Waldo’s Chicken & Beer announces opening date in Bentonville

Waldo’s Chicken & Beer will open its third Arkansas location on March 26 in Bentonville. JTJ Restaurants LLC, the Little Rock-based restaurant group that operates Taziki’s Mediterranean Cafe in Arkansas, shared the details in a news release on Tuesday (March 19).

The Bentonville location is at 700 S.E. Walton Blvd. (previously Mama Fu’s Asian House). The restaurant plans to hire 30 to 40 new employees for all positions. Interested applicants can apply through Indeed.com or in person.

“We’re thrilled to open our third Waldo’s in Arkansas,” JTJ Restaurants President Tommy Keet said. “Opening Taziki’s ten years ago [in Bentonville] just a block away, we’ve felt the incredible support of the Bentonville community. We’re eager to offer our customers great food, drinks, and service at our new location.”

The Keet family owns and operates two Waldo’s Chicken & Beer in central Arkansas and two in Oklahoma. Jim, Tommy and Jake (JTJ) also own ten Taziki’s Mediterranean Cafes in Arkansas and Oklahoma, Petit & Keet in Little Rock and Cypress Social in North Little Rock.

Waldo’s Chicken & Beer opened its first location in May 2019 in the Germantown neighborhood of Nashville, Tenn. It has since opened in other locations throughout Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Florida. In Arkansas, there are locations in Little Rock and North Little Rock.

The popular fast-casual restaurant is known for making its entire menu from scratch, specializing in Southern fried and fire-roasted chicken.

Brad Compton, a 20-year food industry veteran and operating partner for Taziki’s in Northwest Arkansas, will lead the Bentonville location.