From Capitol Hill to Country Living

One couple’s choice to trade Washington, D.C. careers for the opportunity to run the historic Oark General Store and restaurant and, perhaps most importantly, raise their family in rural Arkansas.

Nestled in the heart of the Ozarks is a place where time seems to turn a little slower.

The Oark General Store opened in 1890 and has since become a destination for visitors from across the world. The store started as a grocery stop for a town with limited resources, but has evolved into a spot for those who want to step back in time to enjoy a burger and a slice of pie.

What may be more surprising than the store itself and its 131-year tenure is its owners, Brian and Reagan Eisele.

Brian and Reagan Eisele

Lindsey Holtzclaw | Farm Credit of Western Arkansas

The Eiseles are the opposite of what you might expect for typical restaurant owners, especially in a town with a population of less than 100. Brian and Reagan met while both working on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Brian served as a military legislative assistant for a South Carolina congressman and Reagan was working as a legislative assistant for Senator John Boozman of Arkansas. Neither had experience in the restaurant industry or small business ownership.

The couple fell in love and soon began talking about their future together. While they both enjoyed the six years spent in D.C., neither wanted to raise a family in the hustle and bustle of the city. Knowing small towns have little need for legislative consultants, the two began looking at business opportunities near their hometowns – Brian from rural South Carolina and Reagan from Johnson County, Arkansas. Being the sixth generation raised in Johnson County, Reagan remembers visiting the Oark General Store as a child.

The Oark General Store sits off picturesque Arkansas 215 and is open Wednesday-Monday from 8 am to 4 pm.

Lindsey Holtzclaw | Farm Credit of Western Arkansas

Pies and burgers are two of the most requested items from the menu.

Lindsey Holtzclaw | Farm Credit of Western Arkansas

“The store wasn’t like it is now, but I grew up trailing our horses and riding four-wheelers up there to get a candy bar and coke,” she said. “I didn’t visit the store much when I was older, but it’s a cool place to take out-of-towners. So, when Brian came to meet my family when we were dating, that was something we did.”

Fast forward and the couple became engaged and were in the middle of wedding planning when Reagan’s brothers told her the Oark General Store was for sale.

“I jokingly said to Brian, ‘We could buy that little café we visited and live in the Ozarks.’” Reagan remembers.

To her surprise, Brian jumped at the idea.

The couple married in April 2012 and three weeks later, Reagan was signing closing papers on the store as Brian was busy moving his belongings from South Carolina to Arkansas.

The historic nature of the Oark General Store is one of its main attractions. The store still has the original 1890 floors, ceiling and walls.

Lindsey Holtzclaw | Farm Credit of Western Arkansas

A young couple buying the store with zero experience was met with skepticism from the locals, but also a lot of support. Brian said many of the locals consider it to be their store, identifying the store as big of a part of the community as the school.

In the beginning, the couple kept the store the same as its previous owners, choosing to sit back and observe what worked and what didn’t. Almost 10 years later, the store is still true to its historic roots, but the couple has implemented a few changes to help it run more efficiently.

“It’s about survivability,” Brian said. “I know many people want it to stay exactly the same, but I would rather make a few small changes to help the store last 131 more years rather than be resistant to change and cause it to dissolve.”

Like most restaurants and small businesses around the country, the Oark General Store struggled when the pandemic hit Arkansas in early 2020. Suddenly, the Eiseles were faced with capacity and dining restrictions, leaving them unable to accommodate any customers in addition to their staff inside the small store.

Brian quickly realized in order to survive, change was inevitable.

With the help of locals, they swiftly built an outdoor seating pavilion and transitioned to taking orders from a window with servers bringing the food outside.

“Brian was an absolute trooper when it came to finding ways to pivot to keep the store running,” Reagan said. “If something like the pandemic had happened in the early years, it probably would have been really bad, but having the confidence of almost 10 years’ experience at that point made us realize we can make it through.

“While a lot of places were struggling, our business was completely steady which was a huge blessing. So much was unknown, but people kept coming because they had a place to go where it was comfortable,” she added.

Although indoor dining is back in full swing, some of the changes can still be seen in the store. Outdoor seating is a popular choice and the traffic flow inside the building has been streamlined. Visitors place their order in front (often with Brian) and find a seat before their food is served.

Brian is a natural at serving and interacting with visitors at the Oark General Store. Reagan jokes that he can almost guess what customers will order before they say a word.

Lindsey Holtzclaw | Farm Credit of Western Arkansas

“We found the new workflow works really well for us,” Brian said. “Now the front of the house shares tips with the back. Waitresses and kitchen staff all come together. We’re a team.”

Brian and Reagan are an essential part of the team atmosphere among the Oark General Store staff. While they are the owners, they’re also handson in the day-to-day duties of the store. Walk in the store during business hours and you’ll find the Eiseles stocking shelves, taking orders, answering the phone, flipping burgers or baking pies.

While the Oark General store has grown into primarily a restaurant, they still offer basic grocery items, fuel and tobacco.

Lindsey Holtzclaw | Farm Credit of Western Arkansas

“We can do anything at the store. We just can’t do everything ourselves,” Brian said, sharing his gratitude for the eight employees who help the store run like a well-oiled machine.

The couple has also learned to identify each other’s strengths as they have grown together as business owners.

“I think what I’m most proud of is not going under,” Reagan said with a laugh. “We literally mortgaged the farm to finance the store. Brian’s parents helped us with the down payment and my parents had to cosign the loan. Failure was not an option.”

Reagan said they originally underestimated the amount of work they were taking on when purchasing the store, but after years of pressure and hustling together, they’ve reached a sweet spot where they’re more comfortable in their roles as store owners.

