West Little Rock

[schwilj]

On 8/2/2019 at 4:46 PM, LRretail said:

It's unlikely that Costco will ever be able to break into Arkansas.  Wal-Mart would likely be able to, as they have for so many years, stave off the effort to Costco or any similar competitor to move into home territory. 

More of a chance here in LR where we have Target, Whole Foods, Kroger Market place, and (all but announced) Trader Joe’s. That being said, I’ll believe it when it opens.

NWA it would never happen. 

[SangreRaVen]

Zoe's Kitchen WLR still looks to be open, at least for now.

 

-R

[LRretail]

11 hours ago, SangreRaVen said:

Zoe's Kitchen WLR still looks to be open, at least for now.

 

-R

You're correct.  I drove by today and they were surprisingly busy.  Upon further research I believe the arrangement is that the building and property where Zoe's is located recently sold in the last few months.  As part of the sale, Zoe's had to be open to pay rent for a fixed amount of time.  I think they were closed for a time but opened back up as a condition of the sales contract.  I don't know this to be the case 100% but I'm 85% certain this to be the case.  We will see if they remain open.  Overall I think it a poor decision to go head to head with Taziki's less than a stone's throw away.  

[SangreRaVen]

Yeah they have been busy several times when I have driven by there, I do think they would have done better a little further away from Taziki's.

 

-R

[ArkansasTraveler]

For those wondering, here's how close we are to Trader Joe's opening...

[SangreRaVen]

Getting closer

[LRU1967]

Thinking about things eagerly awaited in Little Rock, I recall these, among others; Coors Beer, Krispy Creme Donuts, the. City Manager form of government, MetroCenter Mall, The Boyle Building reuse, choosing a nickname for the city. Hopefully Trader Joe's will be a success. In the meantime our downtown may win the title, for the greatest number of surface parking lots.

.

[vbfl85]

7 hours ago, LRU1967 said:

Thinking about things eagerly awaited in Little Rock, I recall these, among others; Coors Beer, Krispy Creme Donuts, the. City Manager form of government, MetroCenter Mall, The Boyle Building reuse, choosing a nickname for the city. Hopefully Trader Joe's will be a success. In the meantime our downtown may win the title, for the greatest number of surface parking lots.

.

Coors Beer?  Was that not always available here?

[LRU1967]

1 hour ago, vbfl85 said:

Coors Beer?  Was that not always available here?

Coors came into Little Rock in the mid-1980s. The original owners ended up selling their distributorship and the second owner sold to what was then the Miller distributorship, Twin City Beverage. Three owners in the space of around 5 months. Little Rock beer drinkers didn't like it as much as they did when it was a big deal for someone to bring a case. back from Oklahoma.

[SangreRaVen]

Signs up! 

[ecity3138]

On 10/4/2019 at 12:23 PM, SangreRaVen said:

Signs up! 

Wow, there are not wasting anytime with opening this location. When is the grand opening?

[LR501]

16 hours ago, ecity3138 said:

Wow, there are not wasting anytime with opening this location. When is the grand opening?

Saw this on facebook yesterday, the 5th, so it looks like it will open October 22nd.

[Smith]

Did they split the larger space into two slots? I wonder what will go next door?

[ArkansasTraveler]

The remainder between Trader Joe's (the red "LEASED" space in this graphic) and AT&T looks to be about 40% to 50% of the old Toys-R-Us space -- or 14,459 SF, per Flake & Kelley.

[SangreRaVen]

Hmmm so this will be a rather small store for sure. 

 

-R

[theman]

8 hours ago, SangreRaVen said:

Hmmm so this will be a rather small store for sure. 

 

-R

This is from a Rock City Eats article about Trader Joes’s from  earlier this year.

The building is going listed at 15,411 s.f. of total space. In that, they are planning for 10,466 s.f. of total retail area. This means that the total square footage will be on the high end for Trader Joe’s. Most sources quote the average store between 8,000-15,000 s.f. with the typical model being 10,000.

Specs could have changed since then but this may be their typical size store.

Edited October 8, 2019 by theman

[SangreRaVen]

Just have to see how it flows once its open, its nearest competition is Whole Foods right down the road.

 

-R 

[ecity3138]

Trader Joe’s has finally open!

[Arkanzin]

According to the media reports, Zoe's Kitchen will close on January 26.  It's been rumored on here so not really a surprise.  

[SangreRaVen]

Sad, it was a pretty good restaurant but no surprise really.

 

-R

Edited January 25, 2020 by SangreRaVen

[LRretail]

It was foolish to go up against Taziki's at a location so close.  Taziki's is a brand that already has full market penetration and is established with many fans.  A lot of the Zoe's Kitchen menu doesn't appeal to me and I would say that is true for many of us in town.  

Look for a new concept to take hold at Zoe's closed location.  Also new sushi operation (do we need another?) taking shape in the strip center next door close to Coldstone.  In the center next to la Madeleine a second location for Lulu's seafood kitchen opening next to Jimmy Johns.

[Architect]

It was foolish to go up against Taziki's at a location so close.  Taziki's is a brand that already has full market penetration and is established with many fans.  A lot of the Zoe's Kitchen menu doesn't appeal to me and I would say that is true for many of us in town.  
Look for a new concept to take hold at Zoe's closed location.  Also new sushi operation (do we need another?) taking shape in the strip center next door close to Coldstone.  In the center next to la Madeleine a second location for Lulu's seafood kitchen opening next to Jimmy Johns.

Agreed. Zoe’s always LOOKED like a cool concept, but honestly the food wasn’t that appealing. Taziki’s is top-notch. It’s strange how things work in some markets, and not others. There are still a few Zoe’s in NWA and a lot in Tulsa, but admittedly those markets don’t have Taziki’s.


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[Smith]

9 hours ago, Architect said:

Agreed. Zoe’s always LOOKED like a cool concept, but honestly the food wasn’t that appealing. Taziki’s is top-notch. It’s strange how things work in some markets, and not others. There are still a few Zoe’s in NWA and a lot in Tulsa, but admittedly those markets don’t have Taziki’s.


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There are actually two Taziki's in Tulsa and at least two in NWA. Not an overwhelming presence but they are in the markets.

[Architect]

1 minute ago, Smith said:

There are actually two Taziki's in Tulsa and at least two in NWA. Not an overwhelming presence but they are in the markets.

Ah, I think that must be relatively new.

[LRretail]

Look for one more restaurant to close in the Chenal/Markham/Bowman area. Another will form up in the former Zoe’s Kitchen location.  Also another will form up back closer along Markham.