Earlier this year, employees at Wireless Advantage in Moody were helping a customer as the common sounds of construction could be heard outside their front door.

The business had only recently located in the Village at Moody shopping center on U.S. 411 just off I-20 when Publix announced it would be locating a few doors down. That meant months of work to the facade and parking lot as Barber Companies prepared for the long-awaited grocery chain.

It also meant dealing with a few hiccups along the way.

“The staff was in here helping someone when they heard a crash just outside,” said Chad Wester, director of sales for Wireless Advantage. “They looked up and saw that a construction worker had fallen through the ceiling.

“But not all the way.”

Wester said the store’s employees rushed out to check on the worker, calling others on site to offer help. He was okay, but it made for awkward introductions.

“You know you’re guy is hanging out of our ceiling, right?” Wested quoted.

Wester told the story to members of the Moody Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and other local leaders on Dec. 2 during a grand re-opening ceremony for the store. The event was held immediately after Publix opened its doors to the public, and Wester said he was thrilled to have the grocer as a neighbor — even after the long road to bring them in.

“It was a little hairy getting through it, but it’s going to pay dividends in the long run,” he said.

Wireless Advantage, a Dothan-based Verizon Wireless retailer with 47 stores, was named a winner of the Alabama Retailer of the Year Award for 2015 by the Alabama Retail Association and UAB’s Collat School of Business. It employs more than 150 people in Alabama, and Wester said those in Moody are especially important to him.

“I’m a St. Clair County guy,” Wester said, noting his Odenville roots during the ribbon-cutting. “So overtime I hire someone from Moody, part of the criteria is they do know at some point they’re going to have to help out my mother.”

Wireless advantage is located at 22122 Village Drive. Contact the store at (205) 640-1878.