Progress vs. History in Tontitown

The site where one of Northwest Arkansas’ landmark restaurants stood will soon look much different.

The Tontitown building that housed Mary Maestri’s restaurant for 63 years is scheduled for demolition, making way for a retail shopping center at the northeast corner of the U.S. Highway 412 and Arkansas Highway 112 intersection.

Cave Springs businessman Brett Hash, through his PLBTP LLC, paid White River Bancshares Inc. $1.7 million for the 2.5-acre property at 992 E. Henri De Tonti Blvd. in December.

Hash is a co-owner of The Creeks golf course in Cave Springs. He and Margie Moldenhauer also own the real estate company Re/Max and Associates of Fayetteville.

PLBTP, Hash said, is an acronym that stands for “Please Lord Bless This Project.”

“It’s probably crazy to build a 30,000-SF shopping center right now,” Hash joked. “But I am excited about it. We’ve had a lot of great interest in the project.”

Hash said the Tontitown Fire Department would destroy the building in a controlled burn, doubling as a training exercise for the department. The burn has been scheduled Saturday, Feb. 4, at approximately 3 p.m.

Hash said he plans to submit his large-scale development plans for Casalini Court Shopping Center to the city of Tontitown in February, with an eye toward groundbreaking before the end of spring. The name Casalini was chosen as an homage to the founding fathers of Tontitown, several of whom can trace their heritage to Casalini, Italy.

Hash conceded the choice to destroy the white, two-story building was difficult to make. Progress, it appears, won out over sentiment.

In May 2010, the doors of the Italian eatery were shuttered by the state. The restaurant was delinquent in paying thousands of sales tax dollars numerous times during the two years prior to being closed.

The thought of the building going up in flames is likely to draw several onlookers to the busy intersection, and it’s not a stretch to say some might have tear-filled eyes.

“Including mine,” Hash agreed. “I’m a Northwest Arkansas native, went to Springdale High and spent every one of my prom dinners at that restaurant. I got engaged to my wife there and our wedding rehearsal dinner was there.”

Daniel Maestri, Mary Maestri’s grandson who became the business’s leader in 1977 at the age of 22 after the death of his father, was the restaurant’s owner when Signature Bank of Arkansas took back the 5,231-SF building. The property also contains a 2,000-SF outbuilding.

White River Bancshares, the holding company for Signature, had been allowing a church to hold Sunday morning services on the premises rent-free, in exchange for upkeep on the property. Hash said The City Church recently moved to a permanent location in Fayetteville, even before he bought the property.

Hash said he is in talks with two national chains about anchoring the shopping center, whose preliminary designs are being handled by Core Architects in Rogers. The development will include three separate buildings totaling 25,955 SF with an open-air courtyard in between two of the buildings.

Hash also said he is in negotiations to bring a “well-liked, long-term” Northwest Arkansas restaurant to Casalini Court.

Because of ongoing litigation, Maestri declined an interview for this story. After consulting with his attorney, he did agree to release the accompanying statement regarding the sale of the restaurant’s former location, its consequent demolition and the future of the family business.

 

Major Makeover

The Casalini Court project has been on Hash’s mind for nearly six years, part of a major makeover for the 112/412 intersection.

Hash also owns acreage to the north of his most recent acquisition. He paid more than $4 million for 24 acres behind the restaurant property, according to an October 2006 edition of the Business Journal.

Dogs Red LLC of Fayetteville previously owned that property, but Hash bought out partners Maestri, Gary Brandon, Howard Higgins and Lisa Higgins, using a $2.85 million loan from Liberty Bank of Arkansas to pay off the group’s debt.

At the time, Hash said he had plans to build an Italian-themed shopping center on the property, between 40,000 and 50,000 SF. As was the case with most developers, the country’s economic downturn put those plans on hold.

Now, not only is Hash ramping up the idea again, but a separate real estate deal last fall set up another retail development on the property. In September, Hash sold 3.8 acres of the corner property for $425,000 to Orscheln Farm and Home LLC, paving the way for a new Orscheln Farm and Home store.

The privately held retail outlet, headquartered in Moberly, Mo., carries a wide variety of items to serve farm, home, ranch and suburban customers. Some of them include lawn and garden supplies, farm, electrical, automotive and fencing supplies, tools, clothing and footwear, and sporting goods.

The Tontitown location would be built immediately north of the former Mary Maestri’s building.

Orscheln currently operates a downtown Springdale location in the former Layman’s General Hardware Co. building on East Emma Avenue. A spokesman at Orscheln’s corporate office said a large-scale proposal for the store could be submitted to Tontitown city officials by March.

 

Maestri Moving On

The brick-and-mortar restaurant of Mary Maestri’s closed in 2010, but the food found another home in Washington County. At least, that was the case until December.

In January 2011, Maestri and Suzie Stephens, owner of the culinary school/restaurant Nibbles Academy of Cooking in Fayetteville, entered into an agreement for Nibbles to offer some of Mary Maestri’s handmade Italian classics.

Two of Mary Maestri’s former kitchen staff, J.D. Maestri and Kyle DeVito, the head chef, kept the fare alive with the tried-and-true Mary Maestri’s recipes.

But late in 2011, Daniel Maestri, Stephens believed, had some concerns whether the restaurant was going to survive and he opted out of the agreement — which neither party agreed to discuss in detail — effective New Year’s Eve.

“On Nov. 1, he gave us a 60-day cancellation notice,” Stephens said. “There wasn’t a reason given.”

In the aftermath, Stephens has re-branded her restaurant as J.D.’s Steakhouse. It opened Jan. 10 with J.D. Maestri staying on as the head chef.

“We are still serving spaghetti and several other dishes, just not with the specific Mary Maestri’s recipes,” Stephens said.

Even without answering specific questions for the Business Journal, Daniel Maestri’s fierce protection of the Maestri name is evident.

He said the name “Mary Maestri’s” is protected by copyright and resented the notion the restaurant is being destroyed.

“What the business is doing is a totally different story,” he said. “The fact that it used to be located there … it was somewhere else before that and somewhere else before that.

“We don’t have anything to do with that property or the thing [Hash] is doing.”

According to the restaurant’s still-active website, “Maestri is still in the legal process of protecting the family’s image and getting justice for the business.”

Statement by Daniel Maestri.

Restaurateur declines interview, but offers statement on the future of family restaurant.

“Mary Maestri’s restaurant was located at the corner of Highway 412 and 112 from 1947 until May 2010. Prior to that we were located on Barrington Road from 1923 until 1947.

“In May of 2010, after being temporarily closed by the State of Arkansas for some late sales tax payments that we were making arrangements to pay, we had a very unfortunate experience.

“We then filed suit against the parties and there is ongoing litigation. In 2011, we opened Mary Maestri’s in Fayetteville with a lease agreement in Nibbles Academy of Cooking.

“We are currently looking at a new location and talking with investors about the future of this famous restaurant. 

“I look forward to serving the same great food and providing excellent service we are known for in the near future. Watch for the opening announcement.”