Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Morgan Holloman, Antique Emporium
Sept. 13, 2023
By Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University
“Resurgence: An increase or revival…”
That definition might apply to the community of Alma, where a group of small business owners who happen to be women are leading a revitalization of businesses in that community.
Morgan Holloman is the owner of Antique Emporium of Alma, one of the growing businesses that is part of the new downtown growth. Holloman is from Topeka and went to K-State where she met her future husband, Tyler. After her sister married a guy from Alma, Holloman started a lawn and landscape business there.
She cleared a lot in Alma and was preparing to build a new building while she and Tyler were dating.
At right: Morgan Holloman, Antique Emporium
“On one date, I told him, ‘I sure hope you want to live here, because I just poured that concrete pad over there,’” Holloman said.
They did indeed marry and moved to Alma, where Holloman had built a new metal building on that pad. Morgan and Tyler lived in an apartment in that building before buying a house in Alma.
From that building, Tyler looked down the street and could see the classic stone building storefronts that have earned Alma the title, City of Native Stone. One caught his eye.
“That’s the coolest stone building I’ve ever seen,” he said.
Eventually Morgan and Tyler bought that very building and the antique business within it, the Antique Emporium of Alma. Shortly after they purchased the building, Covid hit and everything shut down.
“We used that time to remodel the building,” Holloman said. The drop ceiling and old carpet were removed and more of the wood floors and native stone walls displayed. Now attractive display cases line the floor.
In addition, the Hollomans opened the basement and converted the second floor to seven apartments.
Antique Emporium of Alma has more than 4,000 square feet of vendor space. Offerings include a large coin collection, substantial library and a multitude of small and large collectibles and antiques. One part of the building is for Mill Creek Mercantile, which offers locally made products.
The business has attracted customers from California to the Carolinas. “We draw a surprising amount of visitors off (Interstate 70),” Holloman said.
The antique store is one of several women-owned businesses that have recently grown in downtown Alma:
- Wrenn Pacheco runs a boutique beef shop known as Pacheco Beef.
- Mel’s Coffee recently opened in another recently renovated downtown building.
- Heather Beggs renovated a main street building and opened a yoga studio and Airbnb.
- Karen Wright operates multiple main street businesses, such as a dance studio, liquor store and convenience store.
These are in addition to existing businesses operated by women, such as Jeanette Rohleder at the Alma Bakery and Sweet Shop, Gwen Hendricks at Hendricks Hardware, and Lori Daniel at the Signal-Enterprise newspaper.
Then there is the Volland Store at nearby Volland and the new renovation at the Wabaunsee County Historical Society and Museum. There seems to be a synergy of these businesses working together.
“We’ve found a way to refer people to each other’s businesses,” Holloman said. “It’s a great town.”
“Maybe Covid gave Alma the opportunity to show that people didn’t have to travel so far away to enjoy a rural lifestyle,” Holloman reflected. “We want people to come to Alma to experience what we have here: fresh air, beautiful green pastures and native stone.”
“There seems to be a resurgence in our downtown.”
That is great to find in a rural community such as Alma, population 802 people. Now, that’s rural.
For more information about the antique emporium, go to www.almaantiquestore.com. For more information about the community, go to www.cityofalma-kansas.com.
Resurgence. It means an increase or revival, and that’s what Alma is experiencing today. We commend Morgan Holloman and the other women and business owners who are making a difference by helping downtown Alma experience a resurgence.
And there’s more. Not every downtown Alma business is operated by young women. In fact, one business is run by a woman who is 97 years old. We’ll learn about that next week.
Audio and text files of Kansas Profiles are available at http://www.kansasprofile.com. For more information about the Huck Boyd Institute, interested persons can visit http://www.huckboydinstitute.org.
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