Saturday’s special event at Mom’s Merchant Mall in McKenzie at 15380 Highland Dr. marked the business’ tenth anniversary.
Phillip and Marcy McKinney are the owners with Marcy serving as manager. The McKinneys purchased the business in Feb. 2014 from the Ben Gaines Jr. heirs. Prior to that she had served as the manager for Ben, Jr.
The day started off with a ribbon cutting ceremony with customers invited to register for door prizes and a queen size mattress that was given away at 4 p.m. The winner was Danielle Boyd of Huntingdon. Barbecue from Big Daddy’s, baked beans, potato salad, slaw, hot dogs, chips, cookies, cake and banana pudding were served to customers during the day.
Marcy says her staff keeps everything moving in the right direction. They include: Christine Rawls and Peggy Espy, furniture department; Linda Wilson, Mandy Mercer, and Carol Waugh, front cashiers; Taylor Sawyers, Meredith McKinney Lovell and Erica Rawls, weekend cashiers; Donald Bott, Jason Freeland, Nate Eaton, Landon West, Mike McClure and Brenden Knight, loading dock and maintenance. Taylor Rawls, Maxie and Bailee Lovell, and Haylee Knight are Marcy’s granddaughters who she says are always ready to lend a helping hand.
Mayor Jill Holland, who was present for the celebration, said the city was indeed proud to have Mom’s contributing to the economy of the city.
“We’re here for you and if we can ever be of any help please let us know,” said the mayor.
The building contains 60,000 square feet and accommodates 400 vendor booths that belong to 238 vendors.
“We try to treat everybody right,” she said. “Our vendors and customers come from everywhere.”
She added that you can take a stroll through the parking lot and find vehicles from Ky., Mississippi, and Arkansas as well as from all the adjoining counties.
“It takes a lot of customers to keep the place running,” she said.
The Mall is open seven days a week. From Monday through Friday, the hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. On Saturdays, the hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Sundays, the hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
“We’ve evolved over the years,” said Marcy, noting that the business started with just 20 to 30 booths. “We’re at capacity now and have a waiting list of vendors.”
