Fight Coming for Post-grad Crowd

Fayetteville has always been Northwest Arkansas’ entertainment capital.

It has the arts, big time sports, nightlife, and an attractive college crowd. The University of Arkansas, Fayetteville’s No. 1 economic engine, keeps the city brimming with youthful energy.

Fayetteville will likely always have such charms. But will it always be the only real choice for locals looking for a night on the town? There are several indications that it won’t, and Fayetteville’s entertainment industry should look long-term to ensure it’s offering something for everyone — not just a pack of frat boys on the prowl.

The well-publicized construction and population shift toward Benton County suggests that somewhere down the road — be it 10 or 20 years — Fayetteville’s party district is going to have a lot more competition. Forget that lucrative alcohol sales are legal in “wet” Washington County, and that its northern neighbor is “dry.”

Just over the last decade, Benton County’s number of private clubs has doubled from 25 to 50. That makes it the wettest dry county in Arkansas with 26 percent of all private clubs in 43 dry counties statewide. That hasn’t happened because more people are making the 30-minute drive to Dickson Street, Fayetteville’s entertainment epicenter.

Benton County is now growing faster than Washington County. And places serving alcohol in Bentonville and Rogers have proliferated because retail and poultry vendors from more cosmopolitan regions continue moving into the area. Many of them are young professionals, who enjoy an after-hours cocktail.

It doesn’t take a sociologist to figure out who the folks in tailored suits are sitting at the bar or in huddled clusters around those cities’ liquor-permitted eateries. They’re potential voters, and more likely to support dry martinis than dry counties.

Who’s to say Washington County can count on Benton County remaining dry forever? The Business Journal has routinely reported large-scale residential and commercial developments that are in the works for Benton County. Several of them will include mixed-use sections that contain more private clubs and entertainment venues. Nearly all will be upscale.

The last decade of Dickson Street revitalization, combined with a resurgent downtown Fayetteville square, has given the city’s heart new life. We applaud the effort and hope the area stays rockin’ forever.

To ensure that it does, business owners should plan for the coming day when Benton County customers’ choices are even greater.