Arnold, Neb. – A busy Friday morning in Arnold celebrated three local businesses during a series of ribbon cutting ceremonies highlighting new ownership, business transitions and continued investment in the community.
The event included stops at The Punchy Poppy, The Highlander, and Grazers, with community members, business supporters and local leaders traveling together between each location throughout the morning.
The first ceremony was held at The Highlander, located at 209 West Arnold Avenue and owned by Danielle Lamb.
The Highlander marks the reopening of a location that had remained vacant since Jake’s Bar and Grille closed following COVID.
Danielle commented “This building holds a lot of history, so I think it’ll be neat to have people come in that maybe haven’t been here in a lot of years. To hear the stories, and that’s always kind of fun.”
To find their weekly specials and hours find The Highlander on Facebook!
Attendees then moved to Grazers at 208 West Arnold Avenue, where Joyce Bass recently assumed ownership of the business.
Grazers was previously owned by Jess Halstead and Annie Vettel and continues operating as a bar and restaurant during the ownership transition. They are excited about their live entertainment events this summer. Check out their website or Facebook for more information.
The final stop of the morning took place at The Punchy Poppy, formerly known as The Arnold Exchange, owned by Justin and Chrissie Stockall.
“It started as a mobile trailer. My wife has the business, and we’ve been traveling for the last little over four years with a boutique. We wanted to have a brick-and-mortar location for that business. I’ve been in the feed business for over 30 years, and I’ve been wanting a location in town to be able to sell feed out of versus out of the ranch,” said Justin.
While continuing to offer convenience store services and dining, the business has also expanded into a western boutique shopping experience featuring tack, jewelry, purses and clothing accessories.
With a variety of new merchandise in the store and new specialty food items on the menu Stockall commented “The ribbon cutting is just a steppingstone for us coming up through this summer because we’ll even have a grand opening here probably in June or the first part of July.”
In addition to the ribbon cuttings, attendees participated in three separate prize drawings for $25 gift certificates provided by each business.
Participants registered at each location throughout the event, giving attendees up to three opportunities to win.
Following the conclusion of the ceremonies, attendees remained in Arnold to visit with business owners, enjoy lunch and browse additional local businesses and services.
The Arnold Economic Development Corporation organized the event in hopes that the event highlighted the continued importance of supporting small businesses and celebrating growth opportunities within the Arnold community.
