Restaurant News: Conscious Coco, The Hip Cafe, Chicot Hibachi Express, and more

Get hungry, restaurant fans. It’s time for some restaurant news.

Here’s what we know about a handful of places that are opening, closing, moving, or coming soon to Fayetteville.


Conscious Coco

Staff photo

A new chocolate shop and vegan cafe is now open in Fayetteville.

The new shop, called Conscious Coco, is located at 1877 N. Pluto Dr., next to Nomads Trailside.

The business, created by local resident Shayla Holder, started out focusing on Holder’s raw chocolate truffles and cheesecakes, but recently expanded with the brick-and-mortar location to add the cafe.

The cafe serves coffee, smoothies, and a rotating menu of other plant-based vegan and gluten-free items.

They are open from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, and from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Sunday.


The Hip Cafe

Staff photo

As it happens, we also found another coffee shop and vegan/vegetarian restaurant coming soon to Fayetteville.

The Hip Cafe is currently under construction in a building formerly home to a car wash at 2229 E. Huntsville Rd.

We reached out to the owners via Facebook, who said they hope to be up and running sometime in October.


Chicot Hibachi Express

Staff photo

Little Rock-based restaurant Chicot Hibachi Express has expanded to Fayetteville.

The new restaurant is located at 2155 W. Martin Luther King Jr Blvd., in the space formerly home to Columbia Mex/Burrito Loco.

According to their website, the Fayetteville restaurant offers hibachi cuisine, sushi rolls, spring rolls, egg rolls, mochi ice cream, and more.

They are open from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and from 11 a.m. until 10:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.


Eat My Catfish

Photo: Courtesy, Eat My Catfish

A Central Arkansas-based catfish restaurant chain will soon expand to Fayetteville.

The restaurant, called Eat My Catfish, is set to open at 32 W. Joyce Blvd., in the space formerly home to Fuzzy’s Taco Shop.

The restaurant got its start in 2008 with founder Travis Hester cooking up catfish in a food trailer in Benton Arkansas. Since then, Hester expanded to open his first brick-and-mortar in 2012, and has grown to operate locations in Conway, Little Rock, and North Little Rock.

As you might expect, the menu focuses on fried catfish dishes, along with crab legs, boiled shrimp, crawfish, fried chicken, and po-boy sandwiches.

If all goes well, Eat My Catfish will be open by the end of September.


Feed and Folly

Future home of Feed and Folly, a new restaurant and rooftop bar set to open in Fayetteville.

Staff photo

A new restaurant specializing in house-cured and smoked meats with a rooftop bar overlooking the south side of town is in the works in Fayetteville.

The new spot, called Feed and Folly, will be located at 110 S. College Ave., next to the old courthouse and just across the street from the John Paul Hammerschmidt Federal Building.

The restaurant is a project by locals Lewis Chase, Matthew Sutton, and Michael Sutton.

The name for the new place comes from an establishment run by the Sutton’s (who happen to be brothers) great great grandfather William “The Mad Duke” Sutton in Southport, England in the late 1700s. The place, called Duke’s Folly Hotel, was rebuilt in the 1860s and is still in business today, was known for its “lively, welcoming, and warm atmosphere” and for its connection to Sutton, the founder of Southport.

The menu for the new business will focus on meats, charcuterie plates, specialty sandwiches, along with seasonal entrees, local brews, and craft cocktails using fresh, local ingredients.

The building has been vacant for several years, but renovations have been underway for a few months now.

Chase said if all goes well, the new restaurant and bar will be open before the end of 2019.


The Commons

Courtesy photo

A new bar and cafe is now open just off Dickson Street in Fayetteville.

It’s called The Commons, and it’s part of the recently completed TheatreSquared building on the southeast corner of Spring Street and West Avenue.

Aside from being a 50,000-square-foot, two-stage theater complex, the building includes areas that will be open to the public even when no shows are taking place.

The Commons officially opened on Tuesday, Aug. 13, just one day ahead of the premiere of “Shakespeare in Love,” the company’s first show in the new space.

The cafe and bar serves locally-sourced food and drinks from partners like Arsaga’s Coffee Roasters, Woodstone Craft Pizza, Briar Rose Bakery, Ozark Natural Breads and Vault.

The online menu shows a variety of appetizers, salads, sandwiches and 8-inch pizzas available for order. A 16-tap bar will serve a selection of local beers, along with wine and pre-made drinks.

Operating hours are listed as 8:30 a.m. to close Tuesday through Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Officials said non-performance day closing times will vary, but The Commons is expected to stay open until “well after” each production ends, and perhaps as late as 11 p.m.

For more information, or to see the menu, visit commonsbarcafe.com.


Wingstop

Staff photo

Wingstop has returned to Fayetteville.

The Texas-based chain officially opened their location at 1237 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. on Wednesday, Aug. 14.

It isn’t the first Wing Stop location in Fayetteville. The chain once operated at 2630 E. Citizens Dr., but that restaurant closed about six years ago.

Wing Stop was founded in 1994, and is and headquartered in Dallas, Texas. It is a publicly traded company (NASDAQ:WING) that operates more than 1,200 restaurants across the United States, and in nine other countries around the world.

The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. until around 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.


Tony’s NY Style Pizza

Staff photo

A new New York-style pizza restaurant is now open on Dickson Street.

Tony’s NY Style Pizza officially opened on Aug. 7 at 412 W. Dickson Street, in the building formerly home to Taco Bell Cantina.

The restaurant serves speciality pizzas, pizza by the slice, hoagie sandwiches, salads, along with beer and cocktails to wash it down.

Zach Jacobs, one of the owners, told us a few months ago that he and his family will operate the new restaurant. The pizza will be made from locally-sourced ingredients, he said, and the beer menu will focus on plenty of Arkansas-made craft beer.

The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. until 2 a.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to midnight on Sunday.

For a bit more info, check out their website.


Chicken Salad Chick

Staff photo

If you’re a fan of chicken salad, you might be pumped to know a whole restaurant dedicated to the dish is now open in Fayetteville.

Alabama-based chain Chicken Salad Chick officially opened for business at 352 E. Joyce Blvd. on Wednesday, Aug. 28, in a portion of the space formerly home to Dress Barn (next to T.J. Maxx).

Chicken Salad Chick was established in 2008 by founder Stacy Brown, who began selling her chicken salad recipes out of her home kitchen in Auburn, Alabama. Since then, the restaurant chain has grown to more than 80 restaurants across the southeast United States. The Fayetteville location will be just the second location in the Arkansas. The first company first opened in Jonesboro late last year.

As the name suggests, the menu focuses on a handful of varieties of chicken salad, from savory to fruity, nutty, or spicy recipes.

The Fayetteville location is open from 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday.