New Grocery Chain Comes to Town

[sgrizzle]

http://www.journalrecord.com/article.cfm?recid=92078

quote:
Arkansas food chain to enter Tulsa market
September 12, 2008
TULSA – The expanding Arkansas chain Harps Food Stores Inc. will enter Tulsa in 2009.
Roger Collins, chief executive of the Springdale, Ark.-based grocery chain, said negotiations are underway to open a 37,000-square-foot store in a former Albertson's supermarket at the Garnett Plaza shopping center, 31st Street and Garnett in east Tulsa.
That represents one of the larger footprints for Harps, a 53-store employee-owned chain with about 3,000 workers. Its existing stores range from 15,000 square feet to 55,000 square feet.
Mathias Properties, the Springdale-based owner of the 130,000-square-foot Garnett Plaza, has already renovated part of the former Albertson's for a May's Drug Store. Mathias will build out the remaining space for Harps to open in the winter of 2009, said Arthur Thurmand, president and chief operating officer for the commercial real estate brokerage.
That deal, plus others underway, will raise Garnett Plaza's occupancy rate to the low- to mid-80s.
"They bring a very, very high quality grocery tenant," said Thurmand. "Very, very high quality merchandise, produce, meats. It's more of a quality type product."
The nine Harps now serving Oklahomans operate in northeastern, mostly rural communities like Locust Grove, Poteau, and Fort Gibson, reflecting the Arkansas chain's natural westward migration, said Mendy Parrish, a retail specialist with CB Richard Ellis of Oklahoma. She considered Harps a good fit for Garnett Plaza, although she wondered how well the stores would compete in a food-service market dominated by Reasors, Food Pyramid, Wal-Mart Supercenters and Wal-Mart Neighborhood Markets.
"The way they do their business is just a higher touch," said Thurmand. "It's more of a customer-friendly, customer-supported, quality grocery retailer."
With its well-received specialty departments, from its award-winning bakeries to specialty delis known for no-solution-added, low-sodium meats, Collins doubted Harps would face a difficult challenge.
"I think we understand what customers are looking for and we believe we have a special niche we can fit into," he said. "I think we try to offer value to our customers as well.
"We're not forgetting about the customer who's interested in price," he said. "Our experience is that people want high-quality foods and our mode of operation is not to trade down in quality, to sell something cheaper, but to offer people what the best value is."
The former Albertson's Harps will enter is across the street from a Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market.
"We're one the first companies competing with Wal-Mart that's managed to show consistent growth," said Collins, pointing out the privately held company's stock has quadrupled since 2001. "We know how to succeed in Wal-Mart's shadow."
The company got its start from a $500 cash investment by Harvard and Floy Harp in 1930, an amount would be about $6,600 today. Over the next 34 years they remodeled, expanded and moved their Springdale store, adding a second in 1964. After Collins became president in 2000, Harps allowed an employee stock ownership plan to acquire the family stock in 2001.
Its Web site boasts of quality, service and freshness at competitive prices, with specialty products ranging from gift baskets to wedding cakes and hor d'oeuvres.
"We're on the cutting edge of designing cakes," said Collins. "If someone wanted a cake in the shape of an armadillo, we can deliver that."
Harps is considering other Tulsa locations for expansion.
"We have a lot of other sites that we're looking at, but none of them that we're close enough to talk about," said Collins. "We want to see how we do here first."
That said, "We're always trying to expand our market," he allowed. "We're just trying to grow as fast as we can."
On the Net: www.harpsfood.com

Since they are coming to east Tulsa, maybe they will look at the Pine&Peoria location as well. Since half of the "do nothing duo" is gone, now maybe there will be a response from the city when a grocery chain wants to move in to that area.

[Kashmir]

I'm really happy to see something go in there.

Mr. K and I grew up going in that old Albertson's/Skaggs Alpha-Beta/Jewel Osco.  My five year old ambition was to be just like the glamorous lady with the very huge bangs and mountain of crimpled hair behind the customer service desk with her smart apron and getting to play with a cash register   all day long!

To work in a place that sold cookies `and makeup (forbidden when you are 5)! Awesome!
Just thought I'd share.

Isn't childhood grand![]ool;p

[sgrizzle]

I grew up with that Grocery Store as well and my grade-school friend's Mom was the front-end manager.

[Conan71]

What has happened with the G-store project at the former Albertson's on north Peoria?  

I lost touch with that and didn't know if it had vanished like the proverbial "fart in the wind" or if it was up and running/near up and running.

