Whataburger, other chains coming to Fayetteville, Rogers, Springdale

Whataburger is coming to town with the opening of a restaurant in Fayetteville slated for July 20, according a sign posted outside the new venue. Three more Whataburger restaurants are planned in Rogers, Springdale and a second location in Fayetteville in the coming months.

The Texas-based chain announced this week that applications are being accepted for the Rogers location in the Pleasant Crossings development. Some 60-90 people will be hired for the new location which is already under construction adjacent to the new Burlington Coat Factory.

In Fayetteville, work is nearly complete on the company’s first venture in the region with a 3,100-square-foot restaurant at 1920 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. That restaurant is expected to open by the end of the month, according to a company spokesman with Hahn Public Communications in Austin, Texas.

A proposed second Whataburger location will be considered Tuesday (July 14) by the Fayetteville Planning Commission when plans for a large scale development at 4000 N. College are on the agenda, said city planner Andrew Garner. If approved, a now vacant strip center will be razed to make way for the new restaurant on the northeast corner of College and Joyce Boulevard.

The Springdale Planning Commission approved plans earlier this week for a fourth Northwest Arkansas Whataburger location, Planning Director Patsy Christy said. This one will be on the north side of Elm Springs Road, just east of Interstate 49.

The first Whataburger was opened in 1950 as a roadside burger stand in Corpus Christi, Texas. The restaurant chain now operates more than 780 stores.

In Fayetteville, the 2,274-square-foot Raising Cane’s has announced an Aug. 6 opening on its Facebook page. The restaurant, at 3561 N. College Ave., is the first Arkansas location for the Louisiana-based chain that has more than 220 restaurants in 18 states. The restaurant is next door to the College Marketplace, which will open later this year, anchored by Whole Foods.

Raising Cane’s, featuring fried chicken fingers, is known to be involved in education, hunger, pet welfare and business development and entrepreneurial issues in the cities where restaurants are located, according to its website.

A third chain is moving into Fayetteville when Freddy’s Frozen Custard and Steakburgers opens on West Wedington Drive at Salem Road. Lexie Pearce, a spokesman at Freddy’s corporate office in Wichita, Kan., said no opening date has been set, although it is expected to open in mid-August.

The Freddy’s opening will mark the second restaurant in Northwest Arkansas for the chain. The first location opened in Rogers several months ago at 4507 W. Walnut St. Both locations have been developed by franchisee 3 Pointe Restaurant Group in Branson, Mo.

Next door to the Freddy’s Wedington location, plans are developing for a new El Matador Mexican Grill and Bar, according to architect Jim Key. The restaurant was recently approved as a large scale development by the Fayetteville Planning Department for the vacant property between the new Freddy’s and First Security Bank.  Key said final drawings are being developed and construction could begin in the next 30 to 60 days.

The Fayetteville El Matador restaurant, now located by 1290 N. Steamboat Drive, belongs in the family of Mexican and Tex-Mex restaurants that include La Huerta, Mexico Viejo and Mojito’s Mexican Grill.

Other new restaurants in various stages of development include Cardamom and Curry, an Indian style restaurant at 1466 N. College Ave., and a Chinese gourmet style restaurant at 300 W. Dickson, formerly the Aqua Fire location in the 36 Club building.

Tacos for Life, a Conway-based restaurant, is planned in the former USA Drug Store building at 1572 N. College Ave. The company has two locations in Conway, and the Fayetteville location is the first franchise operation. No opening dates have been announced for these three Fayetteville restaurants.