Photo courtesy of Red Clay Soul
About a year ago, hunting buddies and long-time friends TJ Callaway, William Van Devender, and Will Watts ditched their respective investment banking jobs for the world of online retail, launching Five Mile Club, a flash sale website (like Gilt Group) catering to the well-dressed Southerner. “Our target market,” says Callaway, Five Mile’s CEO, “is the guy who hunts in the fall, fishes in the spring, and plays golf between seasons—the well-rounded outdoorsman.” The recently revamped site offers bi-weekly sales at up to a 70 percent discount on top outdoors inspired brands including Barbour, Filson, Columbia, Southern Proper, Smathers & Branson, and WM Lamb & Sons. You can join the club online at www.fivemile.com for access to current sales. Finish up your Christmas shopping with the click of a mouse.
Or if you’re in the Athens area, pop into the company’s brand new brick-and-mortar location housed in a renovated cotton warehouse in the Boulevard Historic District. Watts, Callaway, and Van Devender did most of the construction and design work themselves. “We had zero experience,” says Callaway. “But we asked a whole lot of questions at the Home Depot.” The enterprising trio salvaged tin for the walls from an old barn, heart pine from a historic Athens home, even raided family attics for furniture and wild game mounts. The result is a rustic meets modern space you’ll want to hang out in long after you’ve made your final purchases. The pool table and custom bar don’t hurt either.