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Restaurant Development in NW Arkansas


mcheiss

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They are still putting a Starbucks around Mission and Crossover right?

I have not heard if that development is moving forward or not. It was proposed as an end cap on a strip center, I believe. I haven't seen plans, lease proposals, etc. nor have I seen any dirt moving. You never know until it actually gets started.

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Thanks for the thorough review. The sad thing is that when this place doesn't make it, the conclusion of many will be that we don't want an Indian restaurant here. That is not the case--we just want a decent one!

M

Just returned from our 3rd trip to India Corner. Must say that I am DESPARATE for Indian food. We time our trips through LR to have lunch on Dinner at star of india. India Palace had an OK buffet. Very nice Matter Paneer, OK Tikka Masala and ok Aloo Gobi. Tandoori chicken was rather bland. The other dishes don't have the depth of flavor we look for, but were well cooked and definitely worth eating.

Just last night we returned and found no buffet but a menu!! Most vegetarian dishes in the $9-10 range and the chicken dishes $11-14. A little high, but not bad. We ordered Tikka Masals, Chicken Korma, Aloo Gobi, and Saag Paneer, Naan and Raita. Servings were a bit smaller than aniticipated. We had hoped the flavors to be more robust when doing single items as compared to the buffet. However, the food tasted the same. Tasty, but rather average. Flavors were under saturated, Sauces were thin and the vegetables tasted canned. We'll go back, but hope to find a more robust Indian flavor and a nicer venue....

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They will be going in Har-Ber, near the Harps and Buffalo WW. You are correct.

Starbucks will not be opening any new Northwest Arkansas stores for a while. They are slowing their growth in smaller markets to a screeching halt.

US Beef is the franchior for Arby's and Taco Bueno. You will be getting more Mexican food at Har-Ber...

Yeah I think Starbucks has realized it's spread itself thin and wants to really slow down growth so that they can work on improving current locations. A bit off topic but I've noticed Taco Bueno really seems to be growing. For a long time they were just in Texas and Oklahoma. Not only have they pushed into NWA but other states. I saw them out in Albuquerque as well which surprised me a bit.

Just returned from our 3rd trip to India Corner. Must say that I am DESPARATE for Indian food. We time our trips through LR to have lunch on Dinner at star of india. India Palace had an OK buffet. Very nice Matter Paneer, OK Tikka Masala and ok Aloo Gobi. Tandoori chicken was rather bland. The other dishes don't have the depth of flavor we look for, but were well cooked and definitely worth eating.

Just last night we returned and found no buffet but a menu!! Most vegetarian dishes in the $9-10 range and the chicken dishes $11-14. A little high, but not bad. We ordered Tikka Masals, Chicken Korma, Aloo Gobi, and Saag Paneer, Naan and Raita. Servings were a bit smaller than aniticipated. We had hoped the flavors to be more robust when doing single items as compared to the buffet. However, the food tasted the same. Tasty, but rather average. Flavors were under saturated, Sauces were thin and the vegetables tasted canned. We'll go back, but hope to find a more robust Indian flavor and a nicer venue....

Welcome to the forum. Yeah I'm not sure what it's going to take to get more of a push for Indian food here in NWA. Overall it just seems to me that most metros our size offer a little more than what we have to offer. Hopefully that's going to change, but I'm just not sure when.

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Welcome to the forum. Yeah I'm not sure what it's going to take to get more of a push for Indian food here in NWA. Overall it just seems to me that most metros our size offer a little more than what we have to offer. Hopefully that's going to change, but I'm just not sure when.

I agree that Indian food will hopefully be in the area soon, but feel that the overall quality and quantity of good eateries in the NWA area is excellent for the size.

At least 6 Thai restaurants within a 10 minute drive is wild - Love ESAN and Taste of Thai. Several sushi options, Local pasta options like Pesto Cafe and Noodles. Mediteranean with Emilia's Kitchen. Upscale dining with Theo's, Soul (I do miss Chloe's), Bordino's. Great local food with Greenhouse grill, LIttle sandwich shop, Common grounds....

