Rebuild at Adelaide Hall location could begin in early fall
by May 22, 2025 6:48 pm 1,396 views

View of the south 300 block of Garrison Avenue – at the location where a rebuilt Adelaide Hall will stand – looking east.
One can’t replace lost history, but it’s possible to build something that will become history. So believes Rick Griffin, who is working with Oklahoma City-based Bricktown Brewery to rebuild a version of the historic Adelaide Hall in downtown Fort Smith.
Built by William Meade Fishback in 1871, the building at 318 Garrison Ave., was the second oldest building on the downtown avenue. Developer Richard Griffin, Rick Griffin’s father, restored the building in 1994, and its first tenant was the Varsity Grill restaurant. In the summer of 2014, Oklahoma City-based Bricktown invested more than $750,000 in renovations to remodel for its restaurant brand.
The historic building had to be demolished following a Nov. 6 fire.
Rick Griffin, manager of Griffin Properties, the company responsible for the new construction, said in a May 21 interview that plans and other project specifications were scheduled to be ready by May 22. Griffin Properties is working with Fort Smith-based Chasen Garrett Architects on plans for a new building that Griffin said will look similar to the building that was lost.
Griffin said he will review the plans with Bricktown Brewery officials to ensure they are complete, and then forward to the city for all necessary approvals, including granting of a building permit. At the same time, Griffin Properties will begin soliciting bids from contractors, he said. Griffin said it’s too early to estimate a total cost, and declined to provide a possible cost range.

The goal, according to Griffin, is to begin construction no later than early fall.
“Yes, it might be open by then (late 2026), but no promises,” Griffin said, adding that his focus is on “doing this thing right, with every nail and every bolt, doing this thing right so that it continues to be part of that (downtown history).”
“When it was built, it was an important building in downtown Fort Smith, and 140 years later (when Bricktown renovated it) people would be talking about it and consider it an important historical building in downtown Fort Smith,” Griffin said. “But now it’s gone. So we’re going to go build a replacement building, but I hope 140 years from now people consider it an important building in downtown Fort Smith. … It will look like the original building and should be better in every respect.”
He said the “interior will be spectacular” with the Bricktown restaurant look, there will be “an improved outdoor patio area,” and the upstairs meeting hall – which was frequently used for proms, wedding receptions, civic club meetings, and other gatherings – will be rebuilt.

“We think the community is going to be very proud of this project,” Griffin said. “The fire was very disheartening, but we’ve gotten over that to the point that we can’t wait to get started on this new building. We’ve come full circle.”
He also praised Bricktown Brewery owners and managers who immediately after the fire wanted to be part of any effort to rebuild at the location.
“They never flinched. They like this market and this market likes them. So from day one, we’ve been holding hands together to get this done. I can’t say enough good things about them,” Griffin said.
According to Bricktown, the restaurant company was Oklahoma’s first brewpub and first restaurant to brew craft beer. The company opened its first restaurant in 1992 and operates 21 restaurants in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas.