Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Trucking firm plans move to co-op space
Ozark Natural Foods renovating former IGA
FAYETTEVILLE — Shoppers and owners by next year should be able to sit outside and have a coffee or beer, with more options for food, at Ozark Natural Foods’ new location.
In the meantime, ArcBest, a multibillion-dollar freight and logistics company, will move its office on Zion Road to the community room space of the co-op’s space at Evelyn Hills Shopping Center, 1554 N. College Ave., according to real estate broker Sterling Hamilton.
ArcBest will take about 20,000 square feet, while the main store, about 30,000 square feet, remains up for lease.
Ozark Natural Foods announced last year it would move from Evelyn Hills to the former IGA building at the southeast corner of College Avenue and Lafayette Street. The co-op bought the building in October for $3.6 million.
Local designers BLKBOX and Modus Studio have teamed for the building’s redesign. Owned by the Agee family since 1987, the building changed from Marvin’s IGA, to IGA, Saver’s Club and was CV’s Family Foods when it closed in Spring 2018.
Lisa Garrett, spokeswoman for the co-op, said there’s no date for the opening of the new space, but it should be sometime next year. ArcBest plans to renovate its Evelyn Hills space and open next spring, according to a release from Hamilton.
Hamilton said he couldn’t comment on the status of the co-op’s space in Evelyn Hills for legal reasons. It was put on the market last fall for $3.7 million. No recent transactions have been submitted to the Washington County Assessor’s Office.
So far, crews have demolished the interior of the IGA building, but the city has to approve plans and permits to start construction, Garrett said. The co-op tapped Nabholz Construction for the job.
The new Ozark Natural Foods will feature a taproom and coffee bar, as well as expanded bakery and prepared food options with a focus on convenience-based meals, Garrett said. There will also be a patio area.
“We’re really trying to foster the sense that this is a community place, where we can go after school and get our drinks or we can have a business meeting,” she said. “Whatever it is that people in the community and in that neighborhood need, we’re hoping to provide that for them.”
The building at 308 N. College Ave. adjoins the Washington-Willow neighborhood. The cooperative started in the 1970s and occupied a few locations downtown. It moved to Evelyn Hills in 2000, agreed to buy the space in 2008 and paid off its mortgage in 2012.
Garrett said the co-op hopes to make the move as seamlessly as possible, with little disruption in service to owners and customers.
“Everybody understands that this business has been a cornerstone of the community since 1971,” she said. “Everyone is really invested in seeing it succeed.”