The “Do Gooder” Business of the Week has been awarded to Gold Rush Mercantile, owned and operated by Mark Jones. Five years ago, he bought the former Brown Shoes building and relocated his business from Gardner to Ottawa. Mark worked for 30 years in the Gardner School District as part of the outdoor maintenance team and he and his significant other, Monica, decided to open a shop that had everything. The name of the business comes from Mark’s hobby of dredging gold in Colorado and the mercantile part encompasses the store having “everything”, and they have pretty much everything, even the kitchen sink. Mark says he had traveled to Ottawa a lot over the years and had “always liked the people”, and when he retired from the school district, it seemed to be a natural fit to move the business.
In being the Business Do Gooder of the Week, Mark has been awarded two dozen Daylight Donuts from Betty Birzer as an unsung hero by investing in Ottawa. Congratulations Mark and Monica
