By Loyd McIntosh
Katherine McRee is a leader who doesn’t think of herself as one. At least that wasn’t on her radar screen when she and her sister, Susan Day, opened the Lili Pad, a popular children’s boutique in Cahaba Heights two decades ago. However, in recent years, McRee has emerged as one of the most significant and highly respected civic leaders in Vestavia Hills, sparking a renewed sense of community and creativity taking root throughout the city.
A native of Mountain Brook, McRee grew up in Crestline and got her first glimpse of small business ownership after her mother, Susan Pierce, and partner Leigh Cooper, bought Town & Country Clothes in 1990. McRee worked in the shop as time allowed while finishing high school and attending Auburn University.
Soon after starting their own families, McRee and Day considered launching their own retail business and approached their mother for advice. “Mom said, ‘You have no idea how much work it is,’” laughs McRee, “she was right!”
However, after some time had passed, McRee and Day decided the area needed a children’s clothing store, and, they learned a children’s boutique in Homewood was for sale. McRee, who moved to Cahaba Heights with her husband William in 1996, initially thought about relocating the business.
“My sister and I had started talking about opening a children’s store because we had little bitty ones, and we thought Cahaba Heights had the potential to be up-and-coming,” explains McRee. “We were thinking about buying an existing store and then we thought, ‘Wait, we can open our own store with less money.'”
McRee and Day opened the Lili Pad in The Heights shopping center during a comprehensive remodel in 2004. McRee says she has “mentally blocked out” much of the struggle getting the business up and running during the construction, but trusted the vision of their landlord Raymond Gottlieb.
Gottlieb impressed McRee and Day with his agenda to lure Starbucks to the shopping center in addition to the plans for the complex’s renovation. “Raymond assured me he was going to completely redo the shopping center and recruit new businesses, which has enhanced the entire community,’” explains McRee.
The Lili Pad opened with a modest footprint of 1,700 square feet. Success followed quickly, and they expanded to 5,000 square feet by 2007, added a sister store for tweens, GiGi’s, and won Alabama Retailer of the Year in 2008. “Being moms ourselves, we asked ‘What do moms want? What do I want when I go into a store?’” McRee says, highlighting ideas such as an area for kids to play while moms shop, free gift wrapping, a simple and generous return policy, and easy parking. “Every decision we make revolves around making a mom’s life a little bit easier.”
With the store in good shape, McRee soon turned her attention to helping Cahaba Heights reach its full potential. McRee has fond memories of living in Crestline, particularly the special events, how the tight-knit business community supported each other, and how important these small businesses are to the residents. As a business owner and resident of Cahaba Heights for more than 20 years, McRee envisioned a similar village-style community.
“Growing up in Crestline, seeing the holiday events and what the merchants in Crestline and Mountain Brook Village would do to bring families together, I thought, ‘Why can’t we have that here?’” McRee says.
McRree eventually organized the Cahaba Heights Merchants Association (CHMA), a 501©(3) aimed at transforming the community into a hip, dynamic entertainment district. As the CHMA’s president, for instance, McRee has spearheaded community events like Deck the Heights and Heights Hangouts to support small businesses and raise money for the beautification of Cahaba Heights. She has also collaborated with the City of Vestavia Hills to foster infrastructure improvements, including sidewalk construction throughout the community.
She also mentors other civic-minded residents and business owners, such as Drew Carter, an insurance agent interested in making similar enhancements in the Rocky Ridge community.
Currently, McRee is taking on her largest project to date, raising more than $40,000 and working side-by-side with city leadership for the Cahaba Heights Gateway. A comprehensive project including new signage, landscaping, and pedestrian improvements along Pump House Road from US 280, and other enhancements, the Gateway is another step toward turning McRee’s vision into reality.
“Someone’s got to take the lead,” McRee says, “and say, ‘how do we transform this community into a village?’”
