Beginning in 1920, Chris Ebels began operating Ebels General store in beautiful downtown Falmouth, Michigan. He originally started the business delivering foods and other essentials door to door in a horse drawn wagon through Falmouth. Since the original store, there have been 5 major renovations to make room for more retail space and to start new business ventures.
In 2021, a brand-new Ebels General Store was opened in uptown Reed City, MI and has continued to support that community.
In October of 2023, Ebels announced they were going to start operating a 3rd store. With the retirement of Dave and Kim Foster, who operated Foster's Market in Evart, a decision was made to purchase the store to be able to continue to offer a grocery store for this local community in Evart.
Successive generations have operated and worked at Ebels General Store for 6 generations. In 1927 Chris moved his store building to the store’s current location in Falmouth 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 May of 2016, Ebels Hardware completed a new building expansion and moved from the original location in the basement of Ebels General store to their current location right across the parking lot. City.
Ebels General Store is recognized for its outstanding selection of retail meats. The Ebels family is committed to providing high-quality meats at affordable prices. For six generations, the store has been managed and staffed by family members. In 1927, Chris relocated the store to its present site in Falmouth, which features a spacious full basement beneath the main level.
In the early 1980’s several national retailers moved into the area, and with them came more competition at the grocery retail level for local stores. This led Mark & Dawn Ebels 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. 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 dozens of 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.
Ebels Clothing Department is located in the downstairs of Ebels General Store in Falmouth, you'll now find The Bridge Coffee Shop and a specialty boutique clothing and gift department. Shop seasonal home decor, candles, jewelry and more! The Reed City location also opened a coffee shop and clothing store in June of 2022. Both stores offer men, women, and children clothing including outerwear and boots. Customers can look forward to shopping brands like Columbia, Bogs, Merrill, Carhartt, Under Armor, Chaco, Tribal, Stormy Kromer and Red Wing, just to name a few.
Mark & Dawn now work alongside three of their children and their spouses, Laura & Rich Bennett, Bob & Julie Ebels, and Tom & Lori Ebels. Mark & Dawn would like to thank the great team of associates they have been blessed with in all areas of the businesses. Many have been with the company for multiple years and through all the transitions along the way.
The Ebels family would like to thank all their loyal customers. The Ebels family is dedicated to serving our Lord Jesus Christ first and foremost. We provide quality, value and consistency in the foods we make, products we sell and services we provide. We look forward to serving you in the future, in Falmouth, Reed City and Evart.
Watch the video below to see how it all started.