Mermaids Owners Enjoying Bigger Pond

Todd and Nickki Golden, who opened the popular Mermaids restaurant in Fayetteville in November 2003, have transitioned well to a bigger location.

Make that much bigger.

“We went from about 2,800 SF to 14,000 SF,” Todd Golden said. “But we’ve handled that pretty easy. Having good people made it that way. Our cooks knew how to do the food and the servers knew the system. It’s not like opening a new place.”

The Goldens moved their restaurant from 1815 Green Acres Road to 2217 N. College Ave., a building that formerly housed Savor restaurant.

WPG Consulting Inc. of Harrison, led by William P. Garrison, owns the building. The doors opened officially Oct. 10.

Since then, Golden said sales and number of customers have increased “two-and-a-half times from what we were doing” at the former location.

The restaurant has also hired about 15 additional staff members, and has a considerably larger parking lot.

While the two dining areas are comparable in size, Golden said the main difference between the locations is the increased space for parties or other events.

“We have booked a lot of parties through the holidays, but there’s still room for more,” he said. “The phone has been ringing nonstop since we came in.”

The restaurant has three private rooms, ranging in seating capacity from 20 to 250. The largest room hosts the Fayetteville Rotary Club each Thursday for its noon meeting.

Through its catering side, the restaurant feeds sports teams from the University of Arkansas and local high schools, and also caters to a handful of corporate offices, notably J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. in Lowell twice a week.

According to figures from the Fayetteville Advertising & Promotion Commission, Mermaids did $685,200 in sales in 2009 and $725,400 in 2010.

Through the first nine months of fiscal 2011, which runs December to November in Fayetteville, the restaurant has collected $581,500 in revenue.