Andy’s to build store, retail center at former Skateport site

Andy's Frozen Custard co-owner Andy Kuntz closed this week on the purchase of roughly 1.5 acres on South Glenstone Avenue, where he plans to build a new store and retail center.

The company’s sixth Springfield store would be a standalone, roughly 1,800-square-foot shop on the south side of Independence Street where a road extension recently created a four-way stop on South Glenstone.

Kuntz closed on the purchase of the 3820 S. Glenstone Ave. land on Wednesday for undisclosed terms from Ted Hall, who operated Skateport on the property for 37 years before it closed in mid-2014.

“I’ve been eyeing that corridor for five or six years,” Kuntz said.

Kuntz is targeting a July opening for the 25-employee store.

Similar to the company’s store in Kansas City, Kuntz said the South Glenstone location would incorporate wood and brick, a fresh design idea for the chain. The company also is considering a partially enclosed area that would shield customers from bad weather.

Andy’s, which this year celebrates its 30th anniversary, expects to open 22 new stores in 2016, largely in the Kansas City, Chicago, Dallas, Nashville, Denver and Oklahoma City markets. Of those stores, 10 would be corporate owned, Kuntz said.

R.B. Murray Co. Vice President Ross Murray, who brokered the deal, said Kuntz also is planning a separate 3,000-4,000-square-foot retail center on the land. The development would be similar to the Andy’s store and retail center Kuntz owns on South Campbell Avenue south of James River Freeway.

Declining to disclose the land’s list price, Murray said the deal was particularly challenging given the intersection changes.

“It’s probably one of the last really good corners left in town that’s undeveloped,” said Murray, who will serve as listing agent for the retail center that has a targeted opening date of six months. “I probably lost two years of my life getting that thing done. It was a challenge to say the least.”