Not to mention the very nice Sanctuary up in Bentonville. Our favorite place for anniversaries.

My most missed restaurant is La Maision de Tarte. They had the best brunch in the area by a long shot. Hopefully Vince will find a new place to cook.

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I caught a commercial this morning for a restaurant called Fusion 5 on Joyce here in Fayetteville. Anyone familiar with it or been by there? From what I can tell from the commercial looked like it might be something a bit like Shogun.

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I caught a commercial this morning for a restaurant called Fusion 5 on Joyce here in Fayetteville. Anyone familiar with it or been by there? From what I can tell from the commercial looked like it might be something a bit like Shogun.

It is the old Shogun and I am pretty sure that it is still owned by them. I noticed that they had changed the name recently. I think that they were going to expand the sushi area and get rid of some of the grills.

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The Gypsy on Dickson will close its door after this weekend I believe and a new remodeled bar will be opening up in its place in June. The new bar will be called Froggy's and it will feature wings and pizza. It will also have 4 bars and attract national, regional, and local bands. Sounds pretty nice.

They have a website but it is pretty simple now.

www.clubfroggys.com

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It is the old Shogun and I am pretty sure that it is still owned by them. I noticed that they had changed the name recently. I think that they were going to expand the sushi area and get rid of some of the grills.

Interesting, I guess I never have been by the old Shogun location once the new one opened up. If they expand the sushi section maybe I'll have to stop by there sometime. Anyway thanks for the info.

The Gypsy on Dickson will close its door after this weekend I believe and a new remodeled bar will be opening up in its place in June. The new bar will be called Froggy's and it will feature wings and pizza. It will also have 4 bars and attract national, regional, and local bands. Sounds pretty nice.

They have a website but it is pretty simple now.

www.clubfroggys.com

I was thinking that I had heard that the Gypsy might be closing sometime. Is it my imagination or does that section of Dickson seem to change quite a bit? Granted I'm talking about in the last 5 years or so. But it seems like quite a few of those locations along that stretch have changed. I tried setting up the link here.

http://www.clubfroggys.com/

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The owner of Froggy's is a subject with the last name Hall. He is a Hallmark family member out of Kansas City. I was advised that the owner of the location as well as other addresses on Dickson Street raised the rent and the Gypsy went out (the owner is Tom Pearson of Pearson Law Firm). One of the previous owners of the Gypsy is remodeling the old Dart Room at this time.

Also, I saw that the old location of My Pleasure at Sycamore and College is now called Cheers. It appears a new bar is about to open there.

Interesting, I guess I never have been by the old Shogun location once the new one opened up. If they expand the sushi section maybe I'll have to stop by there sometime. Anyway thanks for the info.

I was thinking that I had heard that the Gypsy might be closing sometime. Is it my imagination or does that section of Dickson seem to change quite a bit? Granted I'm talking about in the last 5 years or so. But it seems like quite a few of those locations along that stretch have changed. I tried setting up the link here.

http://www.clubfroggys.com/

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The owner of Froggy's is a subject with the last name Hall. He is a Hallmark family member out of Kansas City. I was advised that the owner of the location as well as other addresses on Dickson Street raised the rent and the Gypsy went out (the owner is Tom Pearson of Pearson Law Firm). One of the previous owners of the Gypsy is remodeling the old Dart Room at this time.

Also, I saw that the old location of My Pleasure at Sycamore and College is now called Cheers. It appears a new bar is about to open there.

Good point. Yeah I have heard that rent is pretty steep around there. That row I was mentioning is just across the street from the WAC.

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The owner of Froggy's is a subject with the last name Hall. He is a Hallmark family member out of Kansas City. I was advised that the owner of the location as well as other addresses on Dickson Street raised the rent and the Gypsy went out (the owner is Tom Pearson of Pearson Law Firm). One of the previous owners of the Gypsy is remodeling the old Dart Room at this time.

Also, I saw that the old location of My Pleasure at Sycamore and College is now called Cheers. It appears a new bar is about to open there.

That "Cheers" sign is not much better than the old "'Lil Daddy's Hip Hop Place" sign that used to be on that building. Based on the sign, I doubt it will be a place I would ever go into.

