Elmo?s Pack & Paddle Inc.

Owner: Elmo Hicks

Address: 227 W. Dickson St.,

Fayetteville, 72701

Phone: 501-582-3592

Hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday,

9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday

Start-Up Date: May 1

Elmo’s Pack & Paddle Inc. is a general store of sorts for hikers, divers and kayakers. Since opening May 1, Elmo Hicks has increased his inventory tenfold because of the store’s success.

“I’ve had a lot of sales, a lot of good response,” Hicks says.

Elmo’s Pack & Paddle carries sleeping bags, backpacks, camping stoves, life vests, food and anything else for outdoor activities.

Hicks carries Wigges sleeping bags, made in the United States and individually patented. It is the same type of sleeping bag used by the Navy Seals, he says. Also, Elmo’s sells boats through consignment.

Specialty merchandise, including fly rods hand-made in Arkansas, is available at the store.

The former chef opened the store after not finding what he wanted. “I was looking for a restaurant and this became vacant,” Hicks says of his store space.

Outdoor sports are his hobbies so he opened Elmo’s Pack & Paddle in Fayetteville, even with similar stores nearby. The difference, Hicks says, is that Elmo’s carries more general merchandise compared to the Army-oriented goods, clothing and “high-tech” brands found at two local stores.

Elmo’s also rents videos featuring outdoor sports and gives classes on how to roll a kayak. The classes have been well-attended with 28 adults and seven children at a recent session, Hicks says. He wouldn’t disclose his start-up costs or current sales, but he did say that within a year he hopes to be doing twice the business and have two employees.