Express closings leaving Gentry, Decatur and Gravette without grocery stores

Wal-Mart's plan to close all its Express stores means three Benton County towns will no longer have a grocery store. The mayors are concerned about the impact on customers and on city budgets.

"It's not surprising, but it's concerning," said Gravette Mayor Bob Tharp. "We are disappointed."

The retailer announced Friday it was closing 154 U.S. stores, including locations in Gentry, Decatur, Gravette and Prairie Grove. The 15,000-square-foot stores were the only grocer in all by Prairie Grove.

The four Northwest Arkansas stores close Jan. 28.

Wal-Mart's test of the small-store format began in Northwest Arkansas, with the first Express stores opening in Gentry and Prairie Grove in June 2011. The Gravette store also opened in 2011 and the Decatur site just celebrated its one-year anniversary. The three Benton County stores dot a 12-mile section of Arkansas 59 between Gentry and Gravette.

Kevin Johnston, Gentry's mayor, said he didn't know how much the city would likely lose in sales tax revenue from the store closing, but said it could be near $100,000.

"It's a good thing we passed a conservative budget for this year," he said, adding he thought the city would be OK because of its budgeting practices.

Tharp called a news conference to discuss the closing outside city hall Friday afternoon that attracted several concerned residents. He said city leaders will have to adjust for the lost sales tax by reallocating money.

"We have a strong economic development team in place," he said. "I've already called Harps and other people who indicated an interest in town before Walmart came to town."

Kim Eskew, president and chief operating officer of Harps Food Stores, said he started getting calls from mayors Friday morning asking if the Springdale-based company would consider opening a store in western Benton County.

"Obviously this surprises us," he said. "We'll have to evaluate what is taking place."

Harps has a Prairie Grove store, and Eskew said the the 2011 Wal-Mart opening did impact sales.

"We will be excited to see those customers return," he said. Harps plans to remodel the Prairie Grove store.

Prairie Grove Mayor Sonny Hudson said the closing could inconvenience residents and hamper the town's sales tax revenues, but it's too soon to know by how much. The store was "full all the time," he said, adding shoppers can go to Harps or to a Dollar General set to open next month. Gentry, Decatur and Gravette all have a Dollar General store.

"I'm sure some of that will shift over to the other grocery store, but there will definitely be an effect," Hudson said, calling it "peculiar" that such a popular Walmart would be closed. "We'll wait and see."

Kathy Deck, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Arkansas, said store closings can certainly wreak havoc on small town budgets.

She said just because one store might do well, retailers look at the overall structure of store models. She said there's an ebb and flow in store trends, and brick and mortar retailers are constantly trying to determine how to be successful.

"It's a very competitive landscape," Deck said, adding some retailer will fill their void in smaller towns if there's enough demand for local sales. "It's all about the supply chain, and it's a challenge for small communities."

Kindal Reynolds said the Gentry Walmart Express is almost always busy. She lives in Siloam Springs but works in Gentry. She said she stops by the town's Walmart Express four or five times a week. The parking lot was filled with cars at lunchtime Friday.

"It's going to change my shopping habits for sure. I don't like the big stores" she said. "Gentry can support a grocery store and I hope to see one come in."

Kurt Maddox, Gravette mayor, said the town's Express store is also very busy and he was told it was one of Wal-Mart's most successful small-format stores. He said officials from Marvin's Grocery Store also said Gravette was one of their most successful stores before Wal-Mart opened a store just a few blocks away. The Gravette Marvin's closed in 2014.

"We know the business is here and I'm very confident we will get something," Maddox said. "We will leave no stone unturned."

Marvin's still owns the building that housed the Gravette store and Maddox said he will be contacting the company to see if they have any interest in reopening a store in town. He added Walmart officials told him Friday morning they intend to sell their store. A call to Marvin's/CVS headquarters in Van Buren late Friday afternoon wasn't returned.

A Marvin's in Gentry closed shortly after the Walmart Express opened in 2011. That property is owned by Thomas James Realty Limited Partnership of Little Rock.

Some people, including mayors and shoppers, are also holding out hope Wal-Mart may decide to build a larger store, such as a Neighborhood Market or Supercenter, in western Benton County. Wal-Mart didn't return a call Friday afternoon about any new store plans in Benton County.

Sylvia and Phillip Thompson live a few minutes away from the Gentry store and said they do the majority of their shopping in town.

"Hopefully they will turn one of the closing stores into a Neighborhood Market and make it a little bigger," Phillip Thompson said. "I guess we're just going to have to drive further to get our groceries."

The store closings also means Decatur will lose its lone pharmacy.

Ed Shook of Decatur said he isn't sure where he will get his prescriptions filled after the Express store closes.

"You would think they would have kept at least one of these stores open. It's a huge inconvenience," he said.

Edward and Jennifer Stowe of Maysville were shopping in Gravette on Friday afternoon and said they were saddened when they learned the store was closing. He said it's only 10 miles from their home to the Gravette store and the closest Walmart Supercenter is 19 miles away in Jay, Mo.

Jennifer Stowe said she also gets five prescriptions filled at the Walmart store. They said they like the Walmart's $4 generic prescriptions, and were going to see if they could comparable prices at Teasley Drug in Gravette.

Lindsey Watford, owner of Teasley Drug, said 10 people contacted the pharmacy about moving their prescriptions by mid-afternoon Friday. She said they have a deal with their drug wholesaler allowing customers to pay $11.99 to join a program and receive $4.99 prescriptions.

Austin Drug is also in Gravette, and pharmacy tech Carla Wells said she hopes to see some additional business.

"I think its horrible for the town to lose the grocery store," she said. "At least we can help people with their prescriptions."

NW News on 01/16/2016