Tubby’s Turnaround, a legacy Manitou Springs corner store beloved by generations of residents and visitors, is under new ownership.

The Manitou Springs Penny Arcade has purchased Tubby’s, the downtown businesses announced last week in a joint news release with the nonprofit Catalyst Fund for Manitou.

The store, on the west end of the town’s main thoroughfare at 1106 Manitou Ave., has temporarily closed while it undergoes a “refresh” before a planned reopening in mid-June, new owner John Weiss said.

“The sale marks the close of a storied chapter led by Clara and Norma Robb, whose warmth, dedication and steady presence behind the counter helped define what Tubby’s has meant to Manitou,” the release said. “For decades, Clara and Norma welcomed neighbors and visitors with the kind of personal care that turned a quick stop into a familiar one and turned strangers into regulars.”

The arcade hopes to retain Tubby’s three employees, officials said. Tubby’s will be overseen by interim manager Michelle Whetherhult, who recently completed a four-year term as a Manitou Springs city councilmember and has two decades of experience in the grocery business.

The 1,288-square-foot, one-story building was built in 1967, El Paso County property records show. Over the decades, it has functioned as an auto shop, a grocery store and a convenience store.

The sisters owned and operated the store for more than 40 years, beginning in the mid-1980s, offering their community a place to pick up a snack, quick drink or have a friendly conversation. Clara Robb was better known and addressed by many locals as “Mom.”

After Norma Robb sold the accounting business she owned and operated as well, the sisters decided it was time for another change and a new adventure. Together, they sold Tubby’s.

Weiss was interested in purchasing the beloved corner store to preserve it for future generations, just like when he purchased another cherished landmark Manitou business, the Penny Arcade, about a year ago.

A former newspaperman who in 1993 co-founded the Colorado Springs Independent, an alt-weekly publication, Weiss also recently founded the Catalyst Fund, which provides low-cost financing and free consulting services to “community-minded” entrepreneurs who want to purchase legacy businesses from the founders who are seeking to sell them to the next generation.

The fund assisted with the Penny Arcade’s purchase of Tubby’s as well as with the April 2 sale of Poor Richard’s, a book and gift store, toy store, restaurant and wine bar in downtown Colorado Springs. Longtime owners Richard Skorman, its founder, and his wife and business partner Patricia Seator sold their business to couple Joe Cole and Sarah Gibeau-Cole after running it for 51 years.

Manitou Springs is also a so-called food desert, with few grocery shopping options in easy reach, Weiss said. His long-term goal is to transform Tubby’s into a community food hub of sorts, such as a larger grocery store or a food co-op that can serve the city’s residents and visitors.

But its future hasn’t yet been wholly decided. He and his staff are currently conducting a “listening tour” to gather feedback from locals about what they want from the store.

Meanwhile, the building is undergoing extensive renovations to make it more energy-efficient and to broaden the shopping experience. It will have a new checkout area and more shelving, said Carrie Perkins of the Catalyst Fund.

Crews have also removed facings on the building’s two existing garage doors to provide more natural light and allow for open markets, she added.

Tubby’s and the Penny Arcade will jointly host a food tasting on June 13, its target reopening date. Patrons can taste offerings from various vendors and provide feedback on what products they’d like to see available at Tubby’s and the soon-to-be-reopened Snack Shack at the arcade.

“We’re bringing Manitoids (Manitou residents) along the journey with us, … hearing what people want so we can build around that, so it’s not just our vision (reflected) — it’s what Manitou wants and needs,” Perkins said.