New Era Dawning for Dickson Street (OPINION)

The first domino has fallen in the much anticipated turnover of Dickson Street. Chips-and-salsa restaurant Jose’s recently closed and will reopen as JJ’s Grill.

While that came as big news on Dickson Street, it had been predicted a while back. In May, Walton Arts Center president and CEO Peter Lane, in an interview with the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal, described the impact the renovated center would have on Fayetteville’s main drag.

“The expansion will be the catalyst for the next transformation of Dickson Street,” he said.

While it’s not known if the JJ’s deal was a direct result of what’s going on across the street at the Walton Arts Center, the timing indicates that, at least in part, it was.

Since opening in 1980, Jose’s has forged strong roots with the community. On the first of each month, for instance, the restaurant catered lunch to Collier Drug Stores. Jose’s also cultivated a relationship with bikers, and in a city that hosts an annual rally, there’s nothing wrong with that.

But it doesn’t necessarily fit with what the Walton Arts Center is doing — doubling down on Broadway blockbusters like Mamma Mia! Add to that the proposed West Street facility for Theatre Squared, and in the next few years Fayetteville will have a bona fide theater district. 

The takeaway here is that JJ’s owner Jody Thornton is a winner. In partnership with Jose’s owners Joe Fennel and Doug Allen, he arrives on Dickson Street with experience, personnel, and in a crowded market, perhaps the biggest asset of all — brand equity. He’s promised an extensive renovation, so when JJ’s opens sometime next year, think metropolis, not college town.

As Thornton preps his new restaurant, a lot of people will probably ask the same questions: When will the next domino fall, and, more importantly, which domino will it be?