- The Marshall Steakhouse in Holly Springs is known for its great steak grilling, excellent service and unique atmosphere.
When I was a child, slaughter day on our farm began early in the morning on a freezing cold winter day. Dad would call in his brothers and their wives to help. At the end of a long day, the men would cut the beef in half, then into quarters, and hang it on the meat hooks in our underground garage to age.
While the beef was aging, my father would sometimes take the quarter of beef off the hook and cut out five T-bone steaks for our dinner. My mother would cook them in suet and cook them from rare to medium. The steaks were thick and juicy. There was nothing better.
The Marshall Steakhouse in Holly Springs is known for its great steak, outstanding service and unique atmosphere. Steve Williford, a freelance writer, wrote How to make steaks great again about his friend of over thirty years, Randall Swaney.
Randall is the owner of Marshall’s and says in Steve’s book, “To me, this is more than just a place to eat. It’s like walking through the door and being transported to a mountain cabin. It’s a place where you can leave your stress on the porch. I want our guests to get to know our staff, take photos, think of us on special occasions and know that it’s special to us whenever they come here.”
Entrepreneurship began in childhood
Holly Springs is Randall’s hometown. His parents, Fred and Lois Swaney, bought a pre-Civil War home called Grey Gables, but after 50 years of vacancy, the home had become run down and needed renovation. The Swaneys put a lot of heart and soul into the project. After the renovation, Grey Gables became part of the annual pilgrimage for years.
The entire Swaney family was involved in preparing for the tour. One of the six children’s tasks was to varnish the floors of Grey Gables before the pilgrimage. Randall gave tours at age six. The young child learned important interpersonal skills.
An entrepreneur sees a need and has a vision of how to fill that need. At age ten, Randall saw that Holly Springs High School didn’t have a concession stand for the junior high games. He asked Willie, one of his father’s employees, to buy the items on his shopping list: Cokes, cups, ice cream, popcorn, hot dogs and buns. Randall grilled the hot dogs and Willie made the popcorn. They sold everything and Randall pocketed the money. There’s more to this story and other stories from his childhood, but you’ll have to read about that in his book.
When Randall finished tenth grade, his father took a new job in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley as president of a ski resort and real estate development company. Randall thought it would just be for the summer. At the end of the summer, however, his father revealed that this was now the family’s permanent home. A few years later, Randall asked his father if he could sell property like his older brothers. His father gave him a chance, which resulted in Randall selling one of the most expensive properties in the settlement – another step forward for sales.
He later attended the University of Mississippi. In his book, he explained that getting good grades was not his top priority. But when his father asked him during his fifth year if he would graduate at the end of the semester, Randall was faced with the harsh reality that his money would be gone if he did not graduate. This motivated Randall not only to complete the 21 hours of the most challenging courses in the curriculum, but also to improve his grades in the process. He graduated at the end of that semester.
Sales and Marketing
Eventually, Randall began working at Naegele Outdoor Advertising and his sales and marketing skills grew. He was a natural and became president of Naegele Memphis. The Memphis Planning Forum awarded him the Planner of the Year award, a great honor. After five years with the company, the opportunity arose to make a bid to buy the company. Randall lost the bid.
It was time to take a different approach. Randall came up with the idea of installing bus shelters with covered benches throughout Memphis. In his book, he explains: “The bus shelters were equipped with backlit billboards that would target car passengers with advertising messages. These had the advantage for the advertisers of being in places where billboards could not be, and they benefited the city and the management company by generating advertising revenue for both.”
In 1997, Randall sold the bus stop business for a profit of $6.5 million.
The way to Marshall Steakhouse
The idea for a restaurant came to Randall when he bought a used building on Craigslist. Originally, he wanted to build a sawmill in it. When he realized it was too big for that purpose, he toyed with the idea of opening a feed and gun store there and selling hamburgers for lunch. However, the more Randall thought about it and studied what was available along the highway from Memphis to Birmingham, the more another idea came to him. He decided to turn the massive 35-foot-tall, 60-foot-wide, and 80-foot-long building into a restaurant that people would be willing to drive 100 miles or more to enjoy a great steak.
