Mark’s Fireworks has been a tristate staple for fireworks for the last 25 years. The wholesale fireworks operation began in Evansville before opening the Owensboro location at 3633 Frederica Street in 2010 when the Commonwealth legalized fireworks that launch in the air.
While the location offers customized fireworks solutions from mid-June through the first week of July, it sells mattresses as Mark’s Mattress Outlet the other 11 months of the year. And though the store takes great pride in offering “name brand mattresses for less,” the entire crew eagerly awaits June, when they transform into an Independence Day destination.
Store manager J.J. Nelson said that even though Mark’s sells to the public, they own their brands and operate like a distributor. He said by being a wholesaler with a massive inventory in their warehouse, they can offer the most competitive prices.
“We’re going to have the best prices in town,” he said. “Most places will source their fireworks from a catalog and purchase product by the cases, but we go straight to the factory, ordering over 500 cases at a time. And, because we can get them cheaper, we can pass those savings to the customer.”
Nelson added that they take pride in being a turnkey fireworks solution, tailoring the shopping experience to the client’s budget and needs.
“We build shows for people,” he said. “When they come in with a budget and tell us what amount they need, we can build them a show. From there, we will number each firework in the order they need to shoot them off, so they aren’t using their better fireworks in the middle of the show, and they can save them until the end.”
Jonathan Brey began shopping at Mark’s as a teenager and eventually got a job there when he turned 18. He’s been there for over 10 years and takes pride in educating and assisting each customer who enters the store. His goal is to offer a shopping experience.
“We have a lot of experience here,” Brey said. “Because we can purchase directly from the factories, we pick and choose exactly what items we want. We know the best places to source artillery shells, 500-gram cakes, and so on. We even send a team directly to the factories so we can let them know what exactly we’re looking for.”
The entire team takes pride in offering an efficient and enjoyable shopping experience. From a fast check-out experience to superior customer service, Brey said they have it down to a science. They even have bar codes near each item for the consumer to scan and see said fireworks on a monitor before deciding if they want to purchase it.
“The extensive knowledge is what allows us to build custom shows,” he said. “A lot of times, people will just walk in and start picking stuff off the shelf, and then they’ll end up shooting off their best item in the middle of the show. By sourcing and numbering them, we can offer the appropriate spacing and mix up the colors more. It takes the guesswork out of it.”
Mark’s Fireworks typically operates from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. but will extend its closing time to 11 p.m. this Wednesday and Thursday. They’ll remain open through Saturday before transforming back to the mattress outlet.
