It’s been way too long since we’ve posted an update on all the restaurant happenings around Fayetteville recently.
Here’s what we know about what’s opening, closing, or coming soon.
Mr. Burger / Angus Jack
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By now, pretty much everyone in Fayetteville has heard that Mr. Burger closed its long-time restaurant on Garland Avenue back in February.
Since then, we’ve been hearing rumors that Springdale-based burger joint Angus Jack may be looking to move into their old location, and carry on the burger tradition at 1139 N. Lindell Ave.
Turns out the rumors are true(ish).
Ian Cairns, a spokesperson from Angus Jack, confirmed Thursday that the company is in talks with the owners of the building to open a restaurant there, but that it’s not a done deal just yet.
We’ll keep you posted.
Sabor Guacamole
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There’s a new Mexican restaurant just off North Street in Fayetteville.
Sabor Guacamole opened in the space formerly home to Elenita’s, and more recently, Ay! Carumba.
According to their Facebook page, the restaurant specializes in “homemade Mexican platters and other local favorites.” A friend of ours was raving about their chilliquiles recently.
The restaurant is located at 1120 N. Lindell Ave., and is open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Mockingbird Kitchen
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Longtime local chef Chrissy Sanderson and partner Leigh Helm recently opened a new restaurant in the Evelyn Hills shopping center.
The new place, dubbed Mockingbird Kitchen, serves American foods with a twist, including meatloaf, steak, sandwiches, vegetarian stir fry, salads, and other traditional faire.
They’re located at 1466 N. College Ave. in the space most recently home to Cardamom & Curry, and they’re open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for lunch, and 5-9 p.m. for dinner.
Marlo’s Little House of Tacos
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After a brief closure, Marlo’s Taco Shack is back in business.
The menu and the recipes appear to be the the same, and the original Marlo is back at the helm of the restaurant.
The name is slightly different, however. Instead of operating as Marlo’s Taco Shack, the new place is called Marlo’s Little House of Tacos.
Sassy’s BBQ & Grill
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The folks behind Sassy’s Red House are opening a new restaurant on the west side of town, with a slightly different concept.
The new place, called Sassy’s BBQ & Grill, will be located in the the space currently home to El Matador at 1290 Steamboat Drive.
As we’ve mentioned previously, El Matador is planning a move to a new building on Wedington Drive.
Sassy’s will begin renovations shortly thereafter.
There’s no timetable for opening in the new location just yet, however.
AQ Chicken
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The reports that AQ Chicken planned to close their Fayetteville location from last month turned out to be true.
The restaurant closed their doors for good earlier this month, and “For Sale” signs were placed in front of both the main building and the AQ Outback building next door.
AQ Chicken, which got its start in Springdale in the 1940s, opened its Fayetteville location in 1991.
The restaurant is still operating its original location in Springdale.
Prelude Breakfast Bar
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A new breakfast joint is coming to the downtown area.
According to their website, Prelude Breakfast Bar plans to open daily for breakfast from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., and late night on Friday and Saturday from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.
The menu looks pretty promising, with several varieties of pancakes, egg dishes, omelettes, and benedicts.
Owner Ben Parker said he hopes to open sometime in late May or early June.
Mr. Taco Loco
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There’s a crazy new taco place set to open today in south Fayetteville.
Signs for Mr. Taco Loco recently appeared on the building formerly home to Simon’s Diner, located at 1701 S. School Ave.
It looks like they’ll specialize in tacos, burritos, tortas, quesadillas, and potatoes nachos.
According to a post on their Facebook page, they plan to open on Friday, April 22.
Order 57
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After a bit of a hiatus, Order 57 food trailer is back in business on Block Avenue in the space most recently home to Chunky Dunk Milk & Cookies Truck.
Order 57 serves an eclectic menu, with falafel, apricot chicken, some soups, and a few other items.
They’re open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Chunky Dunk Milk & Cookies Truck
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We’ve got good news and bad news, cookie fans.
The bad news is that Chunky Dunk has closed their cookie truck on Block Avenue, and the founder of the business is moving to Little Rock.
The good news, however, is that locals Laura Morrow and Tori Karr have purchased a portion of the business, and plan to soon re-open somewhere on Block Avenue on Memorial Day weekend.
The Green Goat
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The Green Goat is expanding its presence in Fayetteville.
Owner Erin Walsh, who also owns Ma’ Mere’s, has purchased the old Grillenium Falcon truck from the Hammontree family with plans to convert it into a second Green Goat location in south Fayetteville at the corner of MLK Jr. Boulevard and Wood Avenue.
Walsh said the second location will offer a full range of Cuban faire, including soups and salads that she’s not able to do at her current location out of respect for neighbors at Zuppa Zuppa.
She said she’s hoping the new truck could eventually lead to a brick-and-mortar location so she can serve up “Spanish wines and fine dining options that the area has never seen before.”
Sounds awesome to us.
J.D. China / Raising Cane’s
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We mentioned this in our last restaurant round up, but we’ve got a bit more information since then.
Longtime Chinese restaurant J.D. China has closed, and Louisina-based chicken restaurant Raising Cane’s plans to demolish the building, and build a restaurant at that location.
We’re not sure when the new place plans to open, but Raising Cane’s first Fayetteville location, which also required removing a building, went up in a matter of months.
Ozzy’s
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There’s a new pizza joint on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
Ozzy’s, created by Shake’s Frozen Custard CEO Corey Osborne, is located at 2117 MLK Jr. Boulevard, in the same building as Starbucks. The restaurant features customized individual pizzas, salads, and sandwiches.
According to their Facebook page, once the pizzas are customized, they cook in a high-temperature oven in just two minutes.
Ozzy’s is open daily from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Whataburger
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Whataburger recently opened a second restaurant in Fayetteville.
The new location is at 4030 N. College Ave. at the corner of Joyce Boulevard.
They serve hamburgers.
JJ’s Grill on Dickson
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There’s been a lot of progress on the JJ’s Grill coming to the former Jose’s location on Dickson Street.
Contractors have completely torn out the patio and marquee, and have started the rebuilding process.
We reached out to the owners for an update on their timeline, but haven’t yet heard back. We’ll add that information here once we have it.
El Patio Mexican Bar & Grill
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We’re not sure when this happened, but we realized that La Hacienda near Baum Stadium is now called El Patio Bar & Grill. We don’t know much about it yet, but here’s their Facebook page.
The Backyard at Greenhouse Grille
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Greenhouse Grille has been working on a new concept along Frisco Trail behind their current restaurant.
The new space is called The Backyard and it will be serviced by their food truck, which will serve up the Greenhouse Grille crew’s version of barbecue with brisket, pulled pork, sausage, as well as plenty of vegan and gluten-free options and specialty sauces.
Co-owner Jerrmy Gawthrop told us the new space will be super casual and kid-friendly.
If all goes well, The Backyard will be open for business by the end of April.
Pop Up Fayetteville
You hear about pop-up restaurants in larger cities pretty frequently, but we can’t remember anyone ever doing one in Fayetteville. That’ll soon change.
Local chef/entrepreneur Brent Hale is planing to try his hand at a pop-up restaurant for two nights on May 21-22 at 745 E. Joyce Blvd. #118 (next to Jason’s Deli).
Cost for the meal is $45 per person, and it looks like you’ll be required to purchase them in advance at their EventBrite page.
Here’s what the menu looks like.
