A pair of popular eateries in Mountain Brook’s English Village is changing ownership after more than four decades.

Carole Griffin, the owner of Continental Bakery and Chez Lulu, has announced on social media that she and partner Shea Rives are turning the businesses over to general manager David Griner.

“The past 40 years have been so much more than a business or a job to me—more even than a calling or a vocation,” Griffin wrote. “The bakery has felt like a cherished child to me, or a beautiful dream, and I have poured my heart into nurturing and shepherding it through these 40 years as a grateful attendant and rapt enthusiast.”

It’s been a long journey. Griffin left Birmingham to go off to college in the 1970s, thinking she would never return.

However, a few years later when she was visiting family and went to a festival on the Southside, she realized how much the city had changed. With a friend in Washington, D.C., where she was living at the time, she decided to try their hand at a bakery, expecting a modest reception with limited prospects. She was 24 years old.

In a 2001 interview with The Birmingham News, Griffin said they “intentionally tried to water our vision down somewhat when we started out.“

“We limited ourselves to ‘Southern’ baked products, but we didn’t stay that way for long. We would introduce new things and they were accepted,” she said.

As the bakery business grew, she decided to add an adjoining restaurant to serve as an alternative to the white tablecloths and the hamburger joints in town. Chez Lulu, like its predecessor, grew quickly.

“The bakery has always led the way, and I’ve been honored to follow and participate in the magic that has unfolded every day within its walls,” Griffin said in her post. “Many of you, as employees and customers over the years, know exactly what I mean—you’ve experienced it firsthand and partnered with me to make it happen.”

Griner, who first joined the business as a baker, has been managing the businesses since early November as part of a “boot camp,” Griffin said.

Griner said in a social media post that he had only meant to pause his career in marketing to bake bread, but stuck around.

“He’s already successfully navigated the holidays (no small feat!), and we couldn’t be more confident in his ability to guide the bakery into its next chapter. He has great instincts and wonderful ideas that align with our highest and best hopes for the business,” Griffin said.

Griner thanked the staff of more than 60 for their “patience, kindness and encouragement.” He promised customers that Griffin’s “vision will guide each decision we make at Continental and Lulu for countless years to come.”

“To our community of regulars: I promise that everything you love about the bakery will continue—and I hope you’ll even find new things to love as we continue Carole’s tradition of constantly iterating and innovating,“ Griner said.