Restaurant Development in NW Arkansas

[jiggyK]

where is granite city exactly? i know it's in rogers, but that's it. i'd like to make it up there sometime and try some of their beer (and food).

[gdbaker]

Anyone else eaten at Granite City yet? I went there on Saturday and the place was packed, great food, would definitely recommend it. Also hear that Ruth Chris is opening up on November 12th.

My family ate there on Saturday before any big rush. Was really disappointed, because this is NOT a brewery version of the restaurant (www.gcfb.com). It sells normal beer like any other restaurant, but it can't be a micro brewery since it is in a dry county. It can't even import it's beer from other restaurants. Just another reason to make this county wet as it should be. Other than that the place is ok. The big selling point to me was it being a micro brewery. I'ld rather eat at a cheaper place.

[Mith242]

My family ate there on Saturday before any big rush. Was really disappointed, because this is NOT a brewery version of the restaurant (www.gcfb.com). It sells normal beer like any other restaurant, but it can't be a micro brewery since it is in a dry county. It can't even import it's beer from other restaurants. Just another reason to make this county wet as it should be. Other than that the place is ok. The big selling point to me was it being a micro brewery. I'ld rather eat at a cheaper place.

I had been wondering about that.

[Aporkalypse]

My family ate there on Saturday before any big rush. Was really disappointed, because this is NOT a brewery version of the restaurant (www.gcfb.com). It sells normal beer like any other restaurant, but it can't be a micro brewery since it is in a dry county. It can't even import it's beer from other restaurants. Just another reason to make this county wet as it should be. Other than that the place is ok. The big selling point to me was it being a micro brewery. I'ld rather eat at a cheaper place.

Interesting. Knowing that, it's completely illogical to open a restaurant there instead of Fayetteville.

[jiggyK]

My family ate there on Saturday before any big rush. Was really disappointed, because this is NOT a brewery version of the restaurant (www.gcfb.com). It sells normal beer like any other restaurant, but it can't be a micro brewery since it is in a dry county. It can't even import it's beer from other restaurants. Just another reason to make this county wet as it should be. Other than that the place is ok. The big selling point to me was it being a micro brewery. I'ld rather eat at a cheaper place.

well, i don't care where it is now. i thought it was a micro brewery, too.

[gdbaker]

Interesting. Knowing that, it's completely illogical to open a restaurant there instead of Fayetteville.

Exactly!!!!!!!! Why would you build a signature Micro Brewery restaurant where you can't use it??? This place is just an overpriced O'Charleys or Mimi's Cafe. I wonder how many people went there expecting to try micro brewery beers and get blindsided by "We can't do that here, because this county is still living in the dark ages". They should have built it in Washington County. Hopefully Benton County will get the decision back on the ballot to vote for a wet county. With well over 110 "Private Clubs" in Benton County (and climbing), this is by far the Wettest Dry County in the country.

[Mith242]

Exactly!!!!!!!! Why would you build a signature Micro Brewery restaurant where you can't use it??? This place is just an overpriced O'Charleys or Mimi's Cafe. I wonder how many people went there expecting to try micro brewery beers and get blindsided by "We can't do that here, because this county is still living in the dark ages". They should have built it in Washington County. Hopefully Benton County will get the decision back on the ballot to vote for a wet county. With well over 110 "Private Clubs" in Benton County (and climbing), this is by far the Wettest Dry County in the country.

I wonder if they did this counting on that the county would eventually go 'wet'. Although it does seem odd choice, considering Fayetteville hasn't been supporting chain restaurants that well. Maybe it wouldn't have been a great decision in Fayetteville. It probably would have depended on what location in Fayetteville they chose.

[cocothief]

I wonder if they did this counting on that the county would eventually go 'wet'. Although it does seem odd choice, considering Fayetteville hasn't been supporting chain restaurants that well. Maybe it wouldn't have been a great decision in Fayetteville. It probably would have depended on what location in Fayetteville they chose.

Fayetteville hasn't been supporting chains very well.

I wonder how much of that has to do with rapid overdevelopment, and how much has to do with the downtown places holding their own. I bet its a combination of both.

I rarely go to the chains. I go to BWW once in a while for lunch, but other than that, if I am going to go out to dinner, it just seems wrong to head north to Mallville.

The chains do a brisk business when there's a Hog game in town, though.

That said, and this may fit better in another thread, I wonder how Mellow Mushroom will fare being way out on Joyce instead of downtown or in the restaurant row in Steele Crossing? I can see it doing a brisk lunchtime business, but I have a hard time imagining night traffic on east Joyce for dining and drinking.

