Restaurant Development in NW Arkansas

[RAK]

There are a lot of mediocre local places, too, and I don't go to some eatery just because it's not a chain. I've had lousier food and service at some of the spots people recommended to me, not to mention a greater fear of cockroaches and disease in some.

At the same time, there are chains I won't touch again or individual chain locations. No one will ever get me in Johnny Carino's ever, for example.

[strmchsr77]

I love chain restaurants. I know what I am getting and I know the price range. I don't mind trying local places but when I am traveling, I like to know what I am getting. I hate that these restaurants are closing, I frequent all of these restaurants on nearly a weekly basis.

[RAK]

Something else will take their place. The area is good for the right restaurants. Smokey bones was a chain problem. The O'Charley's location needs more around it, though. Target's not the right draw

[das450]

The bar at 414 West Dickson, "414". will be closing soon and a chain pizza retaurant will takes its place.

The Gypsy will also be closing in October of 2008, post Bikes Blues BBQ.

Hawg Pizza on South Razorback, just north of Baum Stadium is getting close to opening.

La Fonda in Lowell has closed as well.

[andrewjensen]

Cheez, why is Brioso Brazil closing? It gets an excellent amount of traffic every week. Hopefully it will open somewhere else in the future.

a lot of upscale restaurants in Benton County who enjoyed a near monopoly on the high end dining experience in the past have lost a ton of market share to places like Bonefish, PF Chang and Carrabas lately. Copeland's saw a huge decline in its liquor sales in 2006 and Brioso's total revenue is way down beginning midway through last year when a lot of those places opened. The restaurant market, like everything else, is overrbuilt.

[Aporkalypse]

a lot of upscale restaurants in Benton County who enjoyed a near monopoly on the high end dining experience in the past have lost a ton of market share to places like Bonefish, PF Chang and Carrabas lately. Copeland's saw a huge decline in its liquor sales in 2006 and Brioso's total revenue is way down beginning midway through last year when a lot of those places opened. The restaurant market, like everything else, is overrbuilt.

I went to Copeland's up there the night before the UA-Tennessee football game last year and it was pretty dead for a Friday. I expected big waits like you have in LR on weekends. I swore the area was underbuilt for nice restaurants but maybe I was wrong. You don't have lots of people driving into the area from a hour to ninety minutes away, maybe that's a contributor. Maybe the Fayetteville/Springdale people don't drive up to Benton Co restaurants much. I'm not sure what the deal is.

[cocothief]

I went to Copeland's up there the night before the UA-Tennessee football game last year and it was pretty dead for a Friday. I expected big waits like you have in LR on weekends. I swore the area was underbuilt for nice restaurants but maybe I was wrong. You don't have lots of people driving into the area from a hour to ninety minutes away, maybe that's a contributor. Maybe the Fayetteville/Springdale people don't drive up to Benton Co restaurants much. I'm not sure what the deal is.

I don't think Fayetteville people drive to Rogers to eat. I don't know any that do. Heck, I hardly hear of anyone going up there to shop. I've never done anything but drive thru Pinnacle Promenade once to gawk, but I am not a shopper. I'd head up there for Men's Wearhouse maybe one of these days, but unless I'm working in BenCo, there's no reason to go up there to eat.

You were there on a weekend, so if there's any explanation for a slow night, that'd be it.

Obviously there is some correction going on in the restaurant market right now, but we did have an enormous number of chains pop up suddenly, and there's gotta be some overlap and unexpected market saturation affecting some of these places.

'Tis odd, tho.

[RAK]

No spam, please

[masons_dad1]

I went to Copeland's up there the night before the UA-Tennessee football game last year and it was pretty dead for a Friday. I expected big waits like you have in LR on weekends. I swore the area was underbuilt for nice restaurants but maybe I was wrong. You don't have lots of people driving into the area from a hour to ninety minutes away, maybe that's a contributor. Maybe the Fayetteville/Springdale people don't drive up to Benton Co restaurants much. I'm not sure what the deal is.

Even without the Fayetteville/Springdale people Benton Co restaurants should be doing well enough on their own, afterall there are at least a few more people in Benton Co. I really don't know of anyone in Rogers/Bentonville driving down to Fayetteville/Springdale for anything since we now have the Pinnacle Hills Promenade and plenty of upscale restaurants to choose from up here. Benton Co is geared more for the corporate environment so weekend fine dining will most likely be slower than during the work week. On the other hand college towns like Fayetteville are geared more for the weekend crowd.

[KJW]

Cheez, why is Brioso Brazil closing? It gets an excellent amount of traffic every week. Hopefully it will open somewhere else in the future.

(Just an aside here but...it's interesting but not surprising that Brazil, Latin America's largest and most populous nation, is now the second leading exporter of illegal immigrants after Mexico. (I'm NOT trying to start a thread drift on that!) I should think they're also now one of the leading exporters of LEGAL immigrants to the U.S.

However, it's fascinating that Brazilians, with the exception of their apparently large community in Houston, tend to go to either coast (mostly east...Massachusetts has had a large Portuguese/Azorei (sic?) population for awhile and many Brazilians used to go there as well but that'd have to be a HECK of a climate change even for those from that nation's southernmost regions).

Is anyone here in NWA seeing very many from the land of "Ordem e progresso"?

We had 3-4 Brazilian programmers at my old Bentonville company, Wal-Mart has some here and I saw a Brazilian woman interviewed in the paper recently. An interesting aside within the aside...there was also an article recently where little Watts, OK, immediately southwest of Siloam Springs, has had a teacher exchange program with Brazil for some time. I'm studying the portuguese language intensely right now and am having a lot of fun doing so.

