Royal Oak's Holiday Market Sold To Metro Detroit Grocers

ROYAL OAK, MI — A longtime family-owned grocery store in Royal Oak has been sold, according to the owners.

Siblings Tom Violante, Jr. and Gina Mangold - along with her husband Craig - announced Wednesday that they are selling Holiday Market to Johnny and Matthew Shouneyia.

The family-owned grocery store, located on Main Street, between Parent and Kenilworth avenues, was founded by Tom Violante, Sr. as a small butcher shop in 1954.

Since then, the neighborhood grocery store has grown to a 60,000-square-foot marketplace that's best known for its gourmet selection of cheeses, as well as salads, soups, sandwiches and prepared meals.

It is also known for the Mirepoix Cooking School, which is on the second floor. The school has been offering cooking classes, special dinners and events since it opened in 2008. Violante and Mangold will continue to operate the cooking school.

"Holiday Market has become more than a grocery store—it is a place for people to gather, to learn, and to explore, and it has been a meaningful journey for us and our family to become so close to so many of you in our community," the owners said in a social media post.

The new soon-to-be owners, brothers Johnny and Matthew Shouneyia, are experienced grocers who already own several stores in the area, including Value Center Marketplace stores in Clinton Township and Madison Heights and Johnny Pomodoro’s in Farmington Hills.

The owners said the store will not change, and that the Shouneyias plan to keep all current employees. The sale will officially take place in the coming weeks.