Buffalo Spreading Wings Across Arkansas
by January 30, 2006 12:00 am 110 views
John Bliss of Fayetteville and Paul Nelson of Bentonville opened a Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar in Fayetteville’s CMN Business Park on Dec. 19.
They plan to open six more in Arkansas.
On Jan. 23, construction began on a Hot Springs location, which is slated to open in May. A Springdale restaurant is next on the list. It should open by late summer.
Bliss said he and Nelson are looking for locations for two restaurants in Little Rock and one each in North Little Rock and Fort Smith. The Fort Smith and Little Rock area restaurants should be open in early 2007, he said. Steve Lane/Colliers Dickson Flake Partners is helping Bliss and Nelson scout for locations.
Bliss and Nelson opened their first Buffalo Wild Wings this past May in Bentonville. It was also the first Buffalo Wild Wings in Arkansas.
The 7,000-SF Fayetteville restaurant is at 32 W. Joyce Blvd. in a building that also houses a Party City retail store. The restaurant has about 70 employees counting part timers.
Bliss said it costs about $2.5 million to build a Buffalo Wild Wings from the ground up. That’s what it will cost in both Hot Springs and Springdale, he said. Opening the Fayetteville store in an existing building cost about half that amount.
The Hot Springs restaurant will be identical to the one in Bentonville, both 6,400 SF in size, and able to seat 275. The Springdale restaurant is slightly smaller at 5,500 SF. The Fayetteville restaurant can seat 235.