GRAVETTE — Shoppers in the area will be happy to know that Gravette will soon have two grocery stores again. CV's $avers Club is set to open Thursday, Nov. 10. The store will open at 7 a.m. and a ribbon cutting will be held at 9 a.m. It is located at the intersections of Highways 72 and 59 on the corner formerly occupied by a Marvin's Grocery store. Store hours will be 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week.
CV's is named for the store's founder, C.V. Combs, who has been in the grocery business 65 years. According to his son Chuck, C.V. started hauling watermelons to old country stores at the age of 14. He was manager of a Piggly Wiggly store in Oklahoma City before starting his own store. The first CV's Family Foods was in Wichita, Kansas.
C.V. and Chuck now own a total of 32 stores, several in Oklahoma and Arkansas and one in Baxter Springs, Kansas. These include several Marvin's stores as CV's now owns the Marvin's chain.
The new Gravette store is just under 29,000 square feet. It will feature a full-service bakery and deli with a 10-foot hot bar serving lunch and dinner. A variety of smoked foods, including ribs and chicken, will be on the hot bar and there will be daily lunch specials. "Chicken Mondays" will offer an 8-piece chicken meal with two sides and rolls for $9.99 between 4 and 7 p.m. on Mondays. The eight pieces of chicken alone will sell for $6.99.
The store bakery will offer a wide variety of cakes and pies baked on site. Custom baked goods can be ordered for special occasions. With the holidays coming up, turkey dinners with all the trimmings and holiday pies will be available. They can be taken out to warm in your home oven, or the store will warm them for you.
Catering is also available. The store telephone number is 479-787-5921. Customers may call in orders to the deli or bakery, schedule catering for special events or ask for store information.
Other features of the store are extensive produce and grocery selections, a large dairy section and a wide variety of quality meats. CV's carries Chairman's Reserve beef, a premium beef, and all meat is cut on site. The store features a 5 for $25 meat promotion. Five packages must be purchased to get the $25 price, but any packages above five will sell for only $5.
"We are a service-oriented store," Brian Bailey, district manager, emphasized. "If you want a certain size roast cut or a certain thickness of steak, we'll cut it for you. We're glad to serve the community of Gravette and look forward to their patronage. We appreciate the support we've received from local residents."
CV's has five checkout lanes and the store will offer full carryout service. Shoppers may also check out at the service desk, where they can purchase money orders, make change or receive additional store information.
CV's started their $avers Clubs almost two years ago. Bailey explained that the store does not put out print grocery ads.
"We take the money we would spend for ads and put it into lowering the cost of goods throughout the store. Specials are not just for a week," he said. "If we offer a deeply discounted item, we offer the special until the product is gone."
"There are no membership applications to fill out, no fees to pay," Bailey said. "Every customer who walks in the store is a member of the $avers Club."
The new store has 65 employees. Bailey said a full team has been hired but potential employees may fill out an application any time and they will be kept on file and the applicant called when new staff is needed. David Donell, a Gravette native, was recently hired as local manager. He has been in the grocery and other retail business for many years.
General News on 11/09/2016