Malvern, Iowa community rebuilding downtown grocery store after fire

MALVERN, Iowa. (WOWT) - Not having a nearby grocery store can be an inconvenience, especially when you travel more than 20 miles just to get your everyday items.

That’s what many small-town residents in Malvern, Iowa have been dealing with since Mulholland Grocery burned down in December 2021.

Now, they’re rebuilding a new store.

“Just being able to get fresh groceries, produce, meat, and things like that we have to drive to the next town over if we wanted to pick something up,” said resident Nicole Semrau.

In Malvern, there’s a definite hometown feel, but since the fire, the town has turned into a food desert.

Semrau is one of many Malvern residents dealing with the loss of the small-town landmark that was the glue of the community to many.

“When we first moved here Mulholland’s was obviously open and go there almost every single day,” Semrau said.

Now, Semrau has to travel 10 and sometimes 20 miles just to gather her family’s everyday needs -- tougher as a mother to five kids.

“It’s totally a hassle and honestly sometimes we just don’t do it,” Semrau said. “We’ll just go grab a pizza out of the freezer or something like that and pop that in the oven instead of packing up the kids and going to the grocery store.”

Others like Liz Baldwin, who owns a business across from where Mulholland once stood, now have to plan two hours ahead just to go on a grocery run.

“It was so convenient to grab something for lunch or for supper, I didn’t have to do a lot of planning,” Baldwin said.

Many residents in the community are starting to gather funds through auctions and fundraisers to rebuild the store. Owner Tom Mulholland said it’s a necessity in Malvern.

“I can make this store as strong as possible and have someone else buy it and continue to take care of it for the community for the next 20 years or more,” Mulholland said.

The first step is repairing the remaining fire damage to any neighboring buildings. Then, construction can start for the new $2 million store.

Mulholland wants people to be prepared for the changes including a new drive-thru coffee shop and improved parking -- but the high quality of its food items will remain the same.

“They can’t enhance their diet without those fresh items, and we want to bring that back for the people and make the community whole again,” Mulholland said.

All repairs will start in a few weeks’ time and they expect the new store will open by the spring of 2024.

Copyright 2023 WOWT. All rights reserved.