Tommy Eckford Tucker was born in Starkville, Mississippi in 1956, the tenth of twelve children. His father died when he was nine years old. Tucker spent 8th grade in St. Louis at Ashland School and returned for his senior year at Central High School, graduating in June 1974. After high school, Tucker briefly served in the military and was honorably discharged eight months after his enlistment, in March 1975.

In 1977, at the age of 21, Tucker bought the building at the corner of St. Louis Avenue and North Grand Avenue. This building would become the center of Tucker’s multitude of business ventures, housing multiple businesses as well as his headquarters and corporate offices. In an undated ad for Tucker’s Department Store at 2810 North Grand, the Tuckers say they “insisted that this store be located in the heart of the Black Community. It is our home and it is our future.”

The first business to open in the Grand and St. Louis building was a confectionary. With an eye to further expansion, Tucker received a business loan from Lindell Bank, which was located across the intersection from his building. He worked with Russell Greenleaf, who made the loan and assisted Tucker with his business plans.

In 1984, Tucker married Denise, who became an essential partner in all the Tucker family businesses. That same year, the Tuckers opened Unique Boutique at 2810 North Grand Boulevard. The store began as an arcade that also offered screen printing and lettering. After a year, they phased out the arcade and replaced it with clothing. The store, St. Louis’s first Black-owned department store and the only complete department store operating in North St. Louis, grew to include clothing lines for men, women, and children, as well as toys and other gift items.

By the early 1990s, the store had become Tucker’s Department Store. The Tuckers also opened Tuckers for Men at 221 North 7th Street in 1993 and Boys to Men at 621 North Skinker at Delmar in 1997. Additional businesses operated by the Tuckers during the 1980s-2000s included: Grand and St. Louis Towing; Grand and St. Louis Security; Tucker's Music at the corner of Kingshighway Boulevard and Page Boulevard; Tucker's Supreme Production Company; Auntee’s BBQ at 2812 North Grand; Tucker's Limousine Service; Tucker's Too!; Rear Door Rental Hall at 3517 St. Louis Avenue; and Tucker Boyz Management.

In addition to being small business owners and entrepreneurs, Tommy and Denise Tucker were very involved in civic and philanthropic activities to strengthen their community. Tommy played an instrumental role in organizing the North Grand Business Association and served as its president. They created the Inner-City Scholarship Fund to provide scholarships to C-average students who hoped to attend college. Both Tommy and Denise became ordained ministers and worked with New Direction Ministries to operate a homeless shelter at 3517 St. Louis Ave.

In 2004, the Tuckers decided it was time for a change, closing Tucker’s Department Store in order to open ICS Uniforms and Embroidery. In 2006, they closed the business entirely to move to Dallas, Texas. They returned to St. Louis briefly in 2012 and opened Tucker’s T-Shirts and Café at 2810 North Grand. By 2016, they closed the café and moved to Las Vegas, Nevada.