Work to begin in January on new Bricktown in downtown Fort Smith
by November 24, 2025 5:34 pm 3,655 views
View of the south 300 block of Garrison Avenue – at the location where a rebuilt Adelaide Hall will stand – looking east.
Construction to rebuild what was once the Bricktown Brewery restaurant on Garrison Avenue in downtown Fort Smith is set to begin in January, according to Rick Griffin, manager of Fort Smith-based Griffin Properties.
The city of Fort Smith on Nov. 18 issued a building permit valued at $2.88 million for construction of a 14,036-square-foot building at 318 Garrison Ave. Griffin Construction is the contractor, with Blaylock Heating & Air and All Phase Electric listed as subcontractors.
Adelaide Hall, the historic building which housed Oklahoma City-based Bricktown Brewery, had to be demolished following a Nov. 6, 2024, fire.
Built by William Meade Fishback in 1871, the building 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, Bricktown invested more than $750,000 in renovations to remodel for its restaurant brand.
Griffin on Monday (Nov. 24) told Talk Business & Politics that he is working with Bricktown officials on design details and plans to have a detailed press release in the near future. He confirmed that work will begin in early January, with site prep possible in December.
“I truly believe that Fort Smith is going to be really proud of this replacement building,” Griffin said about initial design plans.
As to the cost, Griffin declined to provide an estimate for the completed building. He said it will be more than the $2.88 million building permit, and added with a laugh that “it’s really more than I wanted to spend on it.”
Griffin said in a May 2024 interview that 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.
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.