AQ Chicken House to open July 4 in downtown Springdale

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by Talk Business & Politics staff ([email protected]) ago 0 views 

The iconic restaurant brand that has fed a president and any number of Razorback fans celebrating a win or seeking comfort from a loss is set to return. Springdale restaurant AQ Chicken House said Monday (June 22) that it will return on Independence Day after a three-year hiatus.

The well-known restaurant closed its original location on U.S. Highway 71B in Springdale on March 18, 2023. It opens to the public at 11 a.m. July 4 at 100 W. Emma Ave. after a ribbon-cutting ceremony and soft opening at 10:30 a.m. July 1.

In October, AQ announced it would open in downtown Springdale after previously planning to open near the Interstate 49 interchange with Elm Springs Road. Rising construction and material costs led AQ to decide against opening a restaurant there.

In January, the city of Springdale issued an $800,000 commercial alteration permit for interior work at the new restaurant. It started hiring for about 80 employees in May.

AQ will be adjacent to Onyx Coffee Lab. Both are in the First Security Bank complex, which an investment group with Springdale ties purchased in May 2022 for $4.96 million. Emma Building Group was the buyer. Don Harris is a partner with developer Tom Lundstrum in Shiloh Capital and an investor in the Emma Building Group. Shiloh Capital is a Springdale-based private investment firm.

The property that changed hands in May 2022 comprised the two-story, 30,000-square-foot First Security Bank building and the 10,000-square-foot Barrack building, fronting Turnbow Park. Searcy-based First Security Bank was the previous owner.

Catalyst Capital, a single-family office organized by the Lundstrum family of Springdale, acquired the rights to AQ’s name, recipes and branding in September 2023. Catalyst Capital’s four principals include Tom and Robin Lundstrum, their daughter Gracie Lively, and her husband Jacob Lively.

Roy Ritter opened AQ Chicken House — AQ stands for Arkansas Quality — on July 20, 1947, when chickens were raised and slaughtered behind the restaurant along a dusty dirt road known today as Highway 71. The 14,600-square-foot restaurant at 1207 N. Thompson St., which had been in business for nearly 76 years, was demolished after Missouri-based Club Car Wash bought the 3.1-acre property for $1.75 million in April 2023. The company built a car wash there.