Harps Opening Remodeled Sunset Avenue Store Wednesday

Sunset Avenue Store Features Sushi, Dunkin’ Donuts

 STAFF PHOTO J.T. Wampler Kim Eskew, president of Harps Foods, shows off a new design Sept. 9 for shopping carts that will be in use at the newly remodeled store on Sunset Avenue in Springdale. The carts are designed to hold more perishable items and keep them separate from canned goods.
STAFF PHOTO J.T. Wampler Kim Eskew, president of Harps Foods, shows off a new design Sept. 9 for shopping carts that will be in use at the newly remodeled store on Sunset Avenue in Springdale. The carts are designed to hold more perishable items and keep them separate from canned goods.

SPRINGDALE -- Harps opens additional locations each year, but the "new" store debuting Wednesday at 2894 W. Sunset Ave. was built in 1974. Workers spent the past nine weeks stripping the 60,000-square-foot store bare and creating a different kind of Harps.

Kim Eskew, Harps president and chief operating officer, expects customers to be amazed at the transformation. The remodeled store has wider aisles, new two-tier shopping carts and about 2,500 new products on the shelves. Many of the new products fall into the organic and specialty food categories.

At A Glance

Harps Opening

Where: 2894 W. Sunset Ave., Springdale

When: 10 a.m. Wednesday

www.harpsfood.com

"What we have to do is find a way to differentiate ourselves from the competition and provide unique offerings," he said while touring the store Sept. 9, pointing to a sushi station in the expanded deli area and a spot where Dunkin' Donuts will open.

Harps has 75 stores in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Missouri with new stores opening in Poplar Bluff, Mo., and Mountain Home later this year.

Northwest Arkansas shoppers are finding more store options. Walmart opened six stores of various sizes in recent months and has several more in the pipeline. Whole Foods is set to open in Fayetteville in early 2016.

David J. Livingston, a supermarket consultant with DJL Research in Waukesha, Wis., said it is important for supermarkets to find something they can lock in on to be different from the competition.

"That can range from having better quality employees to better quality perishables," he said. "Find areas that Walmart cannot compete with."

The National Grocers Association reports 72.3 percent of grocers have a Walmart Supercenter in their market areas. The association also points to increased focus on perishables, better customer service and more promotions as the top ways to stay competitive.

Livingston said there are a few companies that use large store formats that are growing, but the trend is a move to smaller stores. He said the highest percentage of new stores are less than 30,000 square feet.

The Sunset Avenue store is nearly twice the size of the stores Harps builds today. Eskew said most new stores are about 32,000 square feet. A store the grocer opened on North Walton Boulevard in Bentonville last March is 37,000 square feet.

The newly remodeled Springdale store started with 25,000 square feet before an expansion project in 1992.

"This was the edge of town when it was built, and there was nothing else out here but cows," Eskew said.

Eskew estimated it cost about $4 million for the Springdale remodel; building the smaller new stores from the ground up costs about $4 million.

"This has always been a good store for us and is worth the investment," he said.

The store closed July 14, and its pharmacy moved into the Southwest Plaza shopping center just to the east of the store during construction.

The Sunset Avenue Harps had 78 employees before closing for remodeling and will reopen with an additional 40 workers.

Eskew said employees were able to pick up shifts at nearby stores and were encouraged to use vacation time during construction. The amount of down time was just a few weeks because workers had to get items out of the store and then restock shelves, he said.

One of the biggest changes can be found in the meat department, Eskew said. The redesigned area includes a service department and wider selection of fresh meat, including seafood, he said.

Meat department workers can roll out a wheeled grilling station for cooking demonstrations and classes in partnership with Tyson Foods.

The area also has a larger number of ready-to-eat entrees than the old store.

"We also compete with restaurants, and the ease of preparation is important," Eskew said.

Adding the Dunkin' Donuts inside the store is new for both Harps and the doughnut franchisees.

Jerald and Jolene Baker are managing partners in JAB QSR Inc. that has Dunkin' Donuts franchising rights for Northwest Arkansas.

The Springdale location will be their fourth. They also have locations in Fort Smith, Bentonville and Fayetteville. The Fayetteville store opened Monday.

Jolene Baker said Springdale will have all the menu items of a standalone store but won't have a lobby for seating or merchandise. It will have a drive-up window.

"Harps approached us, and we really hit it off," she said. "The decision to open in Harps was easy."

The Dunkin' Donuts is opening after the grocery store because the franchisees were already committed to opening their Fayetteville store Sept. 15.

Eskew said the Dunkin' Donuts opening in a couple of weeks gives customers something else to look forward to.

"We wanted to add something that was different, something that is a draw," he said. "We think it will be a destination."

NW News on 09/16/2014

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