By RICK MILLER
Olean Star
PORTVILLE — The Portville Park and Shop store will close at the end of the month, leaving the Front Street grocery in Olean the only remaining Mahar Family store.
Mahar brothers Paul, Tom and Jim,who operate the Portville store are retiring. Jim Mahar’s son, Jim Mahar Jr., leases the Olean store from his father and uncles.
Paul and Tom Mahar reminisced Tuesday about their family’s grocery business at their offices on North 13th Street — behind one of their former stores.
The Mahar Family has been involved in the Olean-area grocery business for more than 100 years, starting in 1923 when Fran Mahar Sr., started a grocery in a garage at 118 Center St.
Fran Mahar Sr. had started working for Market Basket Stores in Olean after graduating high school at age 16, said Paul. Four years later, he became a supervisor, but had an itch to start his own store.
Six years later, in 1929, Fran Mahar Sr. opened a second grocery store at West State and North 15th streets and closed the Center Street store. Then in 1937, he opened a store in the 1000 block of North Union Street. That store closed in 2000. The West State Street store was moved to the former Richardson’s Grocery in 1984. It closed in 2022 and is now a Dollar General.
The flagship Front Street Park and Shop opened in December 1941, shortly after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. It is now operated by Jim Mahar Jr., who leases the location from the Mahar Brothers.
In 1989, the Mahars purchased the Allegany store on First Street. That location closed in 2013 and it is now a Dollar General store.
There were other Service Stores over the years — also known as Park & Shop — in Delevan, Arcade, Fillmore and Bolivar. All have since closed.
“It’s time,” Paul and Tom Mahar said in an interview at their office on Tuesday. They are looking forward to retirement. Jim Mahar Sr. is 87, Paul is 83 and Tim is “the youngest.”
Paul recalls working in the family business since he was 13 or 14. He worked at the North End store, at Front Street and a Henley Street warehouse that was sold about 20 years ago. “I’m a troubleshooter,” he said. He has maintained refrigeration systems for the stores and visits the Portville store every day.
The Mahars have been looking to sell the Portville store for the past year. “Rising costs” are a concern. “Everything is up. Covid was the beginning of the problem” with supply chain problems that led to shortages. “The big box stores were able to get things when we couldn’t,” he added.
The business has changed in other ways as well, Tom Mahar said. Many Portville area residents do their main shopping in Olean, stopping at the Park and Shop to pick up a few things on the way home. Also, many of the store’s older customers have either moved or died.
“Things change over the years, not always for the good,” Paul said.
Park and Shop has outlasted many other larger Olean-area grocery stores including Loblaws, Super Duper, Market Basket and Quality Markets, Paul and Tom Mahar noted.
“Service to the customers” was a big reason for the Service Stores’ success,” Tom said. They offered quality meats. “That and people liked my father and shopped there. He was a good fella.” Fran Mahar Sr. died in 1980, and Fran Jr. died in 2015.
Paul Mahar said he’ll enjoy more time at home. “It’s tough on your family life,” he said of managing a family business. “I’m going to not have to worry about things.” He’ll find more time for kids and grandkids,
Tom Mahar said he’ll “miss the daily routine and doing this and that. I’m going to have to change that,” added.
“We want to thank all our customers for allowing us to serve them over the years,” Tom said. “Portville has been good to us.”
Park and Shop opened in Portville in 1960, moving into the former Flood’s Market. This marks the store’s 65th year. There are 18 full- and part-time employees
The Mahar Brothers have been distributing a letter to “our valued customers and community members.” A sign out front notes the Feb. 28 closing date.
“After much thought and consideration, we have made the difficult decision to close Portville Park and Shop,” the letter states in part. “
Over the years we have been proud to serve this wonderful community, but the time has come for us to retire.’’
The Mahars added: “In recent years, sales have steadily declined while operating expenses have significantly increased, making it challenging to maintain the business. Given these circumstances, we believe it is the right time to close this chapter.”
They thanked their loyal customers for their support over the years and expressed appreciation “to the hundreds of employees that worked for us over the years.”
Portville Mayor Anthony Evans said he was part of a local group that worked with the Mahars over the past year in an attempt to find a buyer for the grocery store.
“No one wants to see a grocery store in a small town close,” Evans told the Olean Star. Small independent grocers face increasingly tough competition.
“The only constant in life is change,” Evans said. “I hope this will be an opportunity for someone. It’s a prime property in a high traffic area. It’s an opportunity for someone else. It may be a grocer or another business.”
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All Rights Reserved. Star News LLC. Eric M. Firkel.
