Other Openings and Plans

Ozark Food Outlet opened in mid-June at 1115 S. School Ave. in Fayetteville. Owners Mel Robinson and Rick Hall, who also owns Rick’s Iron Skillet restaurant in the same shopping center, sell frozen foods at “a much reduced cost” compared to local grocery stores, says Robinson.

Ozark Food Outlet purchases food from several manufacturers, including Tyson Foods Inc. of Springdale and OK Foods of Fort Smith. The store carries a variety of cooked and uncooked meats as well as prepared food products. Ozark Food Outlet purchases food in bulk and repackages it for sale to customers.

~ Eureka Pizza, a franchise based in Fayetteville, recently opened a restaurant in Joplin, Mo. This is the eighth location for the chain, which was founded in 1992 by Rolf Wilkin. The Joplin store will feature special ovens that can bake more than 250 pizzas per hour.

~ Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. plans to open a location in Fayetteville. The Lebanon, Tenn.-based company has yet to file a building permit with the Fayetteville Planning Commission, but plans call for a 9,520-SF restaurant/store on Futrall Drive near the intersection of U.S. Highways 71 and 62.

~ Wendy’s Old Fashioned Hamburgers plans to open its second Fayetteville location at 2050 N. College Ave., the former site of a Mazzio’s Pizza restaurant. Wendy’s plans to tear down the existing building and construct their own at the site.

Plans haven’t been finalized and no contractor has been hired for the project. Brent Massey, an engineer with CEI Engineering Associates of Bentonville, says he is still haggling with the Fayetteville Planning Commission over utilities at the site before the project can proceed. With any new development, Fayetteville requires that overhead utilities be routed underground, which would be an expensive procedure, says Massey.