MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — An already crowded funeral home business in Middletown is about to get more competitive.
This month, Mueller Hicks Funeral Home and Crematory — the seventh funeral home in the city — is expected to open after construction delays due to COVID-19, said John “Jack” Mueller who co-owns the business with Lori Hicks.
The business was expected to open in the fall of 2021, according to its sign.
Mueller and Hicks bought the former Lone Star Restaurant property at 6780 Roosevelt Ave. at an auction in July 2020. He said the interior of the restaurant has been gutted and families will experience a “very modern, very clean, inviting, warm and comforting” feeling.
Also the funeral home will offer on-site crematory services, he said. The other Mueller Hicks Funeral Home location in Mason also will use the Middletown crematory, he said.
Wilson Schramm Spaulding Funeral Home on Roosevelt Boulevard in Middletown is opening its on-site crematory later this month or in early May, said Ron Spaulding. He said the crematory will allow the funeral home to handle all arrangements without sending its clients to Woodside Cemetery to be cremated.
Mueller Hicks Funeral Home and Crematory will be located next door to Baker-Stevens-Parramore Funeral Home where Hicks worked for about 14 years, Mueller said.
He was interested in the property because of its “high visibility” in the city and it offered space to build a crematory. He called it “an all-in-one” location.
Mueller said he has 39 years of funeral home experience and Hicks has 24. He said being a family-owned funeral business allows them to offer “fair and affordable” services that are less expensive than corporate-owned funeral homes.
He believes now is the right time to open in Middletown.
“This is exciting for us,” he said. “The city is trying to revitalize and we can make a difference in the community.”
