New Molly Maguires Lease-Holder Drops Out

For weeks, the sign in front of Molly Maguires in Bentonville said the restaurant was about to reopen under new management. But recently, that sign was replaced with a for-sale sign.

Dr. Mario Costaldi said a local restaurateur had been planning to lease the building and open a new restaurant there, but he backed out. Costaldi is a Rogers surgeon who owned Molly Maguires and still owns the 6,400-SF building along with Rick Christiansen of Houston.

Costaldi said the owners are now trying to sell the building. If that doesn’t work, they’ll try to lure a chain restaurant into the location.

“That’s a very nice, fairly expensive building,” Costaldi said. “Chains don’t build buildings like that.”

The restaurant, billed originally as a cross between an early American restaurant/tavern and an Irish pub, closed July 29. It had been open at 3607 Magellan Blvd. since June 3, 1997.

Costaldi said the owners closed Molly Maguires because business had dropped off considerably in the first half of 2000.