Mansfields Plan Two Haagen-Dazs Stores
by March 14, 2005 12:00 am 133 views
The Mansfield family plans to open two Haagen-Dazs ice cream stores and another Gloria Jean’s coffee shop, all in Fayetteville, by the end of summer.
Rexanne, Stephen and Kenneth Mansfield have owned the Gloria Jean’s coffee shop in the Northwest Arkansas Mall for about a year. They hope to open their first Haagen-Dazs store by June 1 in the mall in a 791-SF space that previously housed Claire’s, a women’s accessories store that is moving to a new spot in the mall.
After that, the Mansfields plan to renovate the front 2,367-SF of the train depot on Dickson Street to accommodate a Haagen-Dazs store, Gloria Jean’s coffee shop and a food court area. The depot stores are slated to open by the end of summer. Stephen and Rexanne Mansfield, along with developer Greg House, are in the process of buying the depot from The Bank of Fayetteville N.A. for an undisclosed sum. The depot was built in 1897 and remodeled after a fire in the mid-1920s. The renovation will retain the historical character of the building, Rexanne Mansfield said.
Stephen Mansfield said they plan to lease the remaining 2,061 SF of the train depot and a 2,366-SF freight building behind the depot to other tenants. Eventually, they plan to build a mixed-use development with retail and condominiums next door on land that currently houses a Bank of Fayetteville branch in a railroad car. That property stretches from Dickson to Lafayette streets.
Stephen Mansfield said the Haagen-Dazs store in the Northwest Arkansas Mall will be the ice cream company’s first ever in Arkansas. There are currently Haagen-Dazs stores in Kansas City and Memphis.
The Gloria Jean’s location in the depot will be one of the company’s first free-standing locations outside a mall, he added.
Stephen Wilhite will manage the ice cream shop in the mall.
Kenneth Mansfield said his family has owned Gloria Jean’s shops for the past 22 years but only has one other location now. It’s in Florida and is owned by Mansfield’s mother and another brother.
Kenneth Mansfield said the three started the lobbying process in October to get Haagen-Dazs to approve the Fayetteville location.
Stephen and Rexanne Mansfield also own Mansfield Property Management in Fayetteville.