He and his staff built out the building. He made the floor joists, beams, columns and the restaurant’s furniture using the sawmill he bought and picked up in Oregon. The hand-crafted tables are beautiful. The dining room seats 320 people and another 100 people can be served in the outdoor cabanas. There is also a seating area upstairs.
With no restaurant experience whatsoever, Randall and his wife Lori opened Marshall Steakhouse on July 21, 2017. In the first week, they served over 2,500 customers. Guests are greeted by a wooden replica of the Native American Chief Kalija, carved by Paul Moon and painted by Ernie Patton. The nine-foot-tall building is a popular gathering spot for many families who gather for a photo.
The Food Network has named Marshall Steakhouse the best steakhouse in Mississippi for several years. Last year Life in the South listed it as number two in its October issue. The Mississippi Beef Council also voted it the best steak.
What sets this steakhouse apart from others? First of all, there is the quality of the beef offered – prime. And in case you’re curious, the steaks are grilled on a 10-foot long and 3-foot wide grill, with the temperature kept at a constant 500 degrees. The menu also features the finest seafood: lobster, crab, oysters, shrimp and salmon.
Another reason Marshall Steakhouse ranks at the top is its service. Many of the employees have been there since it opened, from head chef Kevin Martin, who came on board when the restaurant first opened, to the managers, servers, bartenders and other staff. You can tell Randall is not only grateful for their dedicated service, but proud of them.
In a customer review, Mike wrote on Facebook, “We’ve been to several of the ‘best’ steakhouses in Mississippi: Doe’s Eat Place in Jackson, Anthony’s in West Point, King’s in Oxford, and many others, but our meal at Marshall’s tonight was truly amazing! We had the 10oz filet and 16oz ribeye steak, both Oscar style and blackened, wedge salad, Caesar salad, twice baked potato casserole, and the darn shrimp. Everything was exactly as we ordered, and when we were too full to take another tasty bite, Jay surprised us with the most incredible blueberry bread pudding. It was heavenly!! We will be back again and again. Thank you, Jay and Marshall’s Steakhouse, for a truly remarkable meal!”
The ambiance is the third reason Marshall Steakhouse draws people from near and far. Inside, it feels like a mountain cabin in Montana or Colorado. A 6,000-pound, 14-foot grizzly bear carved by Paul Moon greets you next to the stairs.
In the winter, the entire building is heated with wood heaters. There are paintings Randall bought from Ernie Patton, including one of Elvis Presley – an interesting story behind this purchase.
On another wall hangs a 347-pound blue marlin caught by Fred Sawney. You can read “A Great Fish Story” in Randall’s book or ask him about it over dinner.
The Marshall Steakhouse is 30 minutes north of Oxford and a 30- to 50-minute drive from Memphis. Randall told the story of a family who traveled from Pascagoula. He thought they had another reason for coming to the area and was surprised to learn they had driven the distance just to eat at the restaurant. There were also visitors from England, Australia, Japan and Africa.
The family, the farm and the future
Randall and Lori, whom he calls “Peach,” have five daughters and seven grandchildren. Lori was initially skeptical about the restaurant idea. She plays a key role and helps with finances, manages managers, sets policies and procedures, and keeps Randall on top of things.
When Randall isn’t at the steakhouse, he enjoys spending time on his 400-acre farm. He has a small herd of Red Angus cattle and raises Red Wattle Hogs. He originally considered raising beef for the restaurant, but abandoned the idea when a friend calculated how many cattle he would need per week.
Steve Williford’s book, How to make steaks great againcontains many of Randall’s fascinating stories and photos. The book is sold in the restaurant and on Amazon.
Randall shared his business expansion plans, saying he hopes to build an RV area, rental cabins, an event building and several other buildings.
Visit the Marshall Steakhouse website to view the menu, make reservations, see hours, and take a photo tour, or visit their Facebook page.
