Ruby Tuesday Chooses Fayetteville
by March 31, 2003 12:00 am 98 views
On March 24, the Fayetteville Planning Commission approved a large-scale development plan for Ruby Tuesday Inc. to build a 4,600-SF restaurant in Krushiker Addition.
The restaurant will be located on 1.4 acres of land on the northwest corner of U.S. Highway 62 and Interstate 540, adjacent to the proposed site for a new Hampton Inn.
Narendra Krushiker of Springdale owns the property. John Bruton of Nixa, Mo., is the developer. And Rickett Engineering Inc. of Little Rock is the engineer.
Rick Johnson, senior vice president at Ruby Tuesday Inc., said it costs about $2 million to build one of the company’s restaurants. That cost includes land, site preparation, building, furniture and fixtures.
Holly French, the project coordinator with Ruby Tuesday, said construction on the Fayetteville location should begin in early May and be completed in early to mid-September.
Based in Maryville, Tenn., Ruby Tuesday had 627 restaurants worldwide as of December. In Arkansas, the company has locations in Bentonville, Bryant, Jonesboro and Russellville.
Famous Dave’s Heading for Rogers
Famous Dave’s Bar-B-Que plans to open a restaurant in Rogers’ Scottsdale Center by mid-June.
The company, which is based in Eden Prairie, Minn., currently has 72 restaurants in 20 states.
Kim Callahan, advertising manager for Famous Dave’s, said the Rogers location will seat 165 and employ 25 to 30 people.
In addition to dine-in and take-out, the restaurant will sell Famous Dave’s sauces and spices.
“Ribs are our specialty,” Callahan said.
Thai Restaurant to Open in Bentonville
Kimo Sihapanya plans to open a Thai restaurant in Bentonville. Sihapanya owns Taste of Thai, a popular restaurant near the downtown square in Fayetteville.
Sandy Sihapanya, Kimo’s sister, said he has found a location near Dogwood Center and is currently circulating a petition to apply for a liquor license. She said the Bentonville restaurant will be similar in size to the one Kimo owns in Fayetteville (1,500 SF).
Kimo Sihapanya grew up in Thailand and has been in the United States for the past 19 years. He operated Thai Cafe in Redding, Calif., and Thai Cuisine in Salem, Ore., before moving to Northwest Arkansas in 1999.
Flying Burrito Shoots for Springfest
The owners of The Flying Burrito say the restaurant is scheduled to open by Springfest (April 25-27) in Fayetteville’s Reindl Warehouse at the corner of Spring Street and West Avenue.
Mike Rohrbach, Eric Billings and Archie Schaffer IV leased the 1,826-SF space in November and have been waiting while Brian Reindl renovates the building.
Rohrbach said the restaurant will serve large, California-style burritos that are made to order, in addition to other items.
The fast-casual restaurant will have about 40 seats and a 200-SF patio area outside. The restaurant will have a full bar.
Mazatlan Closes Lowell Restaurant
Speaking of Mexican restaurants, we noticed that Mazatlan Mexican Restaurant has closed. The restaurant was located at 106 N. Bloomington Ave. (U.S. Highway 71B) in Lowell. We’re not surprised, though. The Acambaro in Lowell is one of the most popular Mexican restaurants in Northwest Arkansas.