Ozark Oak

[Smoke Daddy]

They were out of business, I thought. Did someone buy them and are just using the name? Amazon says they carry it; haven't seen any in stores..:confused:

[Smoking Piney]

As far as I know, they're defunct.

Maybe someone is selling off old bags on Amazon?

[Robert]

I live in Northwest Arkansas. The Ozark Oak charcoal plant is in Yelleville Arkansas, about 100 miles east of where I live. Rumor has it that Royal Oak bought the business and shut it down. Not an expert in Mergers and Acquisitions, but I would find that an odd move. The reason I say that is the growing popularity of cooking outdoor over charcoal, especially lump charcoal would seem to indicate an increase in demand.



I noticed the Ozark Oak brand start reappearing around January 2019 in the local Harp's, a regional, employee owned, grocery store Headquartered in Springdale, Arkansas, with about 100 stores in Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Kansas.


A quick Facebook search shows a page for Ozark Oak. A June 2017 post by a truck driver says he is picking up at the Royal Oak plant in Yelleville.


I assume Royal Oak brought the brand back due to demand. I have bought some of the new supply and think it is very close if not the same as the original. They now offer a choice of 10 or 20 pound bags. Never saw anything larger than a 10 pound bag prior to the Royal Oak purchase.





Robert

[1MoreFord]

I'm not sure Ozark Oak ever really shut down. It was sold and the brand disappeared but I was under the impression the plant was still producing, although perhaps at reduced capacity. Maybe renovating?

They also private labeled charcoal for others. I'm pretty sure the Hasty Bake brand coal was actually Ozark Oak. I actually got a bright red 20lb bag of some other brand from them once. I worked for a company that provided them with wood to power their boilers and we got free bags of seconds from time to time.

Royal Oak owning them would make a lot of sense because RO owns other plants in AR.

[frankenfab]

I called them last week. 870-427-5688. They answered the phone "Royal Oak".

I asked the guy about a bulk purchase, and he said they are doing the bagging at Oxley, which is kinda close to Mt. View. Royal Oak and Ozark Oak are the same charcoal. He gave me the guy in charge of Oxley operations' cell phone number, but I haven't followed up on it.