Ashland Tractor Sales adding a new building and Whit's Frozen Custard has new owners
ASHLAND – Customers of a couple of local businesses are seeing some big changes.
Work has started on a new building for Ashland Tractor Sales at 1129 U.S. Route 250 North and new owners have taken over Whit's Frozen Custard at 1220 Claremont Ave.
More: First arch in downtown Ashland unveiled, donated by residents Norma and Lloyd Wygant
Ashland Tractor Sales had a groundbreaking Tuesday for its expansion, while Whit's is hosting a grand re-opening Friday that includes a ribbon-cutting at 12:30 p.m., as well as raffles, specials and giveaways.
While attending Tuesday's event at Ashland Tractor Sales, Mayor Matt Miller said, "it was a beautiful thing to see Mother June (Dalton) sitting on the backhoe next to her son (Brad Dalton) to break ground on the expansion of a business that was started decades ago."
June, 91, and her late husband, Harold, started the business in 1964 at its current location.
Ashland Council Member Dennis Miller, who also attended the groundbreaking, mentioned at Tuesday night's council meeting that owner Brad Dalton, 67, wants to expand for future generations. Dalton's daughter, Karie Hickey, helps him oversee the business.
"We are very fortunate in our community to have a number of businesses that have continued to grow through multiple generations of family ownership," added the mayor, who spoke at the groundbreaking.
Mayor Miller: Ashland Tractor Sales has succeeded for several reasons
In his speech, Miller said he highlighted three things that help businesses succeed — fast response; good, dependable product and service; and being nice.
He used the example of customers saying they always have been able to come to Ashland Tractor Sales if they needed a part and, even if it didn't have the part, they could use one from its used equipment until the part was available.
"Talk about a fast response," the mayor added. "They could depend on you to help and, of course, always being a very nice family to deal with."
For a few years, the family had been planning to expand.
"We want to show the community we're staying here and, by doing this, we're showing our intentions to stay here," Dalton said.
The 60-foot by 144-foot building will house more parts and be used for more sales and shop space, according to Dalton.
"We've been growing and can't quite get everything we have in the buildings we have, so we need to expand," Dalton said.
In addition to tractors, the business also sells walker mowers, zero-turn mowers and snow plows, keeping it busy all year.
The new 8,900-square-foot building will join about 9,000 square feet of buildings being used for a shop, parts and a showroom.
Dalton said he's happy all the work will be done by local businesses Burkholder Construction and JS, which is doing the excavating.
The expansion probably will mean adding employees to its 12-person workforce, but Dalton said that won't be determined until the building is finished.
In addition to its customers, Dalton said, the employees, such as 11-year-worker Greg Vogel, are a big reason the business keeps growing.
"We wouldn't have gotten where we are without good employees and we've had good ones over the years," he said.
'They're like our kids' — new owners say about their mostly teen workforce at Whit's Frozen Custard
The nearly 30 employees of mostly teens is one of many reasons new owners Lori and Rick Mullins are excited about taking over Whit's Frozen Custard.
"We love the kids. They're like our kids," said Lori Mullins, who has been married to Rick for five years, and between them have seven mostly grown children, none of which work at their new business venture.
The husband and wife, who are both in their 50s, bought the franchise in March from the previous owner, who opened it in 2018.
They also have kept their other jobs, with Rick remaining full time as the principal at Lakeville Elementary School in Holmes County and Lori cutting back to two days a week as an adult and geriatric nurse practitioner at Viola Startzman Clinic in Wooster, which provides lower-income patients with affordable health care.
"The great thing is Rick and Lori already have successful careers where they serve people, and now they can say they have a second job that truly makes Ashland sweeter," said Mayor Miller, who lives in the same neighborhood as the couple.
As a lifelong Ashland resident, Lori Mullins said she wanted to do something to help her hometown and didn't want the city to lose another business, noticing Whit's had cut back its hours, started closing some days and stopped serving food. So she started working there a day or two a week.
She loved it so much that she and her husband started looking at opening their own Whit's franchise in Wooster. While Rick Mullins is from Michigan, he has lived in the area for almost 30 years, working in the Mapleton and Ashland school districts before going to West Holmes.
After it didn't work out for them in Wooster, they found out the Ashland one was for sale and jumped at the chance to own it.
How well it has gone has confirmed their decision to become Whit's franchise owners, Lori Mullins said.
"Ashland has been amazing," she said. "The people have shown us so much support and care and love and are just so thankful we have kept it open. I think the community was worried this place was going to close down."
Not only have the two kept it open, they have returned food to its menu, gone from six to 29 employees and increased the hours, opening at 11:30 a.m. and closing at 8:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and 4 to 8 p.m. Sunday.
Decorating, painting and other changes are all being done to attract more customers and make the business more cozy\ comfy and inviting, the couple agree.
"We want to build the atmosphere where people come to relax and hang out," said Rick Mullins, then with a slight pause and smile added, "and have some good food and custard."
This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Ashland seeing some big changes with a couple of its businesses