BTW, I remember the long-term Brazilian programmer at my old company told me he and his wife didn't think Brioso Brazil was very good. )

[andrewjensen]

I don't think Fayetteville people drive to Rogers to eat. I don't know any that do. Heck, I hardly hear of anyone going up there to shop. I've never done anything but drive thru Pinnacle Promenade once to gawk, but I am not a shopper. I'd head up there for Men's Wearhouse maybe one of these days, but unless I'm working in BenCo, there's no reason to go up there to eat.

My wife and I haven't gone to a movie in Fayetteville for at least two years, so we always drive to Rogers for that and often end up eating or stopping for a drink somewhere. I think a lot of people do that because the movie experience is so much more enjoyable up there. We won't do that anymore once the Fayetteville Malco opens and if I was running Fuddruckers (which is still open as far as I know), I would try to suck it up for a couple more months because it is affordable and they could probably attract plenty of families.

I really think that movie theater is going to be a huge shot in the arm for the mall corridor. I'll wait a couple cycles to turn left on Joyce rather than burn a bunch of gas driving all the way to Rogers.

[cocothief]

My wife and I haven't gone to a movie in Fayetteville for at least two years, so we always drive to Rogers for that and often end up eating or stopping for a drink somewhere. I think a lot of people do that because the movie experience is so much more enjoyable up there. We won't do that anymore once the Fayetteville Malco opens and if I was running Fuddruckers (which is still open as far as I know), I would try to suck it up for a couple more months because it is affordable and they could probably attract plenty of families.

I really think that movie theater is going to be a huge shot in the arm for the mall corridor. I'll wait a couple cycles to turn left on Joyce rather than burn a bunch of gas driving all the way to Rogers.

I hadn't thought about movies. Thats a good reason to go up there, but I hardly ever go to a theater, either. And I live literally within walking distance of the Malco Razorback 6, so its hard to justify driving 20 miles north for more comfortable seats.

[coreysr5]

i believe the Malco in Rogers on 46th street is what fuels Rogers' restraunt row. I work in retail in the Scottsdale Center, and alot of our friday and saturday business is from movie and restraunt goers.

[strmchsr77]

Chubby's coneys will be coming back to Fayetteville after about 15 years. They are going to have a location at Signature plaza (Crossover and Joyce). They will also serve wine and beer. One article said the old location was on Block street in the early 90s. I don't remember this at all, does anyone else?

[masons_dad1]

Chubby's coneys will be coming back to Fayetteville after about 15 years. They are going to have a location at Signature plaza (Crossover and Joyce). They will also serve wine and beer. One article said the old location was on Block street in the early 90s. I don't remember this at all, does anyone else?

Chubby's Coney's sounds like my kind of place to eat. Coney-style hot dogs, spaghetti topped with pinto beans and chili sauce, taco salads, Frito pies, bratwurst with sauerkraut and fried apple pies sound awesome! Now my stomach is growling

Supposedly they'll even have live music on occasion.

[jdevers]

Chubby's Coney's sounds like my kind of place to eat. Coney-style hot dogs, spaghetti topped with pinto beans and chili sauce, taco salads, Frito pies, bratwurst with sauerkraut and fried apple pies sound awesome! Now my stomach is growling

Supposedly they'll even have live music on occasion.

Now if they would just serve New Jersey boardwalk style pizza by the slice I would happily meet you there to get massive indigestion

[das450]

I agree ! Good pizza in NW Arkansas is hard to find.

Are you from NJ ?

Now if they would just serve New Jersey boardwalk style pizza by the slice I would happily meet you there to get massive indigestion

[slyder1]

I didn't know where to put this but Downtown Springfield is getting a Mike Shannon's Steak House in the renovated Heers Tower! I figured some would want to know when you visit for a ball game in the near future or whatever else. The restuarant is out of St. Louis and is a hot spot for the ritzy Cardinal fans after a game or just on the week night.

Check out their website: http://www.shannonsteak.com/

[RAK]

Nice to know! Still, I'm not sad we're getting Ruths Chris!

[strmchsr77]

I didn't know where to put this but Downtown Springfield is getting a Mike Shannon's Steak House in the renovated Heers Tower! I figured some would want to know when you visit for a ball game in the near future or whatever else. The restuarant is out of St. Louis and is a hot spot for the ritzy Cardinal fans after a game or just on the week night.

Check out their website: http://www.shannonsteak.com/

Thanks for the info. I have been wanting to try his place but St Louis is just too far to drive. I will try the one in S-field as soon as it opens.

[zman9810]

Looks like Lone Star Steakhouse on South Thompson in Springdale has bit the dust. I guess the Golden Corral took away some of their business.

[cocothief]

Looks like Lone Star Steakhouse on South Thompson in Springdale has bit the dust. I guess the Golden Corral took away some of their business.

Wow, restaurants are closing everywhere.

I know we went through a patch where it seemed like a new one opened up every couple of weeks, but dang. This is a bigtime correction going on.

[RAK]

Old ones closing, new ones coming. Not so unnerving a thing. Still plenty coming.

That Lone Star was never a good one...of course, I dislike that whole chain, so I'm prejudiced.

[zman9810]

Old ones closing, new ones coming. Not so unnerving a thing. Still plenty coming.

That Lone Star was never a good one...of course, I dislike that whole chain, so I'm prejudiced.

That's true even though it seems more are closing right now than new ones opening and it seems the ones coming are more fast food than sitdown resturants.

The day I asked for a salad with dressing on the side at Lone Star and they brought me a brown salad with dressing already on it and I sent it back and got the same the second time I quit going there. The ribs were good when they opened but they went downhill also. It's hard to find good ribs consistently though. Dang- I'm hungry- time for lunch!

[KJW]

The Olive Garden in Rogers has got to be about ready to open if it hasn't already, no?

Their big sign was lit up last week...that interchange at Pinnacle just keeps getting brighter and brighter...