Lindsey Holtzclaw | Farm Credit of Western Arkansas

“When it comes to working as husband and wife, we don’t know any better. We were married in April and then three weeks later bought the store, so this is it for us,” Reagan said. “We did make a decision early on if owning the store ever got to the point where we were deciding to throw in the towel on our marriage, we would sell the store first. We were not going to let it split our family up. Fortunately, we’ve never come close to that.”

“This is our livelihood,” Brian added. “Work doesn’t just stop when the sign says closed. We’ll do business some nights at the kitchen table.”

While their lives and careers in Oark are starkly different than their time spent in the city, the couple has translated skills from their former political careers into their roles today.

“People are people. They want someone to listen to them and feel like they care about what they have to say,” Reagan said. “That translates whether someone is calling to complain about legislation they don’t like or if they’re wanting to tell you a story about how their grandpa grew up in Oark.

“Whether you’re in D.C. in a fancy setting, or you’re just sitting in the store talking to an old-timer – learning how to interact with people to make it meaningful has been useful. We definitely learned how to do that in D.C. and coming back here, it’s an absolute pleasure. We're lucky we have the luxury to sit down and visit every once in a while.”

It’s not just locals who the couple interact with at the store, however. The Oark General Store has over 1,000 visitors a week, traveling from various states and oftentimes, different countries.

As you wrap up your visit at the store and head to the counter to pay, you’ll notice a notebook lined with signatures and notes from visitors. Upon quick glance, locations like Italy, New Zealand, Ecuador and Peru stick out. Brian said he has five books filled with visitors from the past 10 years. His furthest visitor hailing from Reunion Island, a French island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar.

Brian credits much of their international traffic to their listing on the TransAmerica Trail (a map detailing a trip from the east to west coast of the United States, only taking dirt roads and two-lane highways).

The Eiseles have 5 books complete with signatures of visitors from across the globe.

Lindsey Holtzclaw | Farm Credit of Western Arkansas

Brian points to one of the many stickers lining the windows of the Oark General Store, telling the story of its visitors from the TransAmerica Trail and other outdoors groups.

Lindsey Holtzclaw | Farm Credit of Western Arkansas

“10 years ago, having one group from something like the TransAmerica Trail would have made my week. Now we get three to five every weekend,” Brian said.

The store also attracts traffic from outdoors groups looking for off-roading and ATV trails and those sightseeing through the Ozarks. Reagan adds that the historic significance of the building and its listing on the Arkansas Register of Historic Places is a draw for crowds as well.

“Little country stores like this, they just don’t exist anymore. It’s really hard to recreate and find,” she said. “On top of that, you have such a beautiful drive to get here. It’s not convenient, but when you have some extra time, it’s an adventure. I think the store is awesome and the drive to get here is equally awesome.”

The sights, sounds and experiences in the Ozarks are ultimately what led the Eiseles to put down roots in rural Arkansas and led them to their relationship with Farm Credit.

“I had a wonderful childhood and Brian did too, but the closer we got to talking about marriage and having children, I think he was a little envious of how I was raised and the freedom to go outside and do things the way little country kids can,” Reagan said. “We wanted to be able to raise our kids like that.”

When property bordering her parents’ farm in Johnson County became available, the Eiseles reached out to Farm Credit for financing.

“A traditional banker couldn’t do the acreage with the home,” Brian said. “Additionally, I was looking for long-term fixed rates and Farm Credit was able to make it happen.”

Unlike most traditional lenders, Farm Credit can finance country homes and land together in one loan, regardless of the amount of land attached to the home. Banks often limit the amount of land financed with a home to ensure the home value constitutes the majority of the loan amount.

Long-term fixed interest rates for both the home and land, in addition to Patronage Cash earned on home loans, can mean significant savings for rural homebuyers.

Like many small towns where everyone is connected, Oark and Ozark are no exception. Farm Credit Ozark Vice President Tom White grew up in Ozark and knew Reagan’s dad which led the Eiseles to reach out to Farm Credit.

Tom has many stories detailing his life growing up in Franklin and Johnson Counties and knows just how important the Oark General Store is to the community.

“The Eiseles have done an outstanding job of cleaning up the store and helping it run smoothly without losing any of its historic charm,” he said. “It’s been a pleasure to serve them through their home and land financing and to watch them succeed in their business.”

Lindsey Holtzclaw | Farm Credit of Western Arkansas

Brian said local service is a big part of the appeal of working with Tom and the Farm Credit Ozark team. All loans, including home loans, remain with Farm Credit, locally.

“I love that I know who I will talk to every time instead of getting kicked off to a call center,” he added.

The dreams the Eiseles had of their children growing up and enjoying rural Arkansas are now a reality for their three children –daughter CJ (age 6) and sons Pace (age 4) and Barrett (age 2). Both Brian and Reagan said they don’t take for granted the quality of life their family has living in the Ozarks.

“I love how wonderful the community is in Oark and where we live in southern Johnson County. I feel like my kids have a wonderful group of people they know when it comes to friends and having family close,” Reagan said. “When they visit their cousins in bigger cities, it blows my mind how much freedom our kids have comparably. I can sit on the porch and watch my kids ride their side-by-side in the field in front of me as I control it from my phone to make sure they’re not going too fast. They have so much room to roam.”

Brian is equally grateful for the lives they lead, recognizing others are envious of their slower-paced lifestyle.

“In the 10 years since we purchased the store, vacation rentals and cabins have started surrounding the area,” he said. “On any normal Saturday, we’ll have people from large cities out-of-state asking if we know of any property for sale in the area.

“You can be busy and have all these investments and wealth, but what’s it worth if you can only enjoy it one week out of the year? Living here has made me realize I don’t need to go anywhere else. I’m already in vacationland.”

Lindsey Holtzclaw | Farm Credit of Western Arkansas