Excitement is building for Arkansas’ first Bass Pro Shops, based on the comments it’s attracting to its Facebook page.
The purveyor of fishing, hunting, camping and all kinds of other outdoor gear has set Nov. 13, a Wednesday, for its grand opening, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 6 p.m. and doors open from 6:30 to 9 p.m. The 120,000-SF location is at Little Rock’s Gateway Town Center, a 169-acre project at the northwest corner of Interstates 30 and 430.
Will Anderson, the Bass Pro general manager in Little Rock, told Whispers he’s been getting questions about when the store will open “non-stop. Anytime we go out to eat. When I went to David’s Burgers today, I probably had six people to ask me, just because I’m wearing the shirt.”
For the uninitiated, Bass Pro Shops is an immersive experience, with most of the locations including full-service restaurants. The Little Rock Bass Pro won’t have a restaurant but it will have a fudge shop, Anderson said. A restaurant is a possibility “down the line as we get a little bit closer with some of the other development. The whole development here is about an eight- or 10-year project,” he said.
Anderson was mum, however, when it came to the “great lineup of special guests” Bass Pro is promising on its Facebook page for the grand opening. Bass Pro will announce those guests about two weeks before it opens. “The only thing I can say is it’s not ‘Duck Dynasty,’” he said. “That’s usually the first question everybody has, ‘Are you all going to have Duck Dynasty?’ As much as that would be a really cool thing.”
Bass Pro’s website offers a large assortment of goods tied to the popular reality TV series on A&E, including “Duck Dynasty® Stuffed Talking Character Heads - Willie Robertson” for $19.99 and the “Duck Dynasty® Redneck Wisdom Family Party Game,” also for $19.99. For those who can’t wait until November.
