Harps announces opening dates for new stores

Gravette store to open August 3, Gentry on September 21

 J. Max Van Hoose, vice president of store planning for Harps Food Stores, spoke on Thursday (June 23, 2016) in Gentry about the recent acquisition of nine former Walmart Express stores and of upcoming store openings, including a store in Gravette at the former Walmart location and a store in Gentry in a larger building being completely remodeled by Harps.
J. Max Van Hoose, vice president of store planning for Harps Food Stores, spoke on Thursday (June 23, 2016) in Gentry about the recent acquisition of nine former Walmart Express stores and of upcoming store openings, including a store in Gravette at the former Walmart location and a store in Gentry in a larger building being completely remodeled by Harps.

— Harps Food Stores, Inc., has announced plans to open stores in four of the nine recently-acquired Walmart Express stores, including plans to reopen the Gravette store as a Harps Food Store on August 3.

In a Thursday release, Harps again announced the purchase of nine former Walmart Express properties located in Gravette, Gentry, Prairie Grove, Cedarville, Mansfield and Charleston in Arkansas; and Anderson, Seligman and Noel in Missouri.

Harps will open grocery stores in four of the nine locations, according to the release: in Gravette, Cedarville, Anderson (Mo.) and Seligman (Mo.).

Opening dates in the former Express stores are: Gravette - Aug. 3; Seligman - Aug. 10; Anderson - Aug. 24; and Cedarville - Sept. 7.

A Sept. 21 opening date was given in the release for the new store in Gentry. The Harps Food Store in Gentry will be located in the 30,000-square-foot building recently acquired by Harps at the northeast corner of the Arkansas Highways 12 and 59 intersection. O’Reilly Auto Parts occupies approximately 7,000 square feet of the building and the remaining 23,000 square feet is currently being remodeled and renovated to be home to the new Gentry Harps Food store.

“This $3 million project is expected to be complete, and the store open, on September 21, 2016,” the release states. “This will be a conventional grocery store that will include a bakery, deli, produce and meat departments,” the release states.

The Gentry location is being "completely remodeled," said J. Max Van Hoose, vice president of store planning for Harps, on Thursday. "It will basically be a new store," he added.

The release also says the former Walmart Express location in Gentry will not be reopened but will be marketed for sale.

The same is true of the former Walmart Express stores in Prairie Grove and in Noel, Mo. Harps recently completed a $1 million-plus remodel to its existing facility on East Buchanan Street in Prairie Grove, and Harps is finalizing plans for a remodel to its existing facility on West Main Street in Noel, Mo., according to the release.

What will be done with buildings in Charleston and Mansfield is still undetermined, according to the release.

No pharmacies are planned in any of the nine locations, according to the release. Fuel will be sold in Gravette, Cedarville, Seligman and Anderson. No fuel will be sold at the Gentry location, the release states.

With the building purchases came much equipment inside the stores, and Harps does plan to use some of the fixtures and equipment from the closed stores in other store locations, the release states.

Though Harps did not intend to reopen stores in all the former Express stores, the combined purchase made the company’s purchase offer more appealing, the release states.

“We recognized that the larger portfolio we were willing to acquire, the more attractive our proposal,” the release states.

With the new store openings, Harps plans to hire a good number of new associates to staff the stores.

“We anticipate approximately 170 associates are needed to staff the stores in Gravette, Cedarville, Gentry, Seligman and Anderson,” Van Hoose said. “The process for filling these positions is beginning immediately. Interested applicants can apply online at HarpsCareers.com.”

The release states that job fairs are planned from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, June 25, in the Gravette Civic Center, 407 Charlotte Street, S.E., Gravette; from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, July 9, at City Hall, 29144 Main Street, Seligman, Mo.; from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, July 23, at 101 S. Hwy. 59 in Anderson, Mo.; from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, August 6, in Cedarville, with a location to be announced; and on Saturday, August 20, in Gentry, with a location to be announced.

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