“ We carry all of your popular Southern brands now , and that ’ s the majority of our business ,” he says .

Giddens says one of the things that sets Geo .’ s Quarters apart from other smalltown small businesses is the name brands that they do carry and the level of inventory that they have in those brands .

“ We have become known for stocking great selections within the brands we carry ,” he says .

Those brands include big names such as Southern Tide , Onward Reserve , Peach State Pride and Marsh Wear , among many others .

“ We stock those wellknown national and Southern brands at a large inventory in sizes that customers look for so when they come in , they find what they ’ re looking for ,” he says . “ We ’ ve found that [ it helps us ] to grow business from other areas such as Dublin and Milledgeville and smaller communities because we do have such a good inventory .”

Through the years , Giddens says the relationship he has built with customers and the community has been the biggest joy .

“ I ’ m a relationship kind of person and I enjoy the relationships and the customer … It ’ s very rewarding .”

Those customers have undoubtedly been faithful to the store . Last year , despite a pandemic , Geo .’ s Quarters had its best year to date . The current year has started off with a bang as well . Giddens says January sales doubled from last year thanks to a National Championship from The University of Georgia

and all of the commemorative apparel and items that came along with the feat .

The Pringle Building , which is home to Geo .’ s Quarters , is 9,200 square feet . The retail store is in the downstairs portion , and the brothers also rent to the Glow Boutique just next door . The upstairs portion of the building boasts an approximately 4,000 square foot ballroom that patrons can rent for events such as weddings and birthday parties . Last year was its best year too , and dates for the current year are already booking up quickly .

For Giddens , success for Geo .’ s Quarters has always

equated to success for the rest of the community .

“ I ’ m always a community-minded person , so I always want my business to thrive so I can support the community more ,” Giddens says .

With the past year ’ s success , he says Geo .’ s Quarters was able to increase its donations to local groups including both school systems , which Giddens says is the area where they always look to offer support first .

“ We think it ’ s important to our community , and then we always support our local Chamber as well ,” he says .

Giddens began The Washington County Chamber of Commerce ’ s popular Shop Waco First program several years ago , and though that committee is overseen by other leaders now , its mission is something that he has always pushed as a business owner . The idea is to encourage people to shop local , think Washington County first and support each other in business .

“ I support all other businesses like us , and we ’ ve always worked together trying not to duplicate things and working with [ other businesses ] …,” Giddens says . “ We all shop with each other . If I don ’ t have something , we send [ customers ] to [ the other businesses ], and so it ’ s always a community-branded thing .”

And more than anything else , Giddens hopes that is what stands out most about Geo .’ s Quarters .

“ We are community , and that ’ s what our business is about .”