McNally’s Foods has new owners after 37 years under the previous owner. Brothers Mayank Patel, 32, and Andy Patel, 45, purchased the business in October.
The siblings, operating under ANGIRA LLC, also own the AmericInn by Wyndham Grinnell, which they acquired in August 2022. Beyond Grinnell, the Patels have business investments across the Midwest, including Michigan and Illinois.
The store had been run by Julie Smith and her late husband, Randy, since 1988. They moved McNally’s to its current location in 2014, according to the Grinnell Area Chamber of Commerce.
“We like the town of Grinnell, and we like to be a part of it,” Mayank Patel said. “We plan to keep the name as well and just continue the tradition that she’s [Julie] been doing.”
The new owners plan to introduce some updates. Dining dollars, previously accepted at one terminal, will now be usable at two terminals. They are also considering healthier food options and hope to open a café within a year or two.
“Something for the students where they can come in, have coffee, and then they can work on their projects and collaborate,” Patel said.
Collaborations with local suppliers will be maintained. When it comes to employee retention, Patel said their goal is to keep as many as possible. “We give that right to the manager and they can take all the decisions,” he said.
McNally’s itself has a long history, opening in 1902.
In a 2018 interview with The Scarlet & Black, Smith explained the store’s origins — it was started by a man who worked for a cattle yard, butchered meat and delivered it by horse-drawn wagon throughout the town.
It eventually led to him opening his store, where the Strand Theatre is located. “It kinda grew as people started … buying groceries in grocery stores as opposed to having them delivered to them,” Smith said. “Then eventually [McNally’s] moved down to [our] neck of the woods, and we bought the business in 1988, and that’s kind of how it started.”
