Restaurant Development in Little Rock Metro area

[ndark]

Anecdotal I know but I have been to the bar area many times in the last year. I haven't even thought about or been to the restaurant in 10+ years.

[Architect]

Anecdotal I know but I have been to the bar area many times in the last year. I haven't even thought about or been to the restaurant in 10+ years.

Honestly, they have a great lunch!


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[ecity3138]

On 4/2/2019 at 2:00 AM, theman said:

The article said that Cajun’s is 20,000 sq ft. That’s large for most modern restaurants. Plus the article said it’s an old building that needs quite a bit of work so either the owner of the building or whoever may take over the space will have to spend a lot of money to bring it up to date.

 Some  Pappadeaux locations in major cities are about that size. If Pappadeaux or any similar establishment take over the space, they can downsize the space to at least 12,000 square feet.

On 4/1/2019 at 8:50 PM, LRU1967 said:

Pappadeaux taking the space would be great.  How big are their restaurants? Are they typically as large as Cajun's?

Some Pappadeaux locations are about that size depending on the market. If they or a similar establishment take over the space, then they can downsize the location to at least 12,000 square feet by doing a complete overhaul of the building. 

[dnashobviously]

I just don’t think this building is visible enough for a Pappadeaux.  

[Arkanzin]

13 hours ago, dnashobviously said:

I just don’t think this building is visible enough for a Pappadeaux.  

^^This!^^

[SangreRaVen]

I would think if by some chance we ever get a Pappadeaux they would want to go for a location that is highly visible with lots of traffic access such as Gateway Town Center or even somewhere near District at Midtown ect... Build the building how they want it and have great access to everything they need to get ppl in.

 

-R

[ecity3138]

3 hours ago, SangreRaVen said:

I would think if by some chance we ever get a Pappadeaux they would want to go for a location that is highly visible with lots of traffic access such as Gateway Town Center or even somewhere near District at Midtown ect... Build the building how they want it and have great access to everything they need to get ppl in.

 

-R

I agree that a restaurant like Pappadeaux will fit perfect in the Gateway Town Center development especially next to Hooters which originally was suppose to be a restaurant. This would be cheaper for them to build a brand new building in a high profile site than to renovate  a 44 years old building which would be very expensive even for a chain like them.

 

I have put a request for them to open a location in the Little Rock area since there’s no major seafood restaurant remaining after Cajun’s Wharf close on June 1 other than Red Lobster and Arthur’s Seafood. I provide a link below for anyone who want to see them open a location in Arkansas.

https://pappadeaux.com/contact-us/

Edited April 4, 2019 by ecity3138

[Arkanzin]

How about Ralph & Kacoo's?  They are just down the road in Bossier and have other locations in Louisiana, Texas, and Alabama.  

[Arkanzin]

On the way to work today, I noticed that Salad Works will be opening a location in Wellington Center on Chenal.  I've long wanted a GrabbaGreen-type restaurant and this looks to be similar.    This is a first location for Arkansas.  The nearest one appears to be Irving, Texas.  

Saladworks

[SangreRaVen]

I noticed that to but wasn't sure what it was.

 

-R

[Architect]

3 hours ago, Arkanzin said:

On the way to work today, I noticed that Salad Works will be opening a location in Wellington Center on Chenal.  I've long wanted a GrabbaGreen-type restaurant and this looks to be similar.    This is a first location for Arkansas.  The nearest one appears to be Irving, Texas.  

Saladworks

Where is "Wellington Center"?

[dnashobviously]

41 minutes ago, Architect said:

Where is "Wellington Center"?

 

It is where the old Ford Dealership is across from Walgreens, Altitude, and the Kum & Go  at that intersection there.

[Walls99]

6 hours ago, Architect said:

Where is "Wellington Center"?

Sounds like another WLR strip center trying hard to not sound like a strip center...as if there aren't any of those around

[ecity3138]

12 hours ago, Arkanzin said:

On the way to work today, I noticed that Salad Works will be opening a location in Wellington Center on Chenal.  I've long wanted a GrabbaGreen-type restaurant and this looks to be similar.    This is a first location for Arkansas.  The nearest one appears to be Irving, Texas.  

Saladworks

This is great addition to the Little Rock dining scene as the city needs more healthier alternatives to what is currently present. I originally hope a similar establishment, Salata, would open up in Arkansas but this concept would be just as good. I’m hoping Saladworks, Salata, or GrabbaGreen Type Restaurant would open in the Gateway Town Center development possibly next to Smoothie Cafe.

On 4/5/2019 at 9:57 AM, Arkanzin said:

How about Ralph & Kacoo's?  They are just down the road in Bossier and have other locations in Louisiana, Texas, and Alabama.  

I’ve looked on their website and saw the menu is pretty good. Either Ralph & Kacoo’s or Pappadeaux would be a great to a city who’s lacking in true  seafood restaurants. 

[ecity3138]

On 4/7/2019 at 10:06 PM, Walls99 said:

Sounds like another WLR strip center trying hard to not sound like a strip center...as if there aren't any of those around

I really don’t think the city needs another new strip center with mostly empty spaces. We got plenty of that already. These developers need to focused on redevelopment existing properties (ex: Shackleford Crosssings is a prime example) before building new ones. Does anybody know the plans to redevelop the former Mimi’s Cafe and Romano’s Macaroni Grill space? Would be great for casual restaurants like TGI Friday’s, Red Robin (don’t understand why there’s only one location in the Little Rock area) or  locally owned establishments  take over these two buildings. 

