Restaurateur Plans New Fazoli?s

Geoffrey Brown plans to build a 3,300-SF restaurant at 3035 N. College Ave. in Fayetteville, just south of Goldies Patio Grill.

The building will house the second Fazoli’s Italian Restaurant in Northwest Arkansas. Brown opened a Fazoli’s at 1735 W. Walnut St. in Rogers in July 1999.

The proposed building was approved by the Fayetteville Planning Commission on Dec. 11. Construction is scheduled to begin in early January and to be completed in early April.

Brown initially planned to build the restaurant in Fayetteville’s Fiesta Square, but a deal to lease property at the shopping center fell through.

Instead, Brown purchased 0.8 acres from David Slone for $400,000 to use for the restaurant site. The location previously housed a Mitsubishi dealership. Slone is a co-owner of Superior Automotive Group.

Brown said he planned to build a third Fazoli’s, in Fort Smith, near the end of 2001. After that, he might open a fourth Fazoli’s in Springdale.

Fazoli’s has about 400 restaurants nationwide. The National Restaurant Association rated the Fazoli’s chain the hottest concept of 1999. The company is based in Lexington, Ky.

Although there are two other Italian restaurants within a block of the new Fazoli’s site (Belvedeer’s and Noodles Italian Kitchen), Brown said he was not worried about the competition along College Avenue. Brown said Fazoli’s meals are less expensive than those of the two other Italian restaurants.

Brown, a native of northwest Missouri who now lives in Rogers, previously owned a McDonald’s franchise on St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. He also had four Pizza Hut franchises in Colorado.