Banking on KC – Kerry Browne of Browne's Irish Marketplace: Irish Heritage Fosters Community
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Kelly Scanlon:
Welcome to Banking on KC. I'm your host, Kelly Scanlon. Thank you for joining us. With us on this episode is Kerry Browne, the fourth-generation owner of Browne's Irish Marketplace. Operating since 1887, Browne's is North America's oldest Irish business. Welcome, Kerry.
Kerry Browne:
Kelly, thank you so much for having us here. I'm excited to talk all thing Browne's and Irish with you.
Kelly Scanlon:
It's too bad we don't have a camera on us because she has brought an assortment of products and the Irish culture is a huge part of everything they do, so we're excited to see how she demonstrates these products. Before we get started with those, 1887, 150 years. Tell us a little bit the highlights, not the whole 150 years, but give us some highlights of the history. Being fourth generation, you've seen a lot.
Kerry Browne:
It's so exciting. The more we talk about it and think of how great it is, and we're good today because of the people who came before us and the struggles they had. And something you said with the oldest Irish business in North America, something we recently learned, the Irish government reached out to us and said we're the oldest Irish business outside of Ireland.
Kelly Scanlon:
Wow.
Kerry Browne:
So just think of that. It's so incredible to think my great-grandparents came from County Kerry, Ireland, and started in the front of their house just selling some wares and different things, and that they were so gutsy. Think what they went through to do that. And then when they got rid of the house, they moved outside of town to the building, the modern building we're in now which we opened in 1901. And just what they went through and getting to know people.
Kelly Scanlon:
Well, just the journey over. We didn't have airplanes then. They had to come on a boat.
Kerry Browne:
A boat, no cell phones to say, or Google, "What's Kansas City like?" And then their daughter, Margaret, married my grandpa, also an immigrant from County Kerry, Ireland. And what made him come to Kansas City? I wish we knew more. Grandpa said, "Oh, some guy on the boat said he was coming here, so I thought I would." It's like, really? You don't know. And then what he did, he survived through two World Wars, a depression. They raised 11 kids there. He started Associated Wholesale Grocers with some other men, so each one of them did amazing, and then their son was my dad, Bob, and he and my mom took it over, and we grew up and were born and raised in the store hands-on with all our aunts and uncles and cousins. And everybody's still involved. The cousins all love to be part of it.
And again, they had struggles. They tore down houses across the street. They had to rethink it, and I think the reason we're still here now is because as things changed, it's like, "Okay, there's workmen across the street. Let's make them sandwiches." Or, "Okay, the city's moving out south, let's get more delivery trucks." And now, the whole world's coming back to us so we feel like we knew if we held on 138 years. No, but we're thriving now. We're by the streetcar and downtown is so great and everything's moving back. And the beauty is a lot of those people who lived in the houses across the street, their kids and grandkids keep coming back, and that's what I love, is sometimes in a given day, you'll see three generations having lunch, and I know those same three generations came for my dad and my grandpa, and that older man now has some story.
Just yesterday, a guy came in and he said, "I remember one day, I gave your mom a $5 bill." And he said, "It was for all the penny candy I stole as a kid in here, and even though I confessed at church and did my Hail Marys, I've carried that guilt, so I got a clear conscience now."
Kelly Scanlon:
He made restitution.
Kerry Browne:
Yeah.
Kelly Scanlon:
Wow. That's hilarious.
Kerry Browne:
So it was really fun.
Kelly Scanlon:
So what has it been like, after spending your childhood with your family, your mom and dad, your aunts, uncles and cousins in this business, to be the person that's carrying it forward now, that's carrying it on? What is that like?
Kerry Browne:
It's something that we were in college when we lost my dad, and my husband, now husband, John McLean, who we were in college together and he said, "Let's give it a go." And so we were going to give it a couple of years and then we were almost a hundred, and it's like, "Well, let's give it to her a hundred," and now we're 138, so we've been doing it a while. You took it for granted. It was just there always, and then the Irish trade Board came to us when we turned 120 and said, "This is a huge deal. You need to celebrate it." So we started having big festivals every year and the elders came and played, and 5,000 people would come and have a good time, and only then did we realize how significant it was, and my husband and I have now run it longer than any other generation
Kelly Scanlon:
Have you?
Kerry Browne:
Which is shocking to us because in our minds, we're like 32.
Kelly Scanlon:
Of course.
Kerry Browne:
So how did that happen? And we see no end in sight. We're excited. And over COVID, nobody could get together so we started doing music on the back lot. We own the whole lot behind us and Irish musicians would play and people would bring their lawn chairs, and that's turned into a whole thing. Now we have events out there all the time and they're our favorite events and we sell food and drinks out that side window. It's Irish music or young music or everything, and it just brings people together, and that's the best thing that I love about Browne's. It's the coming together. The coming together to see. Like I said, the generations, the little kids are running around with their hula-hoop. The older ones are having their pint. I love watching everybody just run around and play and have a good time together.
Kelly Scanlon:
Fourth generation. It is so difficult for many businesses to pass the torch to that next generation. It's happened four times in your family. What has been the key? It's not just the business side of things. It's usually the dynamics within the family, or often. I shouldn't say usually, but often it's the dynamics within the family that kills the business generationally, so how has your family been able to manage those dynamics over the years?
Kerry Browne:
Well, again, I just would say that's a great, great question. I'd say the people who came before us were so incredible, and when my dad died, now that I'm older, I think what that took for my mom as a fairly young widow to say, "I trust you young kids who know nothing," and knowing nothing is kind of why you can do anything. It's like, "Sure, we can do that. No problem." We both finished college at night while we were doing this, and we were catering weddings and had all kinds of stuff there, trying new things every time. You just keep adapting to do what customers ask and we've always been open to that. But my mom was so gracious and so kind, which I know it was hard. It was their baby, but when we'd come up with stuff, she was open and would talk it through and would give us a chance, which I try to keep that in mind with my own kids too, because that's what's so great.
And I'm assuming the generations that came before, that's what they were willing to do too and to keep making it. And everybody changed it. We don't have the exact same business because the world isn't the exact same, but everybody changed it to make it work for them. And what's exciting, one of my sons, Rory, is in college now and he's doing marketing because he's excited, he really wants to carry it on. I said, "You know, you don't have to. There's so many other things," but he wants to. And the big thing he brings up is he goes, "1887, mom. Think of that. That's huge." So here, actually this is one of our shirts we have. He came up with this design that's just 1887, and everybody goes, "What's that mean?" All our regulars don't even get it.
So it is good that we even remember that's a huge deal, because somebody said half of 1% of businesses are still open at a hundred years. So think of that, in the whole country. So it is a big deal and we're happy to celebrate it, and I love that that matters to that next generation that wants to be part of it. So I will hope to be continuously as gracious to him as he changes as the generations were to us.
Kelly Scanlon:
Well, and that's always a big question mark, is whether the next generation is interested in continuing it. So you already have that question answered.
Kerry Browne:
It's not a hundred percent, you never know, but he also says he sees it going on long-term. Even if he's not day in, day out, every day there he wants it to keep going. No pressure. That's like over COVID. Everybody goes, "Are you guys closing because of COVID?" It's like, "We can't. Now there's pressure on us. We can't be the generation that didn't do it." And our customers indicate there's no end in sight. Our customers are so loyal and good to us and come back. We love seeing it. They're truly our friends and family at this point because you get to know them so well. But on the other hand, we always have... Like last Saturday, we asked people where they from. People were from all over who've never been there before too, so we love welcoming new people. And people go, "We have to be Irish?" Absolutely not. Every single person's welcome at Browne's, and that's what I love about it.
Kelly Scanlon:
What are some of your favorite personal stories or some of your favorite memories about Browne's?
Kerry Browne:
There's so many because every day, don't you go, "Best day ever. Best day ever"? One is when I talked about the Irish Trade Board saying you need to have a festival. That first festival, we closed the street and we had the bands and there was maybe 5,000 people who came, and we had no idea. We didn't know what to expect and we're just standing there. And I'd lost both my parents by then and you're just thinking, "Wow, they're all here with us," and you feel the energy and the presence of everybody. And another time, the master brewer of Guinness came over.
Kelly Scanlon:
Really?
Kerry Browne:
And it was like we just found out a few days before. We threw up a tent, we made some little flyers, and he taught people how to pour a perfect pint, which we have Guinness and Smithwick and Harpon Magnars on tap, and were very adamant that it has to be poured just so. So he taught people, and then if they got it, there was a certificate they got. There was over a thousand people who came to that, and we thought maybe 50, and people were worshiping him. He was so kind to the littlest kid or everybody else. It was such a great day.
Another one, at Irish Fest or whenever there's a festival and there's a musician in town, they'll stop by for lunch, and this lady whose name is Irish Meithen, she's from Ireland but lives in Canada, she's sitting there having lunch and she finishes lunch, puts down her sandwich and breaks into song, and people were weeping. Bottles of whiskey on the shelf were rattling. A video of it came up not long ago. I've maybe reposted on Instagram. It was incredible. It was unforgettable, and I've seen that video hundreds of times and still I don't tire of it. So that, when just different people stopped by unexpected, it's such a thrill. Usually the unexpected involves some sort of music, and that's what makes it really, really special.
Kelly Scanlon:
Music and drink.
Kerry Browne:
Music and Guinness, yeah. Here, I brought some Guinness while I do a little pop. Whoops. Now at Browne's, we do have it on tap so you don't have to do the top, but in case you can't, you can take it home.
Kelly Scanlon:
Watching your family, previous generations of your family's run Browne's Marketplace, the way they approach customer service, the way they approach the business itself, did any of that influence your approach to the business?
Kerry Browne:
When I first opened, I was very, very shy. I know, hard to believe ,and my husband is super outgoing and all, and I thought, "That's how I want to be treated," and so that's how I decided I want to treat other people. And my dad was so kind and engaging and would remember people and that made them feel special, and my grandpa the same, and my mom, everybody was her favorite customer, and it's come to be that way with us. We want to get to know them, and it makes it better for us too. When you know your customers and they are your friends, you want to order the stuff that you know they're going to love and have something special or a new item on the menu. We can't change everything, but if somebody says, "Can you do this?" We try to accommodate them. So I think seeing them and seeing how people were loyal to them, why were people loyal to them and how do we do that? And it's just treating people like you want to be treated too.
Kelly Scanlon:
You've got all of these products that you brought here, and you've talked about choosing products that people will like and will enjoy and so forth. How do you select and source the products that you offer at Browne's?
Kerry Browne:
It's been a process, and somehow I've come up with it where you get a good read on people. On one side of it, we have a full line of Irish groceries that we import, and so there's some that have been favorites over the years. But whenever somebody new comes in from Ireland, England, Scotland, because a lot of it's the same, it'll be something they love from home and we'll start getting that in if we can, if we can source it, and then it ends up being the new favorite thing, like these are Irish potato chips.
Kelly Scanlon:
Yes, I was eyeing those.
Kerry Browne:
It's a cheese and onion, and the thing about an Irish potato, oh my gosh. Keogh's is a brand and we went to their factory last year, and this is O'Donoghue's. Tatos are a die-hard brand. These are Irish candy bars, and oh, there's no chocolate like Irish chocolate.
Kelly Scanlon:
Irish whiskey truffle, there's always got to be whiskey if it's Irish
Kerry Browne:
Whiskey and Irish, so I'll let you try a little bit of that. We have the biggest selection of Irish whiskeys and gins and Vodka, and those we get here. And then sadly, we have to travel over once or twice a year.
Kelly Scanlon:
Oh gosh.
Kerry Browne:
That's a great thing too because we got to go with our family and then we still have a lot of family over there, and so we source as much as we can from those suppliers and then we meet them in New York once a year too. And then a lot of our cousins still live in County Kerry, so they keep finding stuff, and thank goodness for WhatsApp. "Oh my gosh, look at this, you got to try it." And so we're very, very lucky. We bring back as much as we can, so we have a lot of Irish products. But we also love Kansas City so we have a lot of Kansas City, and we found that customers now only want t-shirts that say Browne's on them, which is such a compliment. They want to be part of it and everybody wants that connection.
So like this shirt I showed you, we make hundreds of shirts with our own logos and own designs, which are really special, some pertaining to liquors like Irish whiskey things, and others, just proud Casey Irish. We do a Casey Shamrock that we started years ago and it still goes strong for us. So we're really fortunate that we have people that come in and they tell us what they want, so we have the Irish sweaters and scarves and we bring over pottery. We found some potters.
Kelly Scanlon:
Oh, I didn't know about the pottery.
Kerry Browne:
And I love... And it's such an easy thing to carry home too because it's so lightweight. So that artist, we meet artists all the time over there and try new things, so it's so fascinating to be able to go and meet these people. We have a lot of skin care because they use seaweed and different things in Ireland that we mightn't choose here that are so great to work with, so every product is my favorite product there. And if it isn't something, that's something COVID taught us too, if it didn't go well or we didn't like it or other people, get rid of it.
It's a large store where the food and tables are, and then we have an apartment next door which is where our great-grandparents used to live that have six more rooms. So those are filled with everything, especially right now. Every green thing you need for St. Patrick's Day. We have quarter zips and hoodies and t-shirts, but also people who are Irish year round just celebrating with an Irish blessing or a traditional Irish sweater in every color. So green for a couple of weeks, but then every color you want, and beautiful things.
Kelly, I just want to talk to you a little bit about Five Farms Irish Cream. It's an Irish cream bottled within 48 hours of milking the cows, and there are five different farms in County Cork. And then they get their whiskey from Middleton, and isn't that incredible? It's great in your coffee.
Kelly Scanlon:
Very smooth, yes.
Kerry Browne:
Your cocoa, over your ice cream. We're going to actually have a coffee bar on St. Patrick's Day and this will be one of the things we have in cocoa in that, but it's bottled right up at Holiday in Weston. So we love that we can support. We're big and supporting local. We like Irish, but if it's not Irish, we went it Kansas City because we love both those. So I like that we can support. If people haven't been to holiday up in Weston, I love it. They're the nicest people. They have great products.
Kelly Scanlon:
So support local. At the same time, you're supporting Irish. What are some of your customers' most favorite items? What are the most popular ones, or is it really widespread across a broad spectrum of products?
Kerry Browne:
We sell many, many Irish sweaters, and the new Merino wool, it's got a lot of lanolin and it's so soft so it's not like your grandmother's Irish sweater, and they're fashion so people can wear them all the time so we do sell a lot. Scarves, there's probably 40 lines of scarves we have because I do have a hard time saying no. It's like, this is my favorite. No, this is my favorite. We have a lot of sheep fans, so we have sheep in everywhere. We have sheep rugs and sheep ornaments and just little cute sheep, so I'd say we have a lot of customers who are as obsessed with sheep as I am. But the food, no matter what, the Irish groceries, Irish tea, Barry's Tea is consistently a big thing. We also sell rashers and bangers, which is Irish bacon and sausage, so you can make a traditional Irish breakfast. So freezer full of friedies and meat pies and pasties and, oh, delicious things.
Kelly Scanlon:
Oh yeah. Well, I'm glad you brought these things to sample because you're making me Hungry. The Irish culture, it's on display everywhere. It's from the food to the merchandise and the events that you host. Talk about those a little bit more. You talked about the big milestone kinds of celebrations that you have, but you've got events going on. In fact, you just had one last weekend I think, last Thursday night if I remember right, you had an event.
Kerry Browne:
Oh, the other night, we had a travel night and those have gotten to be big, and I just talk about... Because I go a lot and I come up with things to make it more practical or more thrifty or more doable, because some people go, "Oh, it's a once in a lifetime thing." It's like, no, Ireland's doable. You can go more often. There's ways you can save and make it a great thing. So I thought a few people would come, and the other night, I bet we had 80 people there, and we do those about every six to eight weeks. We do dog nights out back because we have this great area. We have game nights, which are really fun, some trivia nights. Music as much as we can, and we used to do those really big things, and those are great but they might take six months to plan. In that time, we'd rather have 20 little things that we can enjoy all the time, so we're starting to do a lot more of that.
We have some private birthday parties and different things, but then Saturdays leading up to Christmas and St. Pat's, like tomorrow and next Saturday, we have different whiskey groups come in and they sample there. Like Jameson from Middleton Distillery is coming tomorrow and sampling some Redbreast and Jameson. The next week, the group from Restless Spirits is coming and sampling theirs, just because there's a lot of products and if you can sample a few to see what you're going to like and talk to an expert about it. And some of those are from Ireland, like you say, the rich Irish culture. There's lots of people from Ireland who are there all the time and they're very gracious. If somebody sits down, like, "Where are you from? Where should I go?"
And that's the biggest thing about Browne's. You asked how we carry on and are good to the other customers. We do so much, but it's what our customers do for each other. We have a communal seating now, and people sit down and introduce themselves to each other and by the end, they're exchanging numbers and talking about when they're coming back to Browne's for another pint. But it's just that whole energy and positiveness of those people, and especially a couple, like one man comes by for a pint at least once a week and he always makes friends, and if somebody's sitting alone, he'll go over to him to make them feel welcome. That's such a kind thing that people do, and we're so lucky to have that community. It's not just us, it's this community that built itself, and we're really, really blessed to have that.
Kelly Scanlon:
Absolutely. You're not just a retailer. When you talk about Ireland and the pubs of old, that's what happened in those places, and so you've recreated that experience here. Whether you intended to or not, it's happened.
Kerry Browne:
And the Irish come in and go, "What would we do without this? This is our taste of home," and it is like being... And even when people just come over from Ireland to visit, it's like, "Well, it's exactly what we have at home," so that's a huge compliment. And we do have some Irish classes in there. We have an Irish class that's having a party in a couple of weeks, so we try to keep the culture going too.
Kelly Scanlon:
Yeah. You mentioned the St. Patrick's Day Parade, which what is that now? Is that the second largest in the US or third? It's up there.
Kerry Browne:
It's the largest on the day, because a lot of people move it to the Saturday and all. And I'm fortunate enough, I've been on the board of the St. Patrick's Day Parade Committee for 30 plus years so I get to be very involved in that, and one thing that's important is keeping it on the day because that's the thing. It's not the Saturday before. It's like 4th of July to us. It's St. Patrick's Day, and it starts right at 33rd and Broadway, so just a block east of us, and goes down to Westport, and it's something for everybody. A 25-year-old can go with all their friends and hang out and have the best friend time, but two or three generations of a family can come and have a great time too.
Kelly Scanlon:
Obviously, you are a community hub. Obviously, people continue to see you as a place to get quality goods, great food, and to come in and share stories and have a good time. What is it about Browne's that allows you to keep those rich traditions, the heritage that four generations have helped to create, but also continue to appeal to the younger crowd, the younger generations today?
Kerry Browne:
I think listening to what people want. My nieces and nephews are the younger generation. They're always giving me great ideas, like their ideas was the trivia night and the dog night, and we want more times, and today's a beautiful day, we're doing a happy hour. It's nice, let's get outside and enjoy some drinks together, and just changing with the times and welcoming the young people. And it is something that everybody can go, and a big group of young people can come together and families. It works for whoever wants to be there.
Kelly Scanlon:
You're unique in the sense that you are a small, family-owned, fourth generation store retailer that has been able to survive successfully, really thrive. During this age where everyone's doing online shopping, where large retail chains carry everything, what's your secret sauce to staying relevant in the age of those things?
Kerry Browne:
It's about the experience. A lot of people go, "Oh, can we order this online? Can we do that?" We don't have online because for one, if you've been in Browne's, there's just way too many units to possibly do online. I'm not saying we'd never get there but it would be a limited, but it's the experience of being in Browne's that you can't possibly duplicate another way. And if I want to touch that super soft Marino sweater and see what it's like, I want to come in and touch it and feel it and smell the cologne and do the different things. So to me, it's that. It's talking to the people, it's trying that pint. And people often say, "Well, this pint, is it going to be as good as one I got in Dublin?"
