Papers Are Signed for Dickson Street Theater

Jimmy Rapert and Benton Bandy have signed a contract with Jim McConnell to lease a building on Fayetteville’s Dickson Street and convert it into a multi-venue entertainment facility. The building previously housed a retail store, Adam’s Outfitters.

The deal was announced in this column March 5, but the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal went to press two days before the papers were signed March 3, and Rapert warned that the deal might fall through. It didn’t.

Rapert and Bandy own JR’s Lightbulb Club and Pizzeria and are former owners of the Dickson Street Ballroom, now Dave’s on Dickson.

The facility — tentatively named The Dickson Street Theater — would consist of a large room that could accommodate 300 to 400 and would serve as a movie theater, ballroom and tavern. The building might also be rented for wedding receptions and office parties, Rapert said.

Rapert said the renovation would probably cost $100,000 and take three months to complete.