Date:  June 2, 2024  |   Story: Rebekah Hall Scott  |   Art Direction: Bailey Dougan  |  

Onyx Coffee Lab Headquarters, also known as the Dollar Saver building

From its proud position in downtown Rogers, the rambling building at 101 E. Walnut St. has long served as a bustling center of trade for the community. Built in 1907 by John Mylar, the large structure features pressed red brick, limestone headers, and two large skylights. It originally housed Rogers Wholesale Grocery, with office space in the front and a large warehouse on the north end. At the time, trains delivered all merchandise to loading docks on the east and west sides.

Since then, the building has been home to Rogers Light and Water, Griffin Wholesale Grocery, Outlet Salvage, and the Dollar Saver, whose faded emblem still remains atop the entrance. This history—and the building’s sprawling size—appealed to Onyx Coffee Lab, who purchased the site in 2018 to serve as their headquarters.

“We needed about 20,000 square feet, which is quite large,” says Jon Allen, owner of the Arkansas-based coffee brand. He was also looking for a space with a large basement that could accommodate storing green coffee prior to roasting. During renovations, Jon and his team unearthed a few local “treasures,” including old door hardware and handles that they reappropriated, as well as tickets from a boxing ring once located in the Opera House building down the street. Jon decided to keep the Dollar Saver sign as a nod to the building’s history, of which they’re proud to be a part. “Being in the heart of downtown feels really important to us,” he says. “It’s a sort of third gathering place—we joke about it and say, Come loiter here. I think there’s something fun about its history as a trading post and a community gathering spot. Whatever the modern equivalent of that is, that’s what we’re hoping to create here.”

Illustration by Bailey Dougan