About Ebels General Store
Successive generations have operated Ebels General Store for 5 generations. Chris Ebels began the endeavor in 1920. He started by delivering goods with a horse drawn cart around the Falmouth area. In 1927 Chris moved his store building to the store’s current location with a full basement under the main floor. Chris added groceries to the hardware and implement lines during the depression. After Chris died, his son John took over the store and joined the Spartan Food Company in 1939. John’s son Harold worked for his father for many years, and in 1960 he purchased a half interest in the store. Harold became complete owner in 1965. In the fall of 1971, Harold completed an addition of the store that doubled its size. Harold also did another addition in 1978 that doubled the size of the store once again.
In the early 1980’s several national retailers moved into the area, and a lot of competition was added for local stores. This led Mark & Dawn to begin to diversify their services. They started to offer butchering and meat processing services. This led to processing deer and making smoked meats for customers. Mark’s smoked meats became well known around the area, and eventually demand for them led Mark & Dawn to start Little Town Jerky in 1994.
Mark & Dawn also started a catering business in the late 1980’s to further diversify their business. Many busy years of catering led to the official formation of Dawn Fresh Catering, Inc. in 2001, and the construction of a new kitchen that was completed in 2003.
In 2002, Mark’s processing had grown to the point where it needed a major expansion to maintain operations. So a new butchering facility was constructed and completed in 2004. The new facility is approved and inspected daily by the United States Department of Agriculture.
Ebels General Store also is well known for their retail meat selection. The Ebels family strives to offer great quality meats at very competitive prices. On a busy Saturday there are often 10-15 people at the service meat counter to purchase their meats. Ebels Meat Department works to provide excellent customer service – be it slicing a slab of bacon from sister company Little Town Jerky, or cutting a whole New York strip loin. Besides a great meat department, the store also offers a full line of groceries, produce, frozen foods, and dairy. We also have a "Very Nice" clothing department offering Men's, Women's, and Children's clothing including outerwear and boots. Our store also includes a giftwear department with a "Great Variety" of items. The company still operates as a Spartan Store as it has since 1939. *Operated by one of their Daughters and Son-in-Law.
Today, two of Mark & Dawn’s sons and one of their daughters work with them in the business. Tom Ebels manages all the operations of the company’s butchering and raw meat production as well as helping with numerous other jobs. Bob Ebels manages the company’s finances and does the majority of meat purchasing along with other administrative duties. Laura Bennett manages the clothing department.
The Ebels family would like to thank all of their loyal customers, and look forward to serving them for many years to come. They would also like to thank all of their great associates. Many have been with the company for many years and have been there helping through the many changes that have taken place over the past 30 years.