When the days stretch longer and the temperatures start to rise, MoonPies and marching bands are a fading memory for most Mobilians, but at Toomey’s — Mobile’s 70,000 square-foot, one-stop-shop for letting the good times roll since 1978 — the next Mardi Gras season is already in full swing.
“There’s usually a changing of the guard around April for most organizations, when a new president is elected and a parade theme for the upcoming year is decided,” explains Stephen Toomey, current owner of Toomey’s who took over from his parents, Jack and Ann Toomey, in the 2000s. “During this time, we meet with organizations to discuss next year’s theme, look over artwork and logos from their art directors or float designers and customize their throws to incorporate the colors and branding for that year.”
While the “bread and butter” throws as Stephen refers to them — frisbees, footballs, cups — will mostly stay the same year to year with a new logo added or colors changed, new parade themes allow organizations, as well as the team at Toomey’s, to get creative.
For Lauren Jackson and Katie McNeil, both members of a local mystic organization who have served together on their organization’s Throws Committee for the past five years, this is the most fun part of their job.
“One year, our parade theme’s logo included sunglasses in it, so that year we thought it would be fun for our riders to throw actual sunglasses,” Lauren explains. “Another year, our theme was Pinkalicious, so we went heavy on all pink throws. This year, our theme surrounds country music, so we added a plush microphone.”
For over 30 years, Stephen Toomey and his team have been working with the same suppliers in China, visiting their factories and walking miles through some of the biggest trade shows in the world to hand-select items for the upcoming Carnival season.
“It’s always kind of fun and a challenge, you know, when we get a request outside of the norm,” Stephen laughs. “We do what we can to turn those ideas into reality by sourcing new merchandise and working with our vendors to make it happen.”
Following the initial meeting with an organization, the team at Toomey’s takes the ideas to their vendors in China, who will create mockup images of several throws for the organizations to review. When the colors and images are just right, the organizations will focus on order quantities and pricing for their riders.
While Katie admits that this part can be tricky, the excitement from riders when the throws are revealed, as well as the profit gained for the organization, makes it worth it in her eyes. “I love the role we get to play in the creative process each year, choosing items that our riders will be excited to throw on parade day, as well as throws that our community here in Mobile will be excited to catch.”
And with Toomey’s supplying the throws, Mobilians will have a lot to catch.
“Let’s just say last year we sold around a few million MoonPies,” Stephen laughs. “And the beads, I couldn’t tell you. An average container weighs about 50,000 pounds. Last month alone we had about 10 containers delivered, 2-3 a week, but we bring them in year-round. It’s a lot — a lot more than I care to think about it. It gives me a headache.”
Once the throws have been manufactured and customized, they are shipped directly into the Port of Mobile, where they will be unloaded at the docks and delivered by local trucking companies to local warehouses until they arrive at Toomey’s.
“We elected to do it this way because we strongly believe we have a responsibility to support local as much as possible,” Stephen explains. “We try to keep as much business in Mobile as we can because we really believe that it trickles down.”
With costs rising across all industries, Toomey’s trusts in Mobile’s over 300-year love affair with Mardi Gras to keep things steady. “My father always said there’s three things that we do in this area, in Mobile, that will never change: hunting, fishing and Mardi Gras. It’s just in our DNA.”
But it’s not just local Mardi Gras organizations who turn to Toomey’s to load their floats.
“We’re looking at putting a pop-up store in Dothan, Alabama,” Stephen says with a laugh. “Most people might say, ‘But Dothan doesn’t have Mardi Gras.’ Well, yeah, they do. Last year, they had over 70,000 people at their Mardi Gras parades. Decatur, Alabama, is holding their first Mardi Gras this year. We work with groups in Prattville, Millbrook, Birmingham, Huntsville, cities all along the Gulf Coast and even into Tennessee in Nashville and Chattanooga. It’s crazy, but it’s great spreading the Mardi Gras love, as I call it.”
And while there may be a similar celebration a couple states over, it’s the throws themselves that make Mobile’s version so unique.
“Years and years ago, we opened up a Toomey’s Mardi Gras right outside of New Orleans in Metairie, and we brought in a whole truckload of MoonPies,” Stephen recalls. “On Mardi Gras Day, I ran down to Canal Street, and there were all these MoonPies lying unopened on the ground. I was like, ‘Oh my God, they didn’t open the MoonPies and eat them. They didn’t understand.’ So, the next year on Mardi Gras Day, I ran down to Canal Street, and this time, all I saw were empty wrappers on the ground. And I thought, ‘Oh, thank God, they finally got it.’”
They may have taken a minute to catch on in New Orleans, but MoonPies have certainly left their mark on Mobile and its Mardi Gras celebration.
“The most iconic throw for Mobile is probably the MoonPie,” Toomey says. “It’s tried and true and unique to Mobile — we even have the MoonPie Drop over Mobile on New Year’s Eve now. But beads are still the number-one seller. Stuffed animals are extremely popular, as well as the light-up products. It’s kind of a wait-and-see game to see what will be the most popular item that year. Sometimes I guess right, sometimes I don’t, that’s just the way it is, but that’s why we carry so many different products. We probably have over 3,000 different SKU numbers at any given time.”
Aside from the usual suspects, Toomey’s has a few specialty items to keep an eye (or a hand) out for this year when you’re on the parade route. Working with local graphic designer, Hadley Binion, they were able to bring to life a few ideas like a 6/7 bead and a NASCAR-type bead with Joe Cain in the skyline and the state of Louisiana in the bottom corner, which reads, “If you’re not first, you’re last.”
“This year I’m also excited about a cool cowbell we got in Mardi Gras colors, a light-up Frisbee, bigger and better footballs and, of course, new bead colors,” Toomey says. “In our bead room, you’ll find just about any color you can think of because people get real particular. If their costume is a certain shade of pink, they want to make sure the bead is a perfect match, so we try to accommodate as much as possible.”
The excitement and passion for one of Mobile’s most beloved pastimes is evident from the moment you walk into Toomey’s Mardi Gras store and in every smile from its second-generation owner, who is proud to pass the family business down to his own son, Stephen Toomey Jr., one day.
“Mardi Gras truly unites us,” Stephen says. “It’s a great celebration that brings communities together across all socio-economic backgrounds. It doesn’t matter who you are — at a parade, you’re having a good time.”
Especially if Toomey’s loaded the floats!
Toomey’s Mardi Gras • 755-A McRae Ave. toomeysmardigras.com
