Wards to Reopen Otis Zark at Terra

Rita and Leo Ward planned to reopen Otis Zark at Terra, the restaurant at Terra Studios in Durham, on March 18. Since we went to press for this issue of the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal on March 14, we weren’t sure if Otis Zark had reopened as scheduled. The restaurant had been closed since October.

Kim Widder, the restaurant’s new manager, said Otis Zark will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. seven days a week for lunch. Lunch will consist of a buffet, soups and sandwiches, she said. Lunch will be priced at less than $10.

Dinner will no longer be served at Otis Zark, but the restaurant will be available for lease to groups who want to have catered events there. On some nights when it’s not leased, the management will have live music and a cash bar. Those events (including a jazz, blues and karaoke night) will be announced in advance, Widder said.

Otis Zark opened in June 1998 and was destroyed by a fire the following October. The restaurant remained closed through that winter as a result.

Otis Zark closed in October 2001 because of “staffing problems,” Leo Ward said.

The 5,000-SF restaurant features 3,000 handmade floor tiles. It’s 16 miles east of Fayetteville on Arkansas Highway 16.