It has locations at The Summit in the Greater Birmingham area and The Mall at Green Hills in Nashville, both of which are known as high-end retail centers.

Typical brands carried include 7 for all Mankind, Juicy Couture, Dolce & Gabbana, Roberto Cavalli, Gianfranco Ferré, Michael Kors, Zang Toi, Zac Posen, Lela Rose, St. John, Monique Lhuillier, and Burberry.

It was founded in 1900; the original Gus Mayer department store was located on Canal Street in downtown New Orleans.

In 1975, when the stores were being sold off individually, the Pizitz family purchased the Birmingham operation and later added the Nashville location.

In 2010 the Gus Mayer at Colonial Brookwood Village made plans to move to The Summit as part of an updating of the store's merchandising strategy sometime around Valentine's Day, 2011.