Limestone Countians have several different banking options to choose from in Athens, but come Monday, one more will be joining the crowd.

Muscle Shoals-based First Metro Bank will be opening a new branch at 309 W. Washington St. in what was the former First American Bank. It is directly across from the offices of the Limestone County Commission, or what most folks still refer to as “the old post office.”

The president of the Athens branch will be Joseph Southers, who spent eight years as senior vice president of Reliance Bank. When Reliance was bought out by Trustmark Bank, Southers saw an opportunity to work with First Metro to bring a hometown bank to Athens.

“I stayed through the conversion (with Trustmark) and then learned First Metro wanted to come here. I didn’t want to stay at a big bank because I wanted that local hometown feel,” he said. “I applied for the FDIC application to open the branch and got the building and got everything up and running.”

Southers described First Metro as having one of the highest efficiency ratings in the state. The Athens branch will be the bank’s ninth in Alabama.

First Metro will be a full-service bank and will offer the same services other banks offer, including loans and mortgages. What it won’t have right away, however, is an ATM machine. That won’t be installed until February.

The local bank will start out with five employees, but Southers anticipates that number will grow. He hopes the bank will be able to open a second branch elsewhere in Athens in the future.

First Metro Bank President and CEO Rodney Howard said the new Athens branch represents an “exciting opportunity” to serve customers in Limestone County. He described Southers as “the right person” to oversee the expansion.

“Joseph has almost 20 years of banking experience in and around this community. His market expertise, industry connections, ability to build and retain customer relationships and his dedication to service are just a few of the reasons we knew he was the right person to lead the new office,” Howard said. “The First Metro Bank Board of Directors and I are eager to see the impact the new Athens location will have on this growing community.”

The bank will be open Monday through Saturday. Drive-thru lanes will open at 8 a.m., and the lobby will open at 8:30. The bank will be open until 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and until 6 p.m. Friday. Saturday hours will be 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Southers, a Decatur native, looks forward to serving local customers for years to come.

“There’s a lot of growth (in East Athens), but you really need a downtown presence,” he said. “We are local people, and with all the big banks in town, it will be nice to have a bank with a local feel.”