Marvin’s closing in Gentry

Office manager won't comment on reasons for decision to close

— The shelves of the Marvin’s Foods in Gentry are full of marked down items and won’t be restocked.

The store is closing, said Jim Galloway, office manager for Marvin’s Food Stores. Galloway is based in Fayetteville.

He said a specific closing date hasn’t been determined, but expects it to be in about three weeks.

Galloway said all of the store’s 27 full- and part-time employees have the opportunity to transfer to one of the six Northwest Arkansas stores. The Gravette store is 12 miles north of the Gentry site. The company has 21 stores in three states.

Galloway refused to comment about why the store is closing or how long the company has been considering its closing.

Walmart opened its first Express store June 8 about six blocks south of Marvin’s in the community of 3,158. Express stores average 15,000 square feet and carry fresh food and a mix of general merchandise.

Gentry Mayor Kevin Johnston said the Marvin’s has been open about two years. The building at 300 S. Gentry Blvd. served as a grocery store of one type or another since the early 1990s, he said.

Johnston said it is always sad to lose any business and isn’t convinced the Express store was the lone cause of the closing.

Gentry supported a pair of grocery stores in the early 1990s.

“For some people, it didn’t matter what local store there was, they were supercenter shoppers,” Johnston said.

The mayor said any empty building in townis a cause for concern, and he hopes to see it filled with a business that will help Gentry become a self-sustaining community. The town needs a butcher and a clothing store, he said.

“Convincing anyone in these economic times to start something is difficult,” he said.

Walmart opened an Express store in Prairie Grove the same day as the Gentry store.

Larry Oelrich, director of city administrative services and public works, said the store is doing well and he has not heard any major negative comments.

Prairie Grove has a Harps that has been open several years and is well established in the community, Oelrich said.

Questions about how the Prairie Grove Harps store is faring were referred to company president andchief operating officer Kim Eskew who was out of the office Thursday and unavailable for comment.

Walmart is ready to open an Express store in Gravette.

Mayor Byron Warren said he doesn’t anticipate the Express store forcing any businesses to close in his community of 2,325.

“I think every store is going to have something different,” he said, adding that Marvin’s has an excellent meat selection while the Express store may have cheaper boxed goods.

“I think the Express will mainly pick up the shoppers who weren’t going toMarvin’s anyway,” he said.

“I hope it will all wash out.”

Warren said he anticipates the Express store to open by the end of this month.

Walmart did not return a request for comment.

News, Pages 11 on 08/24/2011