Lazaro Aleman
ECB Publishing, Inc.
Many local residents have probably noticed that the former Fred's building at 1150 N. Jefferson St. has been repainted and made ready for a new business to move in. Which business, according to word on the street, was to be a combination grocery store and pharmacy.
“That was the plan,” confirmed John Dobson on Monday, March 30, when ECB Publishing, Inc. reached him at his home in Winter Garden, Fla.
Dobson is listed on legal papers as the registered agent and organizer for ARS Monticello, the limited liability company behind the new business.
“I acquired the building for the group,” Dobson said. “We had every intention of putting in a pharmacy, although I'm not sure about the grocery part. Maybe a liquor store. But the plans are now on hold because of the coronavirus outbreak.”
Dobson said he hadn't talked to the group in about a month. And no, the business has no name as of yet.
When asked about the whereabouts of the group, Dobson said it was based in South Florida. Why then the Wyoming address attributed to the company in the incorporating documents?
“The Wyoming part is for protection and anonymity,” Dobson said.
He added that other for the purchase of the property, the group had no real solid plan for the building at present.
A Google search of the 2.07-acre parcel at 1150 N. Jefferson St. shows the commercial property is valued at $490,726 and sold for $375,000 in July 2019.
The building's former owner, Fred's Inc., was a retail store chain headquartered in Memphis, Tenn.
The company closed its Monticello discount general merchandise store in July 2019 (along with 129 other locations across the Southeast) as part of a restructuring effort to pay down its debt.
At the time, Fred's had a presence in 15 southeastern states and operated at 396 locations, of which 155 were pharmacies and the rest discount general merchandise stores.
Not long after the announced closure of the 129 locations, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September 2019 and liquidated its remaining assets over the next 60 days.
Fred's opened its first store in Mississippi in 1947. At its height, the company boasted 568 locations, including 169 full-service pharmacies.
Fred's downfall was reportedly set in motion in mid 2017, when its planned mega-merger with pharmacy giants Walgreens Boots Alliance and Rite Aid collapsed amid federal antitrust concerns.