[Mith242]

Fayetteville hasn't been supporting chains very well.

I wonder how much of that has to do with rapid overdevelopment, and how much has to do with the downtown places holding their own. I bet its a combination of both.

I rarely go to the chains. I go to BWW once in a while for lunch, but other than that, if I am going to go out to dinner, it just seems wrong to head north to Mallville.

The chains do a brisk business when there's a Hog game in town, though.

That said, and this may fit better in another thread, I wonder how Mellow Mushroom will fare being way out on Joyce instead of downtown or in the restaurant row in Steele Crossing? I can see it doing a brisk lunchtime business, but I have a hard time imagining night traffic on east Joyce for dining and drinking.

In some ways I'm glad the chains aren't taking everything away from the local restaurants. I think in part it's also the fact fewer people are also having to come down from Benton County to shop or eat as well. People talk about how that 'restaurant row' near the mall is hard to get to and that has been what's hurt some of those chains over there. But at the same time the Olive Garden probably does more business than any other Fayetteville restaurant and it's right there and doesn't seem to have any problems.

[gdbaker]

Has anyone heard more about Joe's Crab Shack that was rumored to be built by Ruth's Steak House?

[HogWild21]

Has anyone heard more about Joe's Crab Shack that was rumored to be built by Ruth's Steak House?

Unless they've started franchising Joe's, its just that, rumored. Joe's is looking to expand more in coastal cities right now and their rate of growth is a lot slower since breaking away from Landry's.

[das450]

The Sonic Drive-in at 1680 N. College Ave. in Fayetteville has closed. http://nwanews.com/nwat/News/58805/

How long before the Brazillian restaurant closes near Olive Garden, that place never has any business.

[Mith242]

The Sonic Drive-in at 1680 N. College Ave. in Fayetteville has closed. http://nwanews.com/nwat/News/58805/

How long before the Brazillian restaurant closes near Olive Garden, that place never has any business.

Sorry, never got around to posting that info in this topic. But it did get mentioned in the College Ave topic. I've wondered about Boi d'Oro myself. But I've had people tell me it's doing okay. They aren't open very many hours. But maybe it's getting enough business in a few nights a week to be okay.

[KJW]

The Sonic Drive-in at 1680 N. College Ave. in Fayetteville has closed. <a href='http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/ipb_seo.php?url=http://nwanews.com/nwat/News/58805/' rel='nofollow' target="_blank" onclick="java script:urchinTracker('/outgoing/nwanews_com');">http://nwanews.com/nwat/News/58805/</a>

How long before the Brazillian restaurant closes near Olive Garden, that place never has any business.

I've a Brazilian friend from Sao Paulo here at work who said that in his opinion Bentonville's Brioso Brazil (since closed, though you'd never know it as the signage is still up and the place looks immaculate from the outside) wasn't that good but that Boi d'Oro (Fayetteville's Brazilian place) is. It's said that all cooking styles in Brazil (save for Mineiro cuisine from Minas Gerais state, Capixaba from the Espirito Santo/Bahia state areas and northern Brasil fare from around Para State) come from somewhere else - not surprising given the incredible ethnic mix in that nation.

Brioso Brazil (and, frankly, Boi d'Oro) sounded like the steakhouse concept from the far southern part of that nation that also seems more of an Argentine fare, though it's worked in many places elsewhere. It'd be neat to have a Brazilian restaurant like Cafe do Brasil in Oklahoma City which has a wide variety (not all Brasiliera) of things besides beef on its menu.

[Mith242]

I've a Brazilian friend from Sao Paulo here at work who said that in his opinion Bentonville's Brioso Brazil (since closed, though you'd never know it as the signage is still up and the place looks immaculate from the outside) wasn't that good but that Boi d'Oro (Fayetteville's Brazilian place) is. It's said that all cooking styles in Brazil (save for Mineiro cuisine from Minas Gerais state, Capixaba from the Espirito Santo/Bahia state areas and northern Brasil fare from around Para State) come from somewhere else - not surprising given the incredible ethnic mix in that nation.

Brioso Brazil (and, frankly, Boi d'Oro) sounded like the steakhouse concept from the far southern part of that nation that also seems more of an Argentine fare, though it's worked in many places elsewhere. It'd be neat to have a Brazilian restaurant like Cafe do Brasil in Oklahoma City which has a wide variety (not all Brasiliera) of things besides beef on its menu.

I had heard that Brioso Brazil wasn't doing too badly either. I heard they owned another franchise and thought it would work better in that location. Although that sounds a bit odd if it's still sitting there empty. Seems like Brazilian food was a big fad a while back. I wonder if some of this also has to do with the fad being over.