The new Foghorn's over by the U of A baseball stadium is open. It's pretty nice in there if you like sports bars and the food is really decent, too.

I am still wondering what's going in the Lin's/Gonzales spot on College? The building is being completely redone.

M

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The owner of Froggy's is a subject with the last name Hall. He is a Hallmark family member out of Kansas City. I was advised that the owner of the location as well as other addresses on Dickson Street raised the rent and the Gypsy went out (the owner is Tom Pearson of Pearson Law Firm). One of the previous owners of the Gypsy is remodeling the old Dart Room at this time.

Also, I saw that the old location of My Pleasure at Sycamore and College is now called Cheers. It appears a new bar is about to open there.

College Avenue could really become an entertainment district of its own if the city focused some energy on creating that atmosphere.

Gypsy moving to Dart Room. Green Room (door?) in Evelyn Hills, Foghorns, Cool Water (even though its under renovation)

In general, between Township and North, there are many places to get a drink or hear a band.

I notice lots of college kids driving over to eat at Slim Chickens. Do they sell beer?

The first signs I saw of this transformation taking place was a few summers ago when I noticed kids would park at the Old Malco parking lot and walk up to the (formerly?) Clunk to see bands. There would be lots of teenage to college age kids just walking up and down College Avenue on weekends. If there was a coherent pedestrian environment on North College Ave, I could really see this area becoming a different sort of entertainment area for the city.

Since retail and restaurants don't seem to work too well along this stretch, an entertainment district might be the next best option.

Its my hood, and I don't necessarily WANT an entertainment district in MBY, but I see some natural synergies there, and think the city should capitalize on it.

The same synergies don't exist on Sixth St, for example, or really anywhere else in town.

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Fusion 5 is owned by the Shogun people. When I tried to call Shogun I got Fusion 5. They had kept the old Shogun number.

Allen

Thanks for the info Allen, and welcome to the forum. :D

I understand the old Coolwater on College in Fayetteville will be reopened as a new steak and chophouse restaurant with an all new interior and new ownership very soon.

M

Good to hear something else is going into that location. When it was open as Coolwater wasn't that the largest restaurant in Fayetteville?

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I understand the old Coolwater on College in Fayetteville will be reopened as a new steak and chophouse restaurant with an all new interior and new ownership very soon.

M

It would be cool if they could figure out a way to make deliveries on the other side of the rear, and open up the back for a patio on that creek that runs behind it.

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Johnny Brusco's is open. Had a pretty decent sub there.

Yeah.... I dropped by a couple days ago and ordered a couple of slices to go. Took me a while to get them (around 10 minutes) -- but I thought it was some of the most authentic New York style pizza I've found in NWA. I was really surprised considering it's a chain/franchise operation. If you've ever been to NYC and been to any of the "Ray's" or "Ray's Best" pizza chains... pretty close to that style.

Of course, I only had 2 slices of mushroom and sausage to go, so I certainly haven't had the whole experience. But I'll definitely take the family & give it a try.

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There was a mention of Fusion 5 in the paper today. The restaurant mixes 5 Asian cuisines for the menu. To the dismay of Little Rock forumers we know have yet another restaurant that serves Thai food.

It also looks like Zaxby's will open on Monday over on 6th St.

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All about the Pinnacle White Oak Station

http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2008/05/...108morrison.txt

Thanks for the article. It also talks about a new restaurant in south Fayetteville called Asian Fusion. It will fuse Chinese, Indonesian and Indian food. It will be at the old Elenita's location. Sounds like it could be interesting.

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Thanks for the article. It also talks about a new restaurant in south Fayetteville called Asian Fusion. It will fuse Chinese, Indonesian and Indian food. It will be at the old Elenita's location. Sounds like it could be interesting.

"Fusion" sure seems to be the buzzword in cuisine these days.

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"Fusion" sure seems to be the buzzword in cuisine these days.

Yeah, I've been a little surprised we haven't seen more fusion restaurants in the metro. I think they've been a hit in a lot of the other metros for a while now.

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