Find flavors of islands inside Kalou's Corner

Find flavors of islands inside Kalou's Corner Market in the Village of Providence!

'High-gravity' beers, pastry chef, organic foods, more at market

First, the name of the market. It is an unusual name, for sure, straight from the Great Island of Abaco in the northern Bahamas.

For years, people on the island referred to Lewis Key, storyteller and boat captain, as "Uncle Lew." By and by, his nickname was shortened to "Kalou."

His grandson, Robert Key, grew up on Great Abaco, attended the University of Alabama in Huntsville and graduated in finance in 2006. After college, he worked at BizTech, a local technology incubator designed to help small businesses.

Earlier this year, he did "some soul-searching" about his future, as he puts it. Ultimately, he decided to open a corner market in the Village of Providence in northwest Huntsville.

"Nine-to-five wasn't for me," he says. "I wanted to do it on my own."

Trying to find a name for his new market, Robert Key thought of his grandfather.

"Wouldn't it be cool to put his character in the store?" he remembered thinking.

Thus, Kalou's Corner Market was born. It opened Oct. 9 in the former location of Market Street Cafe and Pelican Joe's, a clothing store.

There are fine items, for sure: frog legs, lobster, sockeye salmon, crawfish, mussels, fresh oysters, crab cakes, trout and scallops.

"The only international full-service cheese counter in town," Key says.

There are also 500 brands of wine. It is the "only grocery store in town to have high-gravity beers," says T.J. Morris, Kalou's manager.

Among the "high-gravity" beers at Kalou's are Piraat and Duvel, both ales that are about 10 percent alcohol.

The market also has a pastry chef, organic foods and breakfast that includes omelets.

"One thing we want to get across," Key says, "is that not only do we have good gourmet items, but we do have staple items like milk."...