[KJW]

I had heard that Brioso Brazil wasn't doing too badly either. I heard they owned another franchise and thought it would work better in that location. Although that sounds a bit odd if it's still sitting there empty. Seems like Brazilian food was a big fad a while back. I wonder if some of this also has to do with the fad being over.

Mith, could be but if anything it looks like, in major metro areas, that Brazilian fare does pretty well. Here are two chains, Fogo de Chao and Fire of Brazil that seem to be flourishing. Seems like every city from the size of OKC upward has at least one nice Brazilian restaurant (and again, I like the ones that try to go beyond being merely steakhouses).

Brazil is part of that BRIC (Brazil - Russia - India - China) group of emerging economies that are rich in natural resources and have the potential for offshore dominance (or at least "extreme significance") in certain areas (i.e. China - manufacturing, India - programming, Brazil - agriculture). Whenever one has said "Latin America" in the past Mexico's frequently the first nation which comes to mind, but Brazil is the largest nation in terms of population and size. With all that tropical land there are a lot of interesting things grown there - leads to some fascinating cuisine. With all the emphasis on "green" and "natural" things today, I can see a lot of possibilities for Brazilian restaurants today in large enough markets.

[aerotive]

The Sonic Drive-in at 1680 N. College Ave. in Fayetteville has closed. http://nwanews.com/nwat/News/58805/

How long before the Brazillian restaurant closes near Olive Garden, that place never has any business.

That's now two dead restaurants right in the same area, the ex Long John Silvers being the other one. The LJS seems like it has been

rotting away forever.

And naturally they'd close the Sonic closest to me.

[Mith242]

That's now two dead restaurants right in the same area, the ex Long John Silvers being the other one. The LJS seems like it has been

rotting away forever.

And naturally they'd close the Sonic closest to me.

Unfortunately there's quite a few dead things around that area of College Ave.

[andrewjensen]

was lucky to be one of those invited to Ruth's Chris' "dry run" last night in advance of its Monday opening. It was outstanding. I had the petite filet/shrimp, my wife had the lamb chops. Both of us struggled to walk out upright, we were so full. Steaks were cooked to perfection. Very nice layout and there's even flat screen TVs above the urinals in the men's room, something I'd only seen in sports bars before.

[Mith242]

was lucky to be one of those invited to Ruth's Chris' "dry run" last night in advance of its Monday opening. It was outstanding. I had the petite filet/shrimp, my wife had the lamb chops. Both of us struggled to walk out upright, we were so full. Steaks were cooked to perfection. Very nice layout and there's even flat screen TVs above the urinals in the men's room, something I'd only seen in sports bars before.

Thanks for the review. I was wondering if anyone was going to go early next week when it opens.

[thewizard16]

Taco Bell in Fayetteville on Sixth Street caught fire about two hours ago. The outside walls of the building are still there, but it looks like the fire got very hot very quickly, because the entire roof is collapsed and there's still quite a few small flames in there. It appears the building is a complete loss, which is unfortunate since that is probably the busiest Taco Bell in Fayetteville if not NWA, and... it's directly across the street from a fire station. I'm sure there'll be more info in the paper tomorrow or Monday, I just hope they rebuild it quick, it's the only 24 hour one I know of, and it's closest to my house, haha.

[Mith242]

Taco Bell in Fayetteville on Sixth Street caught fire about two hours ago. The outside walls of the building are still there, but it looks like the fire got very hot very quickly, because the entire roof is collapsed and there's still quite a few small flames in there. It appears the building is a complete loss, which is unfortunate since that is probably the busiest Taco Bell in Fayetteville if not NWA, and... it's directly across the street from a fire station. I'm sure there'll be more info in the paper tomorrow or Monday, I just hope they rebuild it quick, it's the only 24 hour one I know of, and it's closest to my house, haha.

That's pretty wild. Thanks for the info.

[cocothief]

State of the Art Taco Bell coming soon to S. Fayetteville!

Or at least that's how I look at it, as a development-ophile.

[thewizard16]

State of the Art Taco Bell coming soon to S. Fayetteville!

Or at least that's how I look at it, as a development-ophile.

Oh, I can't say I'm too sad, in a way. That one was pretty nasty, and if the one they replace it with is anything like the one on Wedington, it's bound to be nice. And I suppose it's only a minor inconvenience for me to drive to the one on College (or Wedington, if I want a nice one) if I get a craving for that kind of food.

[mzweig]

Lou Lou's Fish Shack on College in Fayetteville is scheduled to open this week in the former Sassafras spot. At least that's what one of the contractors told me.

M