Common Grounds Owners To Open Restaurant in Ozark Brewing Co. Building

The contract hadn’t been signed as of our press time on Aug. 12, but Julie Sill and Kari Larson, owners of The Common Grounds Gourmet Espresso Bar in Fayetteville, plan to open Hog Haus Brewing Co. in the Fayetteville building that previously housed Ozark Brewing Co.

In early August, Maggie Gilliam, the property owner, had workers busy reflooring the two story, 11,000-SF building in the center of the Dickson Street entertainment district. Sill and Larson plan to lease the building for the new restaurant venture.

John Gilliam, who closed Ozark Brewing Co. on May 9 after occupying the building for 21 days shy of a decade, will remain on staff to help with beer brewing for the new restaurant. John is Maggie Gilliam’s son.

The brew pub’s sales decreased steadily from 2000 until John Gilliam closed the business, dropping by 12 percent last year to $1.54 million, according to city tax records. Common Grounds had $1.14 million in sales last year and in 2002. That’s up 10.7 percent from $1.03 million in 2001.

Sill and Larson opened Common Grounds in 1998 in a building that previously housed Emerald Coast Gourmet Coffee Shop, which closed in 1997.