Arrow Wine & Spirits sets opening date for its 3rd store

New 15,000-square-foot shop will serve the Mason area starting May 20

Credit: Arrow Wine & Spirits

Credit: Arrow Wine & Spirits

***UPDATE (May 6, 2020)***

Arrow Wine & Spirits, a Dayton-based and family-owned business that traces its roots to 1934, is poised to open its third southwest Ohio store two weeks from today, on May 20.

Mif Frank — who along with his cousin, Beth Freyvogel, is the co-founder of the new store — said the Arrow Wine & Spirits location at 6061 Radio Way in Mason “will provide Ohio’s largest selection of wine, beer and liquor, with price ranges to appeal to all consumers, all at state-minimum pricing.”

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“Our inventory will be continuously evolving as we search out the latest and greatest products in the beverage industry,” Frank said.

At its peak, the new store will employ 20 to 25 full- and part-time employees, Frank said.

“As third-generation owners of Arrow Wine, Beth and I have always wanted to expand, and the Mason/West Chester area has always been on our radar,” Frank said. “Being a small, family-owned business, we enjoy seeing our employees grow. The new location has enabled us to promote from within, as well as offer employment opportunities to residents of the area.”

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Frank, who oversees Arrow’s store on Far Hills Avenue at Dorothy Lane in Kettering, is the grandson of one of the three Frank brothers who founded the company 86 years ago. Freyvogel, who oversees Arrow’s Lyons Road store in Washington Twp., is the granddaughter of one of the founders.

Arrow Wine & Spirits got its start in the Arcade in downtown Dayton in 1934, a year after Prohibition was lifted, when Malcolm, Irving and Sanford Frank launched a liquor delivery service that evolved into Arrow Wine & Spirits.

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The young brothers — Malcolm was the oldest, at 23 — combined their $15 in savings and two cars to set up the delivery service. The Frank brothers called their service “Arrow” to assure customers they were fast and accurate. They subsequently moved across the street from the Arcade to 39 S. Ludlow St. to set up their own beer and wine shop.

At one time, Arrow operated six stores throughout the region, including on Salem Avenue near Grand Avenue in Dayton, in Page Manor in Riverside, and in Breitenstrater Square in south Dayton.

***UPDATE (Aug. 26, 2019)***

Arrow Wine & Spirits has started construction on its third state-agency liquor store in southwest Ohio, and will host a ceremonial ground-breaking next week.

The 15,000-square-foot Arrow Wine Spirits will be constructed on Radio Way at Tylersville Road in Mason. The new store will sell beer, wine, spirits and cigars, and will employ 25 to 30.

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If all goes well, the new store is projected to open in March 2020.

“We have eyed expansion for several years now, with our eyes primarily on the Columbus and Cincinnati markets,” Arrow co-owner Mif Frank, grandson of one of the three Frank brothers who founded the company 84 years ago, told this news outlet in July 2018, when the project was first approved by the Ohio Division of Liquor Control. “We decided on the Mason area because of the proximity to our Centerville and Kettering locations, and because the Mason-West Chester area is one of the fastest-growing regions in Ohio.”

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Arrow Wine & Spirits got its start in the Arcade in downtown Dayton in 1934, a year after Prohibition was lifted, when three Frank brothers — Malcolm, Irving and Sanford — launched a liquor delivery service that became Arrow Wine & Spirits. The young brothers — Malcolm was the oldest, at 23 — combined their $15 in savings and two cars to set up the delivery service. The Frank brothers called their service Arrow to assure customers they were fast and accurate. They subsequently moved across the street to 39 S. Ludlow St. to set up their own beer and wine shop.

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At one time, Arrow operated six stores throughout the region, including on Salem Avenue near Grand Avenue in Dayton, in Page Manor in Riverside, and in Breitenstrater Square in Dayton.

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Bunnell Hill Construction, a division of the Schueler Group, is building the new Arrow location. A ceremonial ground-breaking that had been scheduled for this Tuesday, Aug. 27, was postponed a week due to inclement weather, and is now scheduled for Sept. 3.

***PREVIOUS STORY (July 3, 2018)***

Arrow Wine & Spirits, a Dayton-based, family-owned business that traces its roots to 1934, is headed south to add its third beer, wine and liquor store.

A spokeswoman for the Ohio Division of Liquor Control has confirmed to this news outlet that Arrow Wine & Spirits has been awarded the contract to open a state-agency liquor store at 6109 Radio Way in Mason. The store will be new construction.

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“We have eyed expansion for several years now with our eyes primarily on the Columbus and Cincinnati markets,” said Arrow co-owner Mif Frank, grandson of one of the three Frank brothers who founded the company 84 years ago. “We decided on the Mason area because of the proximity to our Centerville and Kettering locations, and because the Mason-West Chester area is one of the fastest-growing regions in Ohio.”

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Frank said the new store will be 15,000 to 20,000 square feet.

“Our plans are to make this location big enough to provide the largest selection of wine, beer, and spirits, as well as all of the other products we offer, in Ohio,” he said.

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The goal is to open the store in early 2019. “We will work closely with The Ohio Division of Liquor Control to meet all of their requirements and to make sure that we are ‘Arrow Ready,’ Frank said.

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Each existing Arrow store employs 25 to 30, with additional seasonal help during November and December. Frank said he expects the Mason store to create an equivalent number of new jobs.

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Arrow was a pioneer in southwest Ohio in hosting drop-in wine tastings, which it launched in 1975. The new Mason store will offer weekly wine and beer tastings as well as special events, Frank said.

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Arrow got its start in the Arcade in downtown Dayton in 1934, a year after Prohibition was lifted, when three Frank brothers — Malcolm, Irving and Sanford — launched a liquor delivery service that became Arrow Wine & Spirits. The young brothers — Malcolm was the oldest, at 23 — combined their $15 in savings and two cars to set up the delivery service. The Frank brothers called their service Arrow to assure customers they were fast and accurate. They subsequently moved across the street to 39 S. Ludlow St. to set up their own beer and wine shop.

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At one time, Arrow operated six stores throughout the region, including on Salem Avenue near Grand Avenue in Dayton, in Page Manor in Riverside, and in Breitenstrater Square in Dayton.

Arrow’s Lyons Road store in Washington Twp. near Centerville was among the first “agency” stores to start selling liquor after state officials did away with “state stores” in the early 1990s. The Arrow store on Far Hills Avenue in Kettering followed soon thereafter.

The new Mason store is part of an effort by the Ohio Division of Liquor Control to expand and enhance sales in Ohio, which helps fund economic-development efforts across the state. The state is still considering bids on another proposed location in south Centerville, a spokeswoman for the division of liquor control said. And no final decision has been made regarding a proposed Piqua location, she said.

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