‘Restore Robinson’ Opinions Differ In Hospitality Industry

David Goins with our content partner, KARK Ch. 4 News, visits with restaurant owners with different views on an upcoming special election to dedicate an existing tax to restore Robinson Auditorium.

The music hall center will undergo a $68 million renovation if voters approve proposals to dedicate the city of Little Rock’s two percent tourism tax to bonds for the cause.

The theater was built in 1939 and was last renovated in the 1970s.

Under plans for the renovation, the performance area would be reconfigured to make it more intimate. Backstage, the theater would add space and make it easier for touring productions to set up. Plans also call for updated meeting spaces.

Goins reports that the city’s hospitality community, which collects the tourism tax, is not unified in its support for the project.

Capi Peck, a restaurant owner and a member of the Little Rock Advertising and Promotion Commission, says the project isn’t a new tax.

“This is something that will support the entire city,” Peck says.

But support for the plan, even among restaurant owners, isn’t universal.

Mark Abernathy, owner of a variety of Little Rock restaurant ventures over the past 25 years including Loca Luna, says such a large portion of the hamburger tax should not go to one project in downtown Little Rock.

“If we have an advertising and promotion tax, it should be spent on advertising and promotion for restaurants and other events,” Abernathy says. “That includes venues like the Arkansas Repertory Theater, Little Rock Marathon and other events. A good portion of the tax is collected from restaurants in Midtown and west Little Rock.”

You can access Goins’ full report at this link.