The Royal Oak Holiday Market has been sold to brothers Johnny and Matthew Shouneyia after 70 years of family ownership. The sale also includes the Holiday Market Select in Birmingham. The new owners will keep the market's operations and staff the same. "Johnny and I are family-oriented guys and we intend on carrying on the family traditions of Holiday Market and continuing business as usual," Matthew Shouneyia said, as reported by The Detroit News.
According to Detroit Free Press, former owners Tom Violante Jr. and Gina Mangold, siblings behind the market, said the transition will be smooth for customers. "Our employees will continue to do the things that they love, so we are excited," Violante said. The siblings and Mangold’s husband, Craig, are keeping the Mirepoix Cooking School. The sale, finalized in mid-November, is undisclosed, but the market’s legacy played a big role. Mangold called it "truly a mom-and-pop store," recalling how her mother worked there. The market was founded in 1954 by their father as a butcher shop and has grown to include a bakery, catering, and smokehouse.
As mentioned by ClickOnDetroit, the Shouneyias, who have experience in the grocery business with their family-owned stores, are expanding further with a recent acquisition. There won't be any major changes to the store's operations. "I don't think a customer will know the minute that Gina and I and Craig stop owning the business, and Matthew and Johnny start owning the business … it'll be that seamless. There will not even be a minute's change in feeling … it'll be as seamless as it can be," Violante said, assuring customers that the store will keep its familiar atmosphere, as stated by Detroit Free Press.
