- Marshall Steakhouse in Holly Springs is known for grilling a great steak, providing excellent service, and a unique atmosphere.
During my childhood, butchering day on our farm began early in the morning on a freezing winter day. Dad had his brothers and their wives come to help. By the end of a long day, the men had the beef cut into halves, then quarters, and hung on the meat hooks in our basement garage to age.
During the beef aging process, there were times when Dad would take the beef quarter off the hook and carve out five T-bone steaks for our supper. Mom prepared them in beef tallow, frying them from rare to medium well. The steaks were thick and juicy. There was nothing finer.
Marshall Steakhouse in Holly Springs is known for grilling a great steak, providing excellent service, and a unique atmosphere. Steve Williford, a freelance writer, wrote Making Steaks Great Again about his friend of thirty plus years, Randall Swaney.
Randall is the owner of Marshall’s, and in Steve’s book he says, “For me, this is more than just a place to come eat. It’s like walking through the doors and being transported to a mountain lodge. 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 for special occasions, and know it’s special for us whenever they come.”
Entrepreneurship Began in Childhood
Holly Springs is Randall’s homeplace. His parents, Fred and Lois Swaney purchased an Antebellum home called Grey Gables, but fifty years of vacancy left the house run down and in need of restoration. The Swaney’s put a lot of sweat equity and money into the project. When Grey Gables was restored, it became a part of the annual Pilgrimage Tour for years.
The entire Swaney family was involved with the tour preparations. One of the jobs the six children had was varnishing Grey Gables’ floors before the Pilgrimage. Randall was giving tours at age six. The young child was gaining essential people skills.
An entrepreneur sees a need and has a vision of how to meet that need. At age ten, Randall saw no concession stand for the Junior High games at the Holly Springs High School. He asked one of his father’s employees, Willie, to buy the items on his shopping list: Cokes, cups, ice, popcorn, hot dogs, and buns. Randall grilled the hot dogs, and Willie popped the corn. They sold everything, and Randall pocketed the money. There is more to the story and more childhood stories, but you need to read about it in his book.
When Randall had completed tenth grade, his father took a new job in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia as president of a ski resort and a real estate development company. Randall thought it was only for the summer. However, at the end of the summer, his father revealed this was now the family’s permanent home. Several years later, Randall asked his father if he could be engaged in selling lots, like his older brothers. His father gave him an opportunity, which resulted in Randall selling one of the most expensive lots in the development—another step forward in sales.
Later, he attended the University of Mississippi. In his book, he stated that attaining good grades was not his top priority. But when his father asked him, during his fifth year in college, if he would graduate at the end of the semester, Randall was faced with the harsh reality that if he didn’t graduate, his funds would disappear. This motivated Randall to not only complete the 21 hours on the most challenging courses in the curriculum, but to improve his grades in the process. He graduated at the end of that semester.
Sales and Marketing
Eventually, Randall went to work for Naegele Outdoor Advertising, and his skills in sales and marketing grew. He was a natural and became President of Naegele Memphis. The Memphis Planning Forum gave him the Planner of the Year Award, a huge honor. After five years with the company, an opportunity arose to put in a bid to purchase the company. Randall lost the bid.
It was time to pursue a different path. Randall had an idea of providing bus shelters with covered benches throughout Memphis. He explains in his book, “The shelters were integrated with backlit advertising panels targeting automobile passengers with advertising messages. These had the benefit to advertisers of being in places billboards could not be, and benefitted the city and management company by providing ad revenue to both.”
In 1997, Randall sold the bus sheltering business for a $6.5 million profit.
The Road to Marshall Steakhouse
The idea for a restaurant started when Randall purchased a used building off Craigslist. His original intention was for the building to house a sawmill. When he realized it was too big for that purpose, he toyed with the idea of a feed-and-gun store and selling hamburgers for lunch. However, the more Randall thought about it and studied what was available along the interstate from Memphis to Birmingham, he had another idea. He decided to take the 35-foot tall, 60-foot wide, and 80-foot long massive structure and make it a restaurant that people would be willing to drive 100 miles or more to enjoy a great steak.
He and his employees built out the building. He made the floor joists, beams, pillars, and the restaurant’s furniture using the sawmill he purchased and picked up from Oregon. The handmade tables are beautiful. The dining hall seats 320 people, and another 100 individuals can be served in the outside cabanas. There is also an upstairs seating area.
With no restaurant experience, Randall and his wife, Lori, opened the Marshall Steakhouse on July 21, 2017. They served over 2,500 customers in the first week. Greeting the customers is a wooden replica of Indian Chief Kalija, carved by Paul Moon and painted by Ernie Patton. Standing nine feet tall, many families gather beside it for a photo.
The Food Network has awarded Marshall Steakhouse as the number one steakhouse in Mississippi for several years. Last year, Southern Living listed them as number two in their October edition. The Mississippi Beef Council also chose it as the best steak winner.
What sets this steakhouse apart? First is the beef grade offered—Prime. And, in case you are curious, the steaks are grilled on a 10-foot-long by 3-foot-wide grill, with the temperature maintained at 500 degrees. Also on the menu is the best seafood with lobster, crab, oysters, shrimp, and salmon.
Another reason why Marshall Steakhouse is at the top is its service. Many of the employees been there since it opened, from Chef Kevin Martin, who came aboard when the restaurant opened, to the managers, servers, bartenders, and other staff. You can tell that Randall is not just grateful for their dedicated service, but proud of them as well.
In a customer review, Mike wrote on Facebook, “We have been to several of the ‘best’ steak houses 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 earlier this evening really stood out as fantastic! We had the 10 oz filet and 16 oz ribeye both Oscar style and blackened, wedge salad, Caesar salad, twice baked potato casserole, and the dang dang shrimp. All were exactly as we ordered, and when we were too stuffed to eat another delicious 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 has people coming from near and far. Inside, you feel you are in a mountain lodge in Montana or Colorado. A 6,000-pound grizzly bear, carved by Paul Moon, standing 14-foot tall, greets you from its location next to the staircase.
During the winter season, wood heaters provide heat for the entire building. There are paintings that Randall purchased from Ernie Patton, including one of Elvis Presley—an interesting story behind that purchase.
Mounted on another wall is a 347-pound trophy catch Blue Marlin caught by Fred Sawney. You can read “A Great Fish Story” in Randall’s book or ask him about it while you enjoy your meal.
Marshall Steakhouse is 30 minutes north of Oxford and a 30- to 50-minute drive from Memphis. Randall shared a story about a family who drove 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 have also been visitors from England, Australia, Japan, and Africa.
The Family, Farm, and Future
Randall and Lori, whom he calls “Peach,” have five daughters and seven grandchildren. Lori was initially hesitant about the restaurant idea. She plays a vital role and helps with the financials, managing the managers, establishing policies and procedures, and she keeps Randall straight.
Randall enjoys spending time on his 160-acre farm when he is not at the steakhouse. He has a small herd of Red Angus cattle and raises Red Wattle Hogs. Initially, he considered raising the beef for the restaurant but dismissed the idea when a friend calculated how many cattle it would take per week.
Steve Williford’s book, Making Steaks Great Again, features many of Randall’s intriguing stories and photos. The book is sold at the restaurant, as well as on Amazon.
Randall shared his plans for expanding the business, saying he hopes to have an area for RVs, rental cabins, an event building, and several other buildings.
Visit the Marshall Steakhouse website site to review the menu, make reservations, see operating hours, and take a photo tour, or visit their Facebook page.
Laura Lee Leathers
