Neighbors in Malvern watched their only full-service grocery store burn down three years ago this month. Now, though, the tears are happy ones as Mulholland Grocery is open on Main Street once again.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Just in time for the holidays, Malvern’s three year wait for a grocery is finally over. I’m Southwest Iowa neighborhood reporter Katrina Markel.
I spoke with owner Tom Mulholland who told me there have been a lot of hugs and a lot of tears.
Customer: “Just text me, whatever.”
Mulholland: “Yeah, okay, I will.”
It’s been three years since a fire tore through the historic building that was home to Mulholland Grocery for more than a century. Since then, I’ve reported on the challenges of rebuilding the only full-service grocery in this town of a thousand people.
“You can’t imagine the tragedy of watching the building burn years ago and now it’s just the opposite,” Mulholland said.
This is my dad’s hometown and so I know how important it is for this community to have its grocery store back. For three years, malvern neighbors relied on convenience stores and a chain store with some groceries. Or, they drove at least 11 miles to Glenwood.