure out my staff and structure I need to put in place if I’m going to grow any more,” he said.

As a result of his delegation, Cain and his wife, Sharon, have been able to take more vacations, like their upcoming trip to Europe.

Although Cain is poised to expand to other parts of the county, he said he will continue to give back as much as he receives. He’s not in this business to get rich, he said.

“I’m not out to make to millions of dollars,” he said. “I don’t need it—I’m happy with the lifestyle I have. I don’t owe anybody any money. What little I make more than pays the bills, and we still add to the retirement fund.”

For more information about Cain’s stores, visit http://cainspigglywiggly.com.