Rural Grocery Spotlight: Mulholland Grocery (Malvern, IA)

Tom Mulholland is the owner and operator of Mulholland Grocery, a newly reopened grocery store serving Malvern, Iowa after rebuilding from a 2021 fire. Tom spoke with us about his store. Read highlights from our interview with him (which has been edited for length) below. To learn more about the store's history, you can view a short documentary film which highlights the store here.

 

Can you tell me a bit about your store’s history? When did it open, and how has it evolved over the years? What’s your role, and how long have you been here?

The Mulholland Company was opened in 1875 in Malvern as a dry-goods store by my great-grandfather and a partner. He bought out his partner after a few years, and during WW II, my grandfather added in a small cash-and-carry grocery business in 1 corner of the store which eventually took over the whole business. In 1972, my grandfather retired and sold the store to my father, and his partner, Cork, who was the meat-cutter. I started working as a meat-cutter there in 1978, but after a number of years, moved on to work in Omaha for 20 years as a meat-department manager in a small, but very popular store. During that time, my father sold his share to Cork and it was out of our family after nearly 120 years. The store went through 3 owners before I decided to purchase it and put the family name back on the store in 2008. In 2021, shortly after we won Best of Southwest Iowa for Best Grocery Store, Best Meat Counter and Best Place to Buy Produce, against 7 locations of the 2 biggest chains in our area, my store was destroyed in a fire.

What do you think your store is most known for in the community – is it a specific product, friendly service, something else?

When I was young, my small town had 4 grocery stores, but over the years they had all disappeared except for Mulholland’s. We had always been known for having the best meat in the area, and while I was working in Omaha, the small store that I was at won Best Of Omaha for its meat counter, and my reputation and family name helped tremendously as I opened my store. I’ve always tried hard to do the right thing and help as I could when it’s needed. My area suffered severe flooding in 2019, and I worked hard with my warehouse to provide things that the refugees and others needed. People donated money and we turned $8,000 in donations into over $80,000 worth of products, thanks to lots of help from the warehouse.

What are the biggest challenges your store faces on a day-to-day basis?

One of the biggest challenges that a small-town store like mine faces is outdated products. I am lucky to have employees who do a good job of watching the dates on products, which we mark down and place in a special cart for our customers who look for those things. Trying to get the most out of this type of thing helps tremendously.

We noticed on social media that you have a successful ready-to-eat option at the store with your catering and lunch specials.  Can you tell me more about how this started and any advice in making a successful ready to eat program work?

We just reopened last December, a week before Christmas after having been closed for 3 years. I was EXTREMELY lucky with the new team of employees that I hired. I know that many businesses are struggling to find employees, and I turned down a number of people that I would have begged for at times previously. This new team has had MANY tremendous ideas which we’ve implemented at the store. I interviewed one employee, Cheryl, with the thought of making her my produce manager, but she brought in many ideas about preparing lunches and other things by utilizing the space that the new store would have compared to my old store. Her parents ran a bar and diner in town and she grew up working there and learned a lot from her mother. We prepare 1 meal option 4 days most weeks and that often adds over $1k in sales most weeks. We also prepare and sell deli sandwiches, croissants and wraps, selling dozens per day. We’re looking for some other ideas that might help expand our sales. I’ve experimented with some things in the past but not found the success that I’m trying for. I’ve been ordering fresh salmon which overnights to us from Omaha for every 2nd Friday, then do Smoked Salmon on that Saturday which sells well for us. On the other Saturdays, I’ve been smoking backribs and doing well with those.

We produce a number of types of sausages which bring in a lot of customers. Our potato sausage brings customers from hours away. We recently had 1 customer leave Kansas City at 6:15 am to arrive at our store at 9 am, purchase what he wanted, then get back home in time to go to work at 1 pm.

 

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