Edited April 10, 2019 by ecity3138

[Walls99]

On 4/8/2019 at 12:37 AM, ecity3138 said:

I really don’t think the city needs another new strip center with mostly empty spaces. The developers needs to focused on redevelopment existing properties (ex: Shackleford Crosssings) before building new ones. Do anybody know the plans to redevelop the former Mimi’s Cafe and Romano’s Macaroni Grill space? Would be great for casual restaurants like TGI Friday’s, Red Robin (don’t understand why there’s only one location in the Little Rock area) or a locally owned establishments  take over these two buildings. 

My point exactly.  One thing that Little Rock is lacking, in my opinion, is a centralized upscale retail center.  The problem we face is that all of our retail is so spread out among different decent shopping centers (Park Plaza, Midtowne, Gateway, Shackleford Crossings, Promenade, McCain, etc.).  It isn't that any of these are bad, but I would have preferred if Little Rock had done some better planning and maybe thought about going all in on a large, upscale center that would have been a combination of all the amenities of the above centers.  I recall a recent visit to Des Moines (similar in size and importance to their respective state) where they had done exactly that.  Their center was a combination indoor-outdoor mall featuring a movie theater, Apple Store, Cheesecake Factory, among other things.  I was very impressed by it and have wished there was something like that in Little Rock ever since.

[ecity3138]

5 hours ago, Walls99 said:

My point exactly.  One thing that Little Rock is lacking, in my opinion, is a centralized upscale retail center.  The problem we face is that all of our retail is so spread out among different decent shopping centers (Park Plaza, Midtowne, Gateway, Shackleford Crossings, Promenade, McCain, etc.).  It isn't that any of these are bad, but I would have preferred if Little Rock had done some better planning and maybe thought about going all in on a large, upscale center that would have been a combination of all the amenities of the above centers.  I recall a recent visit to Des Moines (similar in size and importance to their respective state) where they had done exactly that.  Their center was a combination indoor-outdoor mall featuring a movie theater, Apple Store, Cheesecake Factory, among other things.  I was very impressed by it and have wished there was something like that in Little Rock ever since.

At one point, Simon Property was going to build a 1.1 million square foot mall similar to one in Des Moines, IA at the site that Shackleford Crossing occupies but private organizations and some citizens oppose the plan stating it would hurt Park Plaza and the now defunct University Mall. The Summit Mall was supposed to have JCPenny, Sears, Dillard’s, and at one point Neiman Marcus. I really wish Simon would make the Summit Mall development a reality.  We would have stores and restaurants still not present in the market such as Cheesecake Factory, Trader Joe’s, etc. The Shackleford Crossing Center is a failed development especially  the main corridor of the development between Wal- Mart and JCPenny is dead with some of the spaces had not been occupied since the shopping center opened in 2007. Park Plaza, the only traditional indoor mall in Little Rock beside MCCain Mall in North Little Rock, still have a decent selection  of stores despite the competition from nearby shopping centers but it’s too small especially since H&M took majority of the space. The Promenade At Chenal is a  nice upscale neighborhood mall but it’s too remote and too small compare to the Summit Mall proposal. A lot of high profile retailers and restaurants prefer to be in a large shopping mall where the foot traffic is more dense and visibility is greater.

Edited April 10, 2019 by ecity3138

[arky]

- US Pizza opening a new location in WLR

- Three Fold owners redeveloping the old building across from Tropical Smoothie in Riverdale for new restraurant

- Bones steakhouse out of Hot Springs opening 2nd location in old Arthur's spot

- Big Boy Ramen opened in the Heights

- Burger place in old gas station in Hillcrest coming in next year

- Grubs set to open in former Chili's on Rodney Parham in next couple months

I know some lament the lack of large chains locating in LR, but the activity among local and localish chains continues to be strong. 

[SangreRaVen]

At least there is growth though which is better than none. I do think it would be nice to get some larger new to market restaurants in but the local market has to be able to support them. Local chains filling in the spaces and offering various options helps some though and sometimes have more invested in making something work vs a larger chain that might bolt after the first year or less. 

 

-R 

[SangreRaVen]

You can add Ceci's Chicken and Waffles to the list. 

http://www.rockcityeats.com/cecis-chicken-and-waffles-opening-in-little-rock-next-month/

 

-R

Edited May 14, 2019 by SangreRaVen

[theman]

Cheba Hut, a fast casual sandwich chain from Colorado with a marijuana theme will be opening its first restaurant somewhere in west Little Rock according to reports with restaurants to come in Conway and Fayetteville.

[vbfl85]

Taziki's has applied for a plumbing permit at 15000 Cantrell Rd.  That location is next to Regions, about a quarter mile west of Taylor Loop. 

[SangreRaVen]

Hungry Howie's is open in the Kroger Shopping Center on Rodney Parham. Their pizza is wayyyyy too greasy 

 

-R

Edited June 27, 2019 by SangreRaVen

[vbfl85]

On 6/26/2019 at 8:53 PM, SangreRaVen said:

Hungry Howie's is open in the Kroger Shopping Center on Rodney Parham. Their pizza is wayyyyy too greasy 

 

-R

Apparently there are plans for 4 more Hungry Howie's locations.  2 in LR, 1 in NLR, and 1 in Conway. 

https://www.franchising.com/sponsored/hungry_howies_makes_arkansas_debut_primed_for_more_expansion.html

 

 

[SangreRaVen]

Yuck! It's horrible... Hell, Little Caesars is way better and not greasy as hell if you want cheap pizza. Hungry Howie's ain't that cheap and the quality is not that good either at least in my opinion.

-R

Edited June 29, 2019 by SangreRaVen