Gourmet tales: Tallulah's

Good friends Mary Stauffer and Melissa Alabach have a lot in common, and with their combined expertise in interior design and marketing, they are a dynamic business duo. But a special bond forged by a similar loss makes their relationship unique, a bond that gave them courage to move forward and ultimately open Tallulah’s, their kitchen, tabletop and home store, this past spring. For Stauffer and Alabach, losing mothers to lung cancer altered the course of their lives, but knowing their moms are cheering them on is a comfort and blessing to both.
Stauffer and Alabach, though longtime Columbia residents, grew up outside of mid-Missouri. Alabach, a Chesterfield, Mo., native, got her first taste of Columbia while attending the University of Missouri as an interior design major. When her parents moved to Chicago, she decided to follow and go to school in the Windy City. But while she was there, serendipity stepped in and reconnected her with her high school sweetheart, Jim. “I actually met my husband when I was 15 years old,” Alabach said. She decided to return to MU and finish her degree. Not long after that, she and Jim tied the knot.
Stauffer grew up in Utah, though her mother was from Columbia. She studied business marketing in college but dreamed of working on the ski slopes. “I started skiing when I was 6,” she said. “I loved skiing and still do, so I was going to be a ski bum.” But Stauffer’s dreams were put on hold when she came to Columbia to help care for her ailing grandparents.
During her stay, a fortuitous encounter resulted in a lifelong commitment when she met her future husband. “I met Grant at Spanky’s one night; of course, the rest is history,” Stauffer said.

Alabach and Stauffer met through mutual friends but cemented their relationship while participating in a group called Mothers of Preschoolers. “Our kids were almost the same ages, we both had the same doctor, and we shared mutual interests, so our relationship flourished from there,” Alabach said. In fact, one shared interest in jewelry-making led to their first business venture, a company called On the Side.
While creating and selling their wares, the women discovered their personalities gelled nicely and that they made a good team. It was during this time, in 2004, when Alabach’s mother died from lung cancer. “She was a nurse, had her doctorate and was head of the narcoleptic center in Chicago,” Alabach said. “But she was also a heavy smoker.”
In December 2008, Stauffer’s mother, also a smoker, died of lung cancer as well. For Stauffer this was a turning point. “I watched my mother die, and it changed the way I felt about life,” she said. “I didn’t want to spend my life thinking shoulda, coulda, woulda.”
It was Stauffer’s passion for kitchen gadgets that finally set her business wheels in motion. With her gadget knowledge and gut feeling that Columbia could support a quality kitchen accessory store, Stauffer got down to business.
But several months into the planning, Stauffer realized the enormity of the project was too much for one person to handle. She contacted her friend Alabach, who not only agreed to the partnership but also understood Stauffer’s motivation. After almost a year, organizing, researching and setting up shop, Stauffer and Alabach officially opened Tallulah’s on April 16.
For Alabach, the public response to their efforts was amazing. Having worked at Poppy and Putnam’s Interiors in the past, she was also pleased to have several District merchant’s welcome them. “There have been so many people that have businesses down here that have come and introduced themselves,” she said. “Everyone’s so community-minded. It’s just such a great location.”
Stauffer, former publisher for Columbia Home and Lifestyle and previous manager at Bingham’s, agreed and said being downtown is important. “I feel like The District is just the heartbeat of Columbia. Everybody knows where you are.”
Supporting local businesses is important to Stauffer and Alabach, so they contracted with Dimensions in Wood and Central Missouri Countertops for their display cabinets and countertop for their cashier area, though Alabach’s sister in Chicago designed Tallulah’s logo. Both women agree that working together requires similar goals and personalities. Because Stauffer and Alabach believe in carrying quality products, they make an effort to attend markets together and choose items their customers would enjoy. “We both like to pick the item up and hold it, feel it and touch it: Is it good quality?” Stauffer said. They also believe in featuring top-of-the-line products not easy to find in Columbia, such as Mauviel, Wüsthof, Staub and Kuhn Rikon.
As customers frequent their Broadway shop, Stauffer and Alabach are thrilled with the community support. Local blogger and cook Kate Canterbury said she loves the interior, especially the flower chandelier and expansive inventory. “They did a great job of selecting stock that is practical but fun,” Canterbury said.
Perhaps the biggest joy Stauffer and Alabach receive, however, is not from those who walk through the front door but from the two women who watch over from above. “There’s this one cutting board that’s always falling off,” Stauffer said. “That’s our moms getting our attention.”
Indeed, for Stauffer and Alabach, their biggest fans are the ones cheering them on from a distance, who Stauffer said are yelling, “Go, girls, go!”