Pocahontas Selected For State Program to Recruit Retailers, Restaurants

POCAHONTAS, Ark. — Pocahontas has been selected for a state program designed to help communities recruit retail stores and restaurants, giving the Randolph County community new research and training to support its business recruitment efforts.

The Arkansas Economic Development Commission announced Oct. 6 that Pocahontas is one of six communities chosen for the 2026-27 Retail Academy. The other participants are El Dorado, Hamburg, Helena-West Helena, Sheridan and Texarkana.

Ann Savage, executive director of the Randolph County Chamber of Commerce, said the selection will help Pocahontas strengthen its retail recruitment efforts and prepare for future growth.

“We are honored that Pocahontas has been selected as one of six Arkansas communities to participate in the Retail Academy program,” Savage said in the announcement. “This opportunity will give us valuable tools, market research, and professional guidance to strengthen our retail recruitment efforts and better position Pocahontas for future growth.”

Savage said the chamber looks forward to working with AEDC and Retail Strategies over the coming year to identify opportunities, build relationships with prospective retailers and restaurants, and showcase Pocahontas and Randolph County as places to invest and do business.

The academy provides rural communities with online education, market research and technical assistance to help local leaders recruit and support retail and restaurant businesses.

Participating communities will receive customized training, peer analysis, demographic overviews, a retail marketing guide, networking opportunities and access to online courses.

Retail Strategies, a Birmingham, Alabama-based municipal consulting firm focused on retail recruitment and downtown revitalization, developed the program. AEDC’s Community Development Division will administer it.

Clint O’Neal, AEDC’s executive director, said retail recruitment is an important part of community development and that the academy gives communities resources and training to expand their retail base.

Retail Strategies President Lacy Beasley said the first two cohorts produced nine new retail and restaurant openings and more than $1.5 million annually in new state sales tax revenue. Those figures reflect previous participants, rather than businesses announced for Pocahontas.

Beasley said a workshop for the new cohort is planned in Conway in November. According to the announcement, the program began Sept. 22, 2026, and runs through September 2027.

The announcement identifies training and recruitment support for Pocahontas; it does not name any new stores or restaurants coming to the city.