Good Eating Places Follow People North

Benton county gains its own dining hot spots

Fine dining in Northwest Arkansas is no longer limited to Fayetteville.

While that city remains the area’s entertainment capital, restaurants like Cracker Barrel in Springdale and Ruby Tuesdays in Bentonville are springing up to accommodate the region’s northward shift in population. Tom Rife, owner of Rife & Company Appraisers in Bentonville, is the chairman of the Bentonville/Bella Vista Chamber of Commerce.

He says the waiting line usually extending out Ruby Tuesdays front door and the upscale atmosphere of places like The Kitchen Table in Bentonville indicate Benton County is capable of supporting more “nice restaurants.” Rife says other national chains such as The Olive Garden have “missed the boat” by not opening locations in that area sooner.

“Some major chains have avoided coming in here because in the past they haven’t seen the population base they want to support their target numbers,” Rife says. “But our base is deceptive when you take into account all of our people in Bella Vista and the rural population that surrounds Bentonville.

“The large number of [Wal-Mart] vendors who have moved here don’t necessarily want to live in town, and many of them have bought houses with acreage outside the city’s limits. We’ve definitely got the population to support mid-sized restaurants.”

Rife also points out the busier a community is, the more likely its people are to eat out. If Bentonville’s growing number of corporate executives is any indication, coming restaurants like Cafe Santa Fe and AQ Chicken may be right on time.

Randy Ross moved his Ross Marketing Inc. in December from Springdale to Rogers. A member of the Rogers Area Chamber of Commerce’s long-range planning committee, Ross says Benton County is hurt in terms of potential restaurant business by the fact it’s a “dry” county, which means sales of alcohol, except in private clubs, is illegal.

He says Fayetteville’s reputation as a college town, and the large number of students who can dictate the success of local restaurants, keep Northwest Arkansas diners migrating south.

“The food at a restaurant in Fayetteville might be OK, but, if the festivities and entertainment are good, people will drive down from Bentonville or wherever because they know they’ll have fun,” Ross says.

“Jose’s, for instance, is an established Fayetteville restaurant and is always up there in sales because people are willing to spend money there. They know people go there to party and that they’ll have a good time.”

He adds a number of people are also willing to drive 15 minutes up to the Missouri state line to eat at Shrimpman’s Inn where alcohol is also sold. But Ross says more clusters of restaurants, like the one on U.S. Highway 71 just south of Arkansas 102 that contains Kisor’s, the Dixie Cafe, Applebee’s and Chili’s, are keeping the city’s economy strong.

Addressing Rogers’ downtown traffic problems, Ross says, would aid that area’s eateries, which include Cafe Santa Fe and Poor Richard’s.

“Having more nice restaurants is allowing us to keep our tax dollars in Rogers,” Ross says. “There’s some concern that we haven’t developed enough, and that we need more of our own citizens to patronize the restaurants here. We’re the gateway to the lake, but people are going to be drawn to eat in places that are close to the way they travel every day.

“Right now, that way is along Highway 71.”

Joy Drummonds, owner of Washington County Abstract & Title Co. in Springdale, says the arrival of Cracker Barrel and Marketplace Grill near the corner of U.S. Highways 71 and 412, have created excitement in her city. She says for years it seemed that Springdale was wedged in between national chains that sought sizable crowds in Fayetteville and Rogers.

But now, nice restaurants like Magnolia Gardens, which operates out of a huge, remodeled Victorian home on Huntsville Avenue, give the city more than just an economic boost.

“It’s convenient to have good places to eat close by,” Drummonds says. “But more importantly, I think having these types of restaurants makes us feel like we’re deserving of nice places, too. So many times in the past those places went to Fayetteville.

“I think as much as anything else, the way the area is changing is giving people more reasons to feel good about their communities.”