HoneyBaked Ham

HoneyBaked Ham by Tricia Sluder

As I shared in this publication three years ago, HoneyBaked Ham opened in Cleveland on December 19, 2012. We will soon be celebrating ten years in Cleveland. It’s a common sentiment expressed by people as they get older that the years seem to go by more quickly with every passing year. In so many ways, it seems like it has been a full ten years, and then maybe more than that, and at other times, as I’ve watched my grandchildren grow, it isn’t possible that it has been ten years.

Our customers are the best. To say that we have become “mayors” of our town is an understatement. Thanks to the friends that have shared us with their friends, our circle of acquaintances has grown exponentially since we opened. Among the three of us, Marty, me and our son, Craig, we know thousands of people in Cleveland and Bradley County. And thanks to our favorite radio personality, Steve Hartline at Mix 104.1, there are many that know us and know the HoneyBaked brand, but we don’t know them. It’s a wonderful community we live in. Many in our community are excited to see a new business open and they are quietly cheering them on for success. Cleveland is blessed with many bright entrepreneurs that network and support one another. That means a lot if you are opening a new business, to know that a crowd is cheering you on from the sidelines, both seen and unseen.

Like all businesses in the last couple of years, Covid was a game changer. For six weeks in the spring of 2020, our dining room was closed for dining in, but because we are a specialty food retailer that is centered around great meals, the impact of Covid on our business was barely a bump in the road. We did better in 2020 than in any previous year, 2021 was even better, and we are well on track for 2022 to exceed 2021.

We have seen a marked increase in the number of family gatherings and the emphasis now placed on being together. With the uncertainty and the losses suffered as a result of Covid, many have rethought their priorities and have seriously evaluated how they want to spend their time, now making time with family more of a priority than it used to be. They are grateful for the gatherings around the table, remembering those who are no longer there, and celebrating those who remain. With all this, we

have experienced the loss of several wonderful customers, and we have grieved the loss with their families.

We have learned so much about the unique holiday experience of having a HoneyBaked Ham franchise. There are difficulties as we balance life and work. Craig and his wife, Lindsay, have four children, my precious grandchildren, and they are active and engaged in their school, Tennessee Christian Preparatory School. There are joys, too, because Marty and I are privileged to work with our son, side by side, every day. What a blessing! I wouldn’t have it any other way. As manager, Craig has worked tirelessly to grow our business, and he is the reason we have great holiday hams for our customers. Along with a busy lunch and catering business, he has been a huge part of our success. We could not have done it without him.

There have been countless times in our ten-year history that a customer has shared joys and sorrows, like the sister who called to reserve a ham for Thanksgiving because her younger sister was diagnosed with an aggressive lung cancer and time together was uncertain. I remember the lady who didn’t bring cash or a credit card to pay, thinking she could write a check. I was near the register and heard our associate tell her we don’t accept personal checks. I stepped in to ask the customer her name. I remembered that her husband had passed barely two months before that, and although I didn’t know her personally, I agreed to accept her personal check, thinking that she had been through enough already. She was very grateful for my exception, stating that her mom had just died, and she had needed to pick up items to provide meals for family coming in from out of town. I’ll never forget the look on the little girl’s face when she came in with her dad one Christmas to get a ham. Our products are specialty retail and are a premium price. When the dad realized he couldn’t afford what he wanted and turned to walk away, a customer behind him saw the exchange and stepped up to pay for what he wanted. The little girl looked up at her dad, beaming with a smile, as she saw his look of surprise. We have been fortunate to see many of our customers express kindness to others, and appreciation to law enforcement and military customers who were in our store at the same time.

The best HoneyBaked customers live in Cleveland, Tennessee, and the surrounding communities. It has been a privilege and a unique blessing that we know most of our customers by their first name, all about their children and grandchildren, their daily lives, their hopes and their dreams.

We are deeply honored to grace holiday tables in Bradley and the surrounding counties. A gift of a HoneyBaked ham tells the recipient that they are truly special, and when a HoneyBaked ham is the centerpiece of the holiday table, the hostess is telling her family that they are loved, and they matter. We have been blessed beyond measure to be a part of a business that brings families together. It is a unique experience that creates HoneyBaked happiness. Thank you all for your support.