Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Going Strong For Three Generations
FARMINGTON — Chicken Holler on Main Street is now owned by the third generation and is most likely the oldest business in Farmington that is still owned by the same family.
Mindy Mahan purchased Chicken Holler from her parents, Jimmy and Carla Gibson, more than two years ago. Mindy and her husband, Matt, own and operate the lawn and garden business together.
The story of Chicken Holler goes back to 1958.
Carl and Pat Odom came to the Farmington area in 1958 with five children in tow. They purchased 131 acres along County Road 62 and raised chicken and cattle until Carl Odom retired from farming in 1977.
The year he retired, Carl Odom started Chicken Holler on Main Street in Farmington, naming the new nursery after his farm. The business still stands in the same place 45 years later at the intersection of Main Street and Rheas Mill Road.
Their daughter, Carla Gibson, and her husband Jimmy Gibson, purchased the store in 1989. They were living in Van Buren at the time and decided to try their hand at running their own business.
One major change the Gibsons made to the store was to expand into the woodstove business. Chicken Holler still sells a wide variety of the stoves.
Now, ownership has passed down to the third generation, Mindy and Matt Mahan.
Mindy is a former art teacher who worked in Fayetteville and Farmington schools. She said her parents talked about retiring and wondered if either Mindy or her brother would be interested in taking over the business.
Mindy was interested. She resigned from her teaching job in Farmington and worked for her parents for a year to learn about the business. Her parents are now retired, but Carla Gibson works two days a week and Jimmy comes in and works on projects when he wants to, she said.
Matt Mahan, a former teacher and coach with Farmington schools, also resigned from his job to work full-time at Chicken Holler.
Their two oldest sons, Maddox, 17, and Mason, 16, work at the store. Miller, who is 9 years old, also helps out, Mindy said.
Mindy said she grew up at Chicken Holler and has always loved working in the green house and watching plants grow. One of her favorite parts of owning the business, she said, is picking out plants and other items to sell at the store.
She has made some changes. She painted the sign out front and revamped the logo some. She’s also added more products and merchandise inside the store, including Farmington T-shirts for the school district.
“One thing that I do differently,” she said, “is I order a lot more.”
The greenhouse behind the store is filled with vegetables, flowers and other plants for the season.
Mindy said she believes Chicken Holler has stayed in business for 45 years because of the personal interest staff give customers and because the store grows many of its vegetables and flowers and is able to compete by setting its own prices.
The months of April and May are perfect for planting flowers, plants and vegetables. Drop by Chicken Holler at 230 W. Main St., to find many varieties of vegetables, seeds, trees, shrubs, perennials, hanging baskets and annuals for the spring season..
Chicken Holler is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday-Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays.