Allan Bellamy & The Mad Butcher Grocery Chain
- Ninfa O. Barnard
- 55 minutes ago
- 3 min read
In the early 1950s, Pine Bluff native Allan Bellamy opened the Nugent Grocery store which later became a chain of 28 supermarkets, boasting more than 650 employees called The Mad Butcher.
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Allan H. Bellamy Jr. was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, on June 25, 1927, to Allan Bellamy Sr. and Fannie Jackson Bellamy Nugent. Bellamy was raised and educated in Pine Bluff. In 1945, he graduated from Pine Bluff High School.
After joining the U.S. Marine Corps, Bellamy was stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and in Korea. He was also a member of the Marine Corps Band.
In the early 1950s, Bellamy and his mother opened Nugent Grocery on Blake Street in Pine Bluff. In the 1970s, Bellamy expanded the company to include 28 supermarkets, boasting more than 650 employees under the new moniker, The Mad Butcher. As the story goes, the chain earned its unique name because Bellamy sold meats for such low prices that one day, one of his vendors told him, "You know what your competitors say? They say you're mad." Bellamy responded, "Well then, I guess I'm just the Mad Butcher."
Although Bellamy retired from The Mad Butcher, he was still very active in the Pine Bluff community. In 1967, he served as President of the Greater Pine Bluff Chamber of Commerce. On January 12, 1976, he was elected to the Simmons First National Bank Board of Directors, which he retired from in 2002. On June 14, 1968, he became one of 26 founding members of Fifty For The Future of Pine Bluff, Inc., a nonprofit created to improve business conditions in the city of Pine Bluff.
Bellamy was also an active man of faith. He served as a deacon and elder at First Christian Church for many years. In the 1960s, he even served as Chairman of the Board when the church moved to its present location. He was also elected as an Elder Emeritus at First Christian Church.
On October 23, 1948, Bellamy married Joyce Raley in Pine Bluff. Bellamy passed away on April 26, 2012, and was preceded in death by his wife and survived by their three children, Lee, Melissa, and Allan H. Bellamy III.
During his time managing The Mad Butcher, Bellamy was said to be an “unbelievable motivator,” known for his deep commitment to his business, customers, and employees. According to former employee Mike Walthal, after listening to one of Bellamy’s speeches, “you felt like you could accomplish anything.” Jerry Goshen, another former employee, also stated, “Mr. Bellamy offered me a job, and it was a good family atmosphere, so I stayed 36 years. He was a super nice guy to work for.”
In a 1990 interview about the company, former president of The Mad Butcher, George A. Lea, stated that, “The company was always very employee-oriented. When {Fanny} Nugent retired in 1973, she sold her stock to the employees through an employee stock ownership plan. When Bellamy retired in 1983, he also sold his interest to the employees, and the Mad Butcher became 100 percent ESOP-owned.”
By 1990, the 10 existing stores in the Mad Butcher chain were located in Sheridan, Fordyce, Warren, Dumas, Clarendon, McCroy, Earle, and Pine Bluff. Two of the Pine Bluff stores operate under the names County Market and Super Valu. Though The Mad Butcher store in Sheridan closed in 2024, the chain still thrives in four locations: Dumas, Fordyce, McCrory, and Warren, which is still 100% employee-owned.
Sources:
www.thefreelibrary.com - Going to the mat: bout with Alabama competitor gets Mad Butcher down, but not out.
Written by: Ninfa O. Barnard