Opening Of New Mulholland Grocery Store Marks End Of 3-Year Journey

Three years and one week to the day after losing his business and livelihood to a devastating fire, Tom Mulholland was finally back where he belongs on Friday – running his Main Street grocery store in Malvern.

Opening Day at the new Mulholland Grocery was a red letter day for the store’s owner and the central Mills County community of just over 1,000 residents. When he wasn’t doing interviews with newspaper, radio and television reporters, Mulholland was kept busy Friday accepting congratulatory hugs and handshakes and tending to the needs of his customers.

“There have been so many tears of mine and other people’s today,” Mulholland said during a break from activity on Friday. “It’s just been amazing what responses we’ve gotten from the people and them showing how much they missed (the store).”

Business was booming on Opening Day. In fact, by late morning, the store had already surpassed a normal day’s sales.

“We made 200 pounds of ham loaf yesterday and we’re almost out – and it’s 11:30,” Mulholland said.

There was a steady flow of customers – old and new – making their way in and out of the store on Friday, including Malvern resident Zoe Hillyer.

Hillyer said she appreciates having a local store to shop at. She’s a native of Tabor, a community similar in size to Malvern that lost its grocery store several years ago. She’s been traveling to Glenwood, Council Bluffs and Papillion to buy groceries, but now has a local store again to shop at.

“It’s really nice to have some fresh stuff again – fresh meat, fresh fruits and vegetables,” Hillyer said.

Alicia Bartley Hagen, a Malvern resident and owner of the Classic Café in Malvern, echoed Hillyer’s thoughts.

“Obviously, I think it’s amazing to be able to just go down the street to get meat, produce, cheese, milk – that kind of stuff,” Hagen said. “I just think it’s so important for a town of our size to have a grocery store and it will be nice to have Tom’s quality of stuff back, for sure.”

Hagen said having Mulholland’s open again is particularly important for elderly residents who aren’t able to drive to another community to buy groceries.

Having Mulholland’s open again will be a boost for the entire Malvern business district, Hagen added.

“I feel like we all work together,” she said. “People can do anything when they come to town in Malvern now and it’s true, what’s good for one business is usually good for another. If people come to get groceries at Mulholland’s, they usually come here to eat or vice versa.”
Mulholland’s has been a staple of the Malvern business community for generations with a history that dates back to the 1870s when it was a dry goods store.

Mulholland faced numerous challenges and setbacks during the process of rebuilding his store, but as he’s said on numerous occasions, he’s persevered because of the support of friends who’ve stood by him over the past three years and his commitment to bringing back a grocery store for his community.

“There were times when I didn’t think it was going to happen,” he said. “It’s just been amazing. Pinnacle Construction did a fantastic job. Everyone loves how beautiful it is in here. We’ve done a great job of utilizing all the space that we can. I couldn’t be happier.”

Mulholland, 64, has said he wants to get the business re-established and going strong again to ensure Malvern has a grocery store 20 - 30 years down the road.