EAGLE RIVER -- Fred Meyer officials said Feb. 4 that their new Eagle River store will include five smaller shops within or attached to the main building.
The interior tenants in the store at the corner of the Old Glenn Highway and Access Road will be Vista Optical and Alaska USA Federal Credit Union. Tenants outside will be Papa Murphy's Take 'N' Bake Pizza, Great Clips for Hair, and one space yet to be filled.
Rob Boley, assistant vice president of public relations for Fred Meyer, said the tenants give the store a "one-stop-shopping" atmosphere.
"We have good relationships with a lot of these companies," said Boley. "They have shops in some of our other Alaska stores and they are a great fit for our company."
Boley said ideally the shops would open at the same time as the Fred Meyer grand opening. A firm date has not been announced, but is expected to be sometime this spring.
Michelle Cook, general manager for Great Clips of Alaska, said her company likes the relationship it has with Fred Meyer, and has been looking into coming to Eagle River for quite some time.
"We opened our first Alaska shop in August 2001 in South Anchorage," said Cook. "Since that time, we have been looking into bringing a store to Eagle River."
Cook said Fred Meyer would provide a big draw for her nine-chair shop. She expects to have between 12 and 15 employees.
"We are real excited about the new store," she said. "It will be our fifth in the state and it's going into an exciting, growing community."
Vista Optical will be returning to Eagle River after a nearly two-year absence from the town. The Valley River Center franchise closed in June 2001 due to lack of traffic in the once-thriving shopping mall.
The company operates one store in the Abbott Road Fred Meyer, under the name Optical Center. Four other locations are scattered throughout Anchorage and on Elmendorf Air Force Base.
Alaska USA Federal Credit Union, already a mainstay in Eagle River, will open another branch inside the store.
The branch on the Old Glenn Highway near the Eagle River Loop Road intersection will be less than a mile from the new building, but officials say both will be fully operational.
"The Fred Meyer branch will be open seven days a week, and will be a full-service branch," said spokeswoman Nancy Usera. "Our main branch in Eagle River will remain open six days a week. Having the Fred Meyer branch open Sundays will be a great convenience for our clients."
Usera said the retail branch in Fred Meyer will employ six people, and will include an ATM that can be used whenever Fred Meyer is open. The branch will be the sixth Alaska USA in a Fred Meyer, Usera said.
Papa Murphy's Take 'N' Bake Pizza will enter an already saturated pizza market, but co-owner Russell McDonald said a good location and a different product will help his store standout.
"We've been looking into Eagle River as a natural step, and this location provided us with that opportunity," said McDonald, who owns stores in Wasilla and Anchorage. "We think the bedroom community lifestyle in Eagle River will appeal to what we do, offering pizza that can be cooked in your oven in just a few minutes."
McDonald said he expects to have about 12 employees, and plans to open the store very close to the Fred Meyer opening. He said being in the Fred Meyer building will help his business because so much traffic will already be in the area.
"It's a spot that's a dream for retailers," he said. "We'll have hundreds of people walking by our storefront everyday."
Boley said several retailers have expressed interest in the fifth space, but no arrangements have been made with any of them. The three exterior shops are located on the right side of Fred Meyer, and will not have a door that leads into the store. Access to Vista Optical and Alaska USA will be from inside the store.