[sgrizzle]

There were two possible tenants. One was a local person with little business experience and no capital who was going to open "freedom mart" or some such moniker as well as a liquor store and something else in the space. He couldn't afford a cash register but they had a job fair. It fell through and one could hardly imagine why.

It was also discovered that while Henderson and Turner were pumping this guy up as the Savior of North Tulsa, they weren't returning calls from a developer who represented a National Chain of urban grocery stores who wanted to buy the place. That developer contacted news outlets trying to get ahold of someone in power and never got a return call.

[Conan71]

quote:Originally posted by sgrizzle

There were two possible tenants. One was a local person with little business experience and no capital who was going to open "freedom mart" or some such moniker as well as a liquor store and something else in the space. He couldn't afford a cash register but they had a job fair. It fell through and one could hardly imagine why.

It was also discovered that while Henderson and Turner were pumping this guy up as the Savior of North Tulsa, they weren't returning calls from a developer who represented a National Chain of urban grocery stores who wanted to buy the place. That developer contacted news outlets trying to get ahold of someone in power and never got a return call.

As I recall, Freedom Mart's web site looked like it was done with a first-generation version of "front page"

Anyone want to put money on when Henderson will start running his mouth about Harp's ignoring the north side?

3-2-1...

[mrB]

quote:
Its existing stores range from 15,000 square feet to 55,000 square feet.

With stores as small as 15,000 sqft, I hope they will think about filling the downtown area niche.

quote:
“They bring a very, very high quality grocery tenant,� said Thurmand. “Very, very high quality merchandise, produce, meats. It’s more of a quality type product.�

“The way they do their business is just a higher touch,� said Thurmand. “It’s more of a customer-friendly, customer-supported, quality grocery retailer.�

“I think we understand what customers are looking for and we believe we have a special niche we can fit into,� he said. “I think we try to offer value to our customers as well.

“We’re not forgetting about the customer who’s interested in price,� he said. “Our experience is that people want high-quality foods and our mode of operation is not to trade down in quality, to sell something cheaper, but to offer people what the best value is.�

Its Web site boasts of quality, service and freshness at competitive prices, with specialty products ranging from gift baskets to wedding cakes and hor d’oeuvres.

http://www.journalrecord.com/article.cfm?recid=92078

Talk like this may keep them from Pine/Peoria or not! Seems price would be most important! Maybe they could build new at 11th & Lewis [NW]?

While in a previous line of work, I did business in some of the Ark. locations during the 80's. They reminded me of the Sipes Groceries that I grew up with here in Tulsa!

[Ibanez]

Please oh please oh please if there is a God in Heaven put one of these somewhere on the South Side of the river in Bixby.

[mrB]

quote:Originally posted by wavoka

Please oh please oh please if there is a God in Heaven put one of these somewhere on the South Side of the river in Bixby.

Bixby would be a good fit for them! They want customer loyalty. A store in Bixby would have that 'hometown grocery store feel'. Like the Doc's that used to be in Bixby!

[Ibanez]

quote:Originally posted by mrB

quote:Originally posted by wavoka

Please oh please oh please if there is a God in Heaven put one of these somewhere on the South Side of the river in Bixby.

Bixby would be a good fit for them! They want customer loyalty. A store in Bixby would have that 'hometown grocery store feel'. Like the Doc's that used to be in Bixby!

Doc's is still there but I haven't been inside the store in probably 2 years. Not since I was waiting at the deli counter and saw meat and cheese sitting out with flies crawling all over it.

[FOTD]

The source for this article has proven weak in the past. Define "quality"?

Glad to see this as 31st and Garnett has been slipping. But good luck going up against WalMart and Reasors.....

[TeeDub]

There is a Harps in Locust Grove and another in Salina...

At least I think so.

[USRufnex]

I was excited to see the sign advertising that Harp's was coming.... as a kid, I used to buy issues of Soccer Digest at the old Skaggs/Albertson's after school....

About 7 years ago, I shopped a few times at the Harp's in Chelsea.  Good traditional smaller grocery store.  I hope it competes well against the neighborhood market across the street from it...

[Who Cares]

Harps actually put a bid in on the Ablertson's stores last year, but lost to Food Pyramid/Rameys. Now that Food Pyramid is doing so poorly, they are entering the market early with hopes of aquiring the Food Pyramid stores once/if they pull out of the market.

[FOTD]

quote:Originally posted by Who Cares

Harps actually put a bid in on the Ablertson's stores last year, but lost to Food Pyramid/Rameys. Now that Food Pyramid is doing so poorly, they are entering the market early with hopes of aquiring the Food Pyramid stores once/if they pull out of the market.

Well, they won't be impressed with that location's results.....

They'd do better to go in North Tulsa....