Denver-based Snarf’s Sandwiches, which debuted in Colorado Springs two years ago on the city’s north side, will add a second location on the south end of town and join a growing mix of new businesses along the redeveloped South Nevada Avenue corridor.

The chain plans to remodel a familiar red-brick building at 1640 S. Nevada Ave., which for several decades had housed the Ivywild Pharmacy until it moved last fall to a new location at 311 S. Nevada. Snarf’s aims to open in the fourth quarter of this year, depending on the pace of construction and obtaining building permits, said spokeswoman Helen Wood.

Snarf’s expanded to the Springs in summer 2022 when it opened at 7495 N. Academy Blvd. in the Shops at Falcon Landing retail center.

Founder Jimmy Seidel said Tuesday that sales have been “doing great” at the North Academy location and he liked the demographics on the Springs’ south side; South Nevada runs from downtown on the north to older, established neighborhoods on the south.

Colorado Springs customers also have expressed interest in having a Snarf’s on the south end of town, Wood said.

The chain likes the idea of taking over the former pharmacy building, Seidel and Wood said. El Paso County land records show the building is 81 years old and was built in 1943.

The pharmacy took its name from the Springs’ historic Ivywild neighborhood, which took shape about 20 years after the city was founded in 1871 and covers an area south of downtown and west of Nevada Avenue.

“We think this is one of the coolest buildings in Colorado Springs,” Wood said of the former Ivywild Pharmacy.

The company embraces the chance to renovate old buildings, she added; Historic Denver, a nonprofit urban preservation organization, honored Snarf’s in 2018 for its renovation of a building that houses its location at 1490 S. Broadway in Denver.

“It adds so much character,” Wood said of remodeled spaces. “We love being a part of taking something that’s been closed for a really long time and needs some life brought into it. We love taking that and renovating that and bringing that back to life.”

Snarf’s plans to keep the red-brick exterior of the Ivywild Pharmacy building, while adding a large bay window on its north side, Seidel said. Metal work will be added to the building’s exterior to match what’s found on a retail building constructed just to the north, he said.

The building’s interior will be remodeled to accommodate indoor seating and carryout service, Seidel said. The building will not have a drive-thru, Wood said.

“We’ve taken over many shacks and gas stations and buildings that have been left to rot and revitalized them,” Seidel said. “This building doesn’t quite fit that. It’s been maintained very well.”

Seidel opened his first sandwich shop in Boulder in 1996; the chain now has more than 40 locations in Colorado, St. Louis and Austin, Texas, according to its website. Snarf’s could add at least one more location in Colorado Springs and might consider downtown, Seidel added.

Snarf’s specializes in oven-toasted sandwiches served with premium meats and cheeses on homemade bread, along with salads, soups, sides and desserts.

Though competition is fierce among sandwich chains, Snarf’s is confident in its food, Wood said.

“We think our food speaks for itself and we’re proud of the product we put out,” she said. “We choose to focus on serving the best sandwiches we can and not worry about the competition.”

Snarf’s expansion to South Nevada and its makeover of the Ivywild Pharmacy building will add to the corridor’s ongoing redevelopment efforts.

In 2015, the Colorado Springs City Council designated about 100 acres on the east and west sides of  Nevada — about 1½ miles south of downtown — as an urban renewal site. The goal was to clean up an area dominated by used car lots, pawn shops and 1950s-era motels.

Since then, large swaths of buildings have been torn down along Nevada’s west side, south of Interstate 25. They’ve been replaced by new restaurants, stores and service-oriented businesses that include Sprouts Farmers Market, Natural Grocers, Chick-fil-A, Five Guys Burgers & Fries, Parry’s Sliceria & Taps, Smashburger and Tokyo Joe’s.

Public improvements such as wider sidewalks, road and traffic signal enhancements and utility upgrades also are part of the South Nevada redevelopment project.

Creekwalk, a 52,000-square-foot retail center, also has opened northwest of Nevada and Cheyenne Road and anchors South Nevada’s redevelopment. It includes Fuzzy’s Tacos, Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop, Crumbl Cookies, Mod Pizza, apparel store Lululemon and the newly opened Marigold & Go, a quick-serve version of the locally owned Marigold Café & Bakery restaurant.

The shopping center’s namesake amenity features a reclaimed portion of Cheyenne Creek that was rebuilt and landscaped with trees, grassy areas and decorative rocks and boulders; a sidewalk allows shoppers and visitors to stroll along the creek and enjoy refurbished kinetic sculptures designed by renowned local artist Starr Kempf.

Creekwalk developer Danny Mientka of Colorado Springs said Snarf’s addition underscores the progress being made along the corridor. Mientka has helped spearhead South Nevada’s redevelopment, though he doesn’t own the Ivywild Pharmacy building where Snarf’s will locate.

“It’s an affirmation of what we expect to happen as more and more redevelopment activity occurs,” Mientka said. “To have Snarf’s coming down, they’re unique, it’s sort of that creative sandwich and I think it’s a real positive sign that they’re going to commit to this corridor. Incrementally, all of these additions will help pave the way for even more change and more market-driven retail and restaurant opportunities for this area.”