Saturday Business Spotlight: Market on the Hill
[November 15, 2025] In
Mt Pulaski, finding a grocery store that sells anything you might need
for staples throughout the week is not always the easiest task. Dollar
General has some things, but it’s hard to argue that any of it is fresh.
Market on the Hill offers fresh fruits and vegetables, kitchen staples,
and a whole host of other items.
Market on the Hill is a bit different from some of the other small
businesses in Logan County, as they are community owned. Members of the
community can become shareholders by filling out an
application or
stopping into their store. This then means that they do not have one or
two single owners, but members who have purchased ownership in the
store. They do have a board that oversees the Market, and they also have
a General Manager, Amanda Scattergood.
Scattergood has been the GM at the Market for about two and a half
years. Before this, she was a paraprofessional at Mt Pulaski High
School. She watched how the Market grew and wanted to get involved.
Market on the Hill came about out of necessity. There was a grocery
store where the True Value is now, but that went out of business several
years back. Seeing that there was a need for a grocery store, the
community came together and brainstormed. The Economic Development &
Planning Board came together and helped raise the funds to create Market
on the Hill. Scattergood could not stress enough how important the Mt
Pulaski community is to the Market. “The community is such a vital part
of this place,” she said. “It’s the life of it.”
There are a
multitude of items sold at the Market. Some of the non-grocery items
include locally crafted purses and concrete statues. Local artist Scott
Linley sells art in the store, and they also sell wood crafted items
from the high school, with all of the proceeds going back to the high
school.
Scattergood
shared that they like to keep as many of the items in their store as
local as possible. In fact, there is a rectangular table near the deli
that is 100 percent local. According to Scattergood, the wood for the
table was cut and lumbered, and then built all in Mt Pulaski.
Whenever
possible, Scattergood shared, they try to sell locally sourced foods as
well. The eggs and milk are local, and the produce is as often as they
can depending on the season. Thomas Titus of Tri Pork Inc. provides the
Market with some of their meat. They also learned that members of the Mt
Pulaski community have been wanting to eat healthy, and so have been
making an effort to stock their shelves with healthier food options such
as gluten free or organic items.
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In addition to
this, they also sell fresh food items. They have a deli and bakery from
which they sell fresh made sandwiches and baked goods. They also sell
coffee. Scattergood shared that the deli, bakery, and coffee items are
some of the biggest sellers they have.
They have
“signature sandwiches” that they sell, such as the Sourdough Sarah. Many
of these sandwiches are named after founding members. They have a
sandwich named ‘The Caleb’ after a young boy who tragically lost his
life several years back. Scattergood said that, according to Don
Maxheimer, Caleb loved bologna sandwiches. Members of the Market wanted
to honor Caleb’s memory and so made ‘The Caleb,’ which is a bologna
sandwich.
Scattergood did share that they often struggle to keep goods on the
shelves. Many big distributors will not ship to them, as they do not
purchase enough for them to make the trip out to the Market. This leaves
Scattergood and the board members to have to go out and source many of
the items they sell themselves.
Scattergood shared that she loves to see the good work that the Market
does for the people in the Mt Pulaski community. Some people do not have
the means to leave town to go to the grocery store, but they can make it
to the Market. She loves being able to be there for the community in the
good times and the bad. “We are here for the good times, the bad times,
the hard times, the ugly crying times… having that sense of belonging.”
Scattergood had some advice for people looking to open their own
business. The first thing she mentioned was having enough capital for
the first couple of years. Without the Mt Pulaski City Council and the
Economic Development & Planning Board, they would not have been able to
keep their doors open for as long as they have. She also said that it is
important to know your customer base. Change can be hard for people
sometimes, and if you come in with too many new ideas all at once,
people might be hesitant to try it. Know what people like and are
wanting. The benefit of a small store over a large one is that you get
to know your customers. You get to talk to them and build that
relationship that you are less likely to at a large box store.
Market on the Hill does daily deli specials every Monday-Friday. They
make soups from scratch as well. Over the past few months, they have
been selling pre-cooked meals that can be bought, warmed up at home, and
eaten. Scattergood shared that these have been pretty popular.
Market on the Hill is located at 125 S. Lafayette St. in Mt Pulaski.
Their hours are Monday-Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. They are also
open on Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. You can visit their
website, view them on
Facebook, see
their Instagram
page, and even order some of the food they sell online for pickup
here.
[Matt Boutcher] |