And the master brewer at Guinness said this when we were there. He goes, "If you're at a cafe in Paris and having a red glass of wine, it's going to be the best wine you ever had because it's that experience and where you're having it." And so he said, "It's not just that you're pouring a good pint," and we totally pouring a great pint, but it's the whole experience. The music, the talking to the guy next to you, having the second one and a third, and that's what I think makes it so special. And again, it's changing with the times, being open and welcoming the people who are helping you create that environment.
Kelly Scanlon:
Yeah, it is the experiential aspect, and you get some whiskeys in that you really can't get at other places.
Kerry Browne:
And that's something we love doing. We go to distilleries in Ireland when we're there and meet with them and we get a sample of maybe six to eight barrel picks and pick one that's just for us. So it might be something, we got one in Clonakilty down in Cork, and their distilleries right on the water covered in three sides. So think of that in years from now when that barley has that salt influence. And so that was one we had aged in sherry casks. Another one we just got from Keepers heart aged in cider casks, and they're whiskeys you can only get at Browne's, so that's so great.
Something we had in July last year, Missouri Oak Red Breast did a special edition in Missouri oak casks, which it was not even available in Ireland, just for the American market, and they did the launch of it at Browne's. We had a huge event out back and the master distiller came, and they were hammering out little leather tags for people and giving out t-shirts and music. It was an incredible event and just so fun, so those are the kind of really unique experiences that people who are there say, "That was just the best day I've ever had. When are you going to do it again?" It's like, you don't do that again, but you never know there will be some other new thing. So I'd say follow us on Instagram, follow us on Facebook, our website. There's things that we don't even know.
If somebody's coming through town and said, "Can we come and do it?" Yeah, we're open to that. And I think that's what you say, why does it work? Because open to different things. We're open to doing that Missouri Oak launch and things, because those are the best days. Those are so fun.
Kelly Scanlon:
What's next for Browne's? Where do you go from here?
Kerry Browne:
Always fun surprises, and like I said, my son and his friends, my nieces and nephews always have good ideas. We're looking to do more whiskey tastings at night with different people, and those have been hugely popular over the years. We offer a dinner and a nice presentation, maybe some more private indoor speakeasy type of events. We don't know. We're sitting down after St. Patrick's Day.
Kelly Scanlon:
Yes, you've got a lot on your plate here.
Kerry Browne:
There's so much when we're more rested and talking about some, but in the coming year, that's why you need to follow us, we have lots of things in store that we're already starting to work on, so I think there's exciting new times ahead.
Kelly Scanlon:
So brownesirishmarket.com, you can go out there and I know you have a calendar of events out there or a what's coming up page. So you can follow them on social media. Visit the website to find out about some of those events that are coming up. Kerry, thank you so much for all you do in the community. I know it's a lot of hard work. It's grueling work in many ways, but at the same time, it's-
Kerry Browne:
Very rewarding.
Kelly Scanlon:
It's very rewarding, absolutely. But thanks for taking the time out, especially here right before St. Patrick's Day, to give us an update on what's going on. Appreciate that.
Kerry Browne:
Well, thanks, Kelly, for having me. I love talking with you.
Joe Close:
This is Joe Close, president of Country Club Bank. Thank you to Kerry Brown for being our guest on this episode of Banking on KC. As the fourth-generation owner of Browne's Irish Marketplace, Kerry continues to honor the legacy of our ancestors while creating a welcoming community hub that celebrates Irish culture. From traditional Irish groceries and handcrafted goods to live music and whiskey tastings, Browne's is more than a marketplace. It's a place where people come together to share stories, traditions, and good cheer. At Country Club Bank, we continue to recognize the importance of businesses like Browne's that preserve history, foster connection, and enrich Kansas City's cultural landscape. As we approach St. Patrick's Day, a time of celebrating Kansas City's Irish heritage, we encourage everyone to support local businesses that bring people together and keep traditions alive. Thanks for tuning in this week. We're banking on you, Kansas City. Country Club Bank, member FDIC.