If you’ve driven east on US-10, chances are you couldn’t help but notice a giant cow head on the side of the iconic grocery store in Custer. It’s still there, and the shop is back in the business of providing fresh foods to the community, thanks to the Nash brothers, Charles and Greg.
Aptly named, Nash Bros. Market opened in the fall of 2020, even in the midst of a pandemic. Since then, customers have enjoyed a variety of services: taking advantage of daily lunch and dinner specials, grabbing that last-minute gallon of milk, or purchasing a take-and-bake pizza for the oven.
Mason County Central grads, Charles and Greg, came back to the area from Florida to purchase the former Bonser’s of Custer, which had been a staple in the community since the 1960s. At the time of the store’s remodeling, there was a lot of buzz about the re-opening.
“The number one question when people found out that we bought the store was, ‘Are you keeping the cow head?’” Charles laughed. “I had almost put it on eBay to help pay for the store, but it’s a Mason County icon, and we’ll never take it down.”
While originally envisioned as a grocery, Charles said they’ve begun a transition to more of a convenience store. Among the regular features of Nash Bros. Market:
- Deli – highlighting made-to-order sandwiches, salads and desserts; fried cheese sticks, mushrooms, jalapeno poppers, chicken tenders, french fries and tamales
- Taco Tuesdays
- Wing Wednesdays – featuring the store’s famous fried chicken wings.
- Dinner baskets – choose a hamburger, cheeseburger, olive burger, bacon cheeseburger or ¾-pound Monster Burger with pepperoni and ham.
- Daily soup specials
- Friday Fish Fry
“We know a lot of people who enjoy the fish fry,” Charles said. “We started with 24 dinners sold, and five weeks later, 100 diners were sold on back-to-back Fridays. We have people driving from Muskegon and Manistee to buy it.”
The store also carries meat from local ranchers and Little Town Jerky – “probably the biggest selection outside of Cadillac,” said Charles. Nash Bros. has a wide range of items from jerky sticks to large portions of meat, even elk sausage.
If you’re on your way to the river to fish, the market also has a refrigerator stocked with worms, everything from crawlers to wax. And new events have been scheduled: June 23 will be the next Bike Night and on July 3, Nash Bros. will host another craft fair.
Nash Bros. Market is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily (closed Sundays). Check out the Facebook page to view its full menu and daily specials. Call ahead (231-936-1093), and your hot food order will be ready made.
The store will celebrate its one-year anniversary this fall with a Grand Opening event on October 23.