ST. LOUIS — Buff City Soap, a Dallas-based retail franchisor known for its plant-based soap and body products made on site in its stores, is expanding its St. Louis-area footprint.
The local franchisee, Ozark Soaps LLC, is opening its third St. Louis-area store Thursday in Arnold and plans to open a fourth here in the fall.
Customers of Buff City Soap can watch the whole soap-making process in each of its "soap makeries." Each store carries over 30 customizable scents available in dozens of handcrafted soap products, such as soap bars, bath bombs, foaming hand soap and laundry soap, officials said. Customers can customize the scent and ingredients used in the products they purchase, then watch the store's "soap artisans" produce them.
Tennessee-based franchisee Ozark Soaps LLC, led by President Charli Gorman and locally by District Manager Jen Rice, opened its first St. Louis-area store in April in a 2,314-square-foot space at 1450 Beale St. in the Streets of St. Charles, with 10 employees. The franchisee's second local store, and the chain's 100th, opened May 20 in a 2,644-square-foot space at 1698 Clarkson Road in Chesterfield's Drew Station Shopping Center. Ten workers also were hired for the Chesterfield location, a spokeswoman said.
The Buff City Soap location opening Thursday, at 2263 Michigan Ave. in Arnold, is a 2,995-square-foot store with eight employees, according to the spokeswoman.
Ozark Soaps plans to open a fourth location in the St. Louis region this fall, with a Bluff City Soap store slated for 1050 S. Kirkwood Road, near Target in the Kirkwood Commons strip center, officials said.
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