Hathaway Group, Heights developer announce moves at Country Club Station

Little Rock commercial real estate firm Hathaway Group will move its Little Rock office later this year from Riverdale to the Heights as part of a transformation underway for a major section of the iconic Country Club Station property. The announcement was issued jointly Thursday (June 6) by the property’s owner, Merritt Dake, and Hathaway Group principal and vice president Wes Martin.

The area affected is at the southeast corner where Kavanaugh Boulevard and Club Road intersect and includes two buildings — 5012 and 5016/5018 Kavanaugh. When the project is completed, it will be home to a restaurant, neighborhood grocer, relocated wine and liquor shop, and the Hathaway firm, all in completely renovated structures. The Buttered Biscuit previously announced its plans to open its second Little Rock restaurant at 5016 Kavanaugh and will be the anchor of the new development.

Heights Fine Wines & Spirits is moving from the 5012 Kavanaugh building to a new, more modern space in the north portion of the 5018 Kavanaugh building, directly adjacent to The Buttered Biscuit.

Hathaway Group is set to take over the entire 5012 Kavanaugh building, with that structure being completely renovated into professional offices custom-designed for the real estate brokerage firm. Finally, Lou Anne and Eric Herget, owners of Heights Corner Market, will continue serving customers as the neighborhood’s specialty grocer and butcher shop from its current space on the south side of 5018 Kavanaugh.

Dake acquired the site in two separate purchases through his 5701 Kavanaugh LLC entity, represented in the acquisitions by Martin, a broker with Hathaway. The two of them subsequently worked together to arrange for the new leases with The Buttered Biscuit, Hathaway Group, and Heights Fine Wines and Spirits, which is owned by Scott Case. Moses Tucker Partners acted as agent for The Buttered Biscuit.

Dake said that his significant investment in the project “makes perfect sense for real estate in such a proven, valuable location. Our family is proud to improve these 100-year-old structures in the right way and bring new energy to the corner for the neighborhood to enjoy them for another 100 years.”

“The tenant roster we’re bringing to this site is unique, and we’re very excited to have our offices be a part of it. It’s always been hard to find space in the Heights that is suitable for professional offices, so we basically ended up creating it,” said Martin.

“It gave us an opportunity to create a new modern space, on the prominent corner, but still in the same location that our customers have loved for nearly 35 years. We’re excited to reveal our new space and our tasting room in the upcoming months,” said Case.

“We’re thrilled to be part of the project. For many decades this was the home of a classic, neighborhood grocery store – Terry’s Finer Foods – serving a loyal clientele who expected exceptional service every day. I know the other businesses joining us in these revitalized buildings share my commitment to do just that – provide exceptional service to loyal clients,” said Hathaway Group president Jeff Hathaway. “Our firm is often referred to as a ‘boutique brokerage’ – we treat our clients like family members and close friends – and this new office, with its neighborhood feel, wide sidewalks, and numerous shops and restaurants within easy walking distance, is the perfect fit for our way of doing business.”