GRAVETTE -- Business is booming at Cardinal Corner Pawn Shop in Gravette, and that has prompted owner Danny White to expand his quarters for the second time in less than three years.
White first opened for business in early 2012 in a building which now houses Dr. Ty Russell's chiropractic clinic. The inventory was soon outgrowing that space; so, after 18 months, he moved the business just a few doors down the highway to its present location.
Cardinal Corner has operated for almost a year at 405 Atlanta St. S.E., the former Callison-Lough Funeral Home building, just across Arkansas Highway 72 from Kindley Park. Again White is finding the shop is bursting at the seams with merchandise, so he has recently had an 840-square-foot addition constructed on the west side of the building. The addition, sided in attractive green metal, will house furniture, appliances and larger tools such as lawn mowers and chain saws.
The pawn shop features an extensive selection of firearms, and White is a licensed federal firearms dealer. Customers can purchase guns online and have them shipped to Cardinal Corner for pickup.
Inventory also includes a large selection of tools, baseball cards and other sports memorabilia, musical instruments, sporting goods, books, movies, musical tapes and CDs. The jewelry, antique and collectible coin sections are excellent places to shop for gifts.
White's assistant in the shop is Becky Splettstoesser of Gravette, who does the bookkeeping and helps serve customers. She explained that Cardinal Corner offers a layaway plan where customers can pay 20 percent down and choose a 30, 60 or 90 day period to finish paying for their merchandise. The shop also sells gift certificates.
Those pawning items can pay the interest on their account and extend the period for reclaiming their goods by 30 days.
"We try to be fair and try to work with people," Splettstoesser said, relating that several customers had told them Cardinal Corner was the best pawn shop in the area.
The Cardinal Corner clerks also offer appraisal services and invite customers who have coins, antiques or other valuables to bring them in for help in determining their value.
"We're not experts," Splettstoesser says, "but we can check prices on the Internet and come up with a very accurate estimate."
"We have experts we can contact on antiques, jewelry, coins and other valuables," White pointed out. "We also have an in-house jeweler to do sizing, design and repair work. We also buy gold and silver."
Although Danny White lives in Bentonville, he has been an active supporter of Gravette events. He provided a cash donation to help pay for prizes at the Dutch-oven cook off on Gravette Day, and he has contributed to the silent auction for the Gravette Public Library gala.
Cardinal Corner pawn shop is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays. The business offers a good variety of snacks and drinks and invites customers to come in, have a bite to eat and a drink while they shop, browse or just "hang out."
The pawn shop can be contacted by phone at 479-270-0381 or by emailing White at [email protected]. More information is available at the business website: www.cardinalcornerpawn.com.
General News on 09/24/2014