Jun 20, 2025

The Heirloom Podcast: Hometown Hospitality with Mallorie Rasberry

At The Heirloom, we think hospitality is more than warm biscuits and full tables—it’s a way of life passed down from one generation to the next. And when done right, it has the power to turn a small town into a Home Town.

Mallorie Rasberry joins us in episode eight of The Heirloom Podcast. She’s our business partner, an HGTV designer, and the woman whose gift for welcome has helped make Laurel a place people don’t just visit—but return to, again and again.

As Mallorie puts it:

“You don’t have to be perfect to be proud of your place and to welcome folks. That’s the story of Laurel.”

Working with what you have to show kindness is at the heart of everything she does.

We talk with her about the early days—when she started hosting travelers in a little backyard cottage—and how that small act of hospitality grew into what is now The Heirloom Hotel: 30 rooms, a cooking school, a flagship retail space, and a new chapter in Laurel’s story.

the gal pals take their shopping trips very serious

You’ll hear:

• How a CPA became Laurel’s Chief Hospitality Officer

• How one guest house turned into a full-scale hotel

• What hospitality really means to Mallorie

• How childhood on a dairy farm shaped her vision for service

• Why every small town should “find its peanut”—and embrace what makes it unique

“We still have a lot of work to do in Laurel, but that hasn’t stopped us from welcoming people and thinking about their experience while they’re here.”

I believe it’s Mallorie’s leadership and her deep dedication to hospitality—to making sure every person leaves a little better than when they arrived—that has made folks fall in love with our little town of Laurel, Mississippi, as seen on HGTV.

The Heirloom Hotel is just the latest expression of the work Mallorie has been doing from the beginning. It’s a physical representation of her legacy: the belief that even small, forgotten places can matter again—if we take care of them and the people passing through. For Mallorie, it’s not just how you decorate the room. It’s how you make someone feel in it.

Thanks for joining us as we continue finding stories that inspire us to live for something lasting.

— Josh Nowell

Listen in on Apple Podcasts or Spotify