Mobile’s ‘Society Shell’ station caught up in family legal battle
Mobile's "Society Shell" got its nickname because it was where midtown gossip was heard, not because it was the subject. But in the past few days, social media posts have uncovered a brother-and-brother-nephew-nephew-versus-uncle property battle. Longtime Griffith Service Station patrons had doubts whether the dispute would mark the end of 63 years of operation of the station, as co-owner Preston Griffith Jr. has claimed - or whether the station and its staff will "stay here to serve" for them years to come, as we've done in the past, ”said co-owner Stephen Griffith. Preston Griffith Sr. bought the station on Ann Street and Government Street in 1958. After his death, sons Preston Jr. and Stephen bought the business from their mother and ran it as equal partners for years. His reputation as a hub for gossip in the neighborhood earned him the nickname “Society Shell,” which persisted long after the Shell Gas brand went out of business. It became such a per...