At age 28, Mae Reeves secured a loan for $500 from black-owned bank, Citizens and Southern Bank. In 1940, Reeves opened Mae’s Millinery Shop at 1630 South Street in downtown Philadelphia. Reeves was one of the first African-American business owners in the city, and the shop served as a gathering place in the community. Some of the hat collection and shop furniture is on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.