Holy cow we haven’t rounded up any restaurant news since January. So much has happened since then.
Here’s what we know about several places that have opened, closed, re-opened, or will soon open in Fayetteville.
Heaven’s Tacos
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A new taco joint is coming to the west side of town.
According to signs placed on the building recently, Heaven’s Tacos will set up shop in the building formerly home to Green Submarine in west Fayetteville.
We haven’t found a ton of info on this one just yet, but we’d be willing to bet a medium-sized pile of dollars that they’re going to serve tacos and other Mexican foods.
The business is located at 2237 W. Wedington Drive.
Tropical Smoothie Cafe
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Tropical Smoothie Cafe will soon have two locations in Fayetteville again.
The restaurant chain focusing on smoothies, sandwiches, salads, wraps, and other items, is set to open up at 1241 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
The chain operates a location at 3878 N. Crossover Road, and formerly ran a drive-thru shop out of the front of the World Gym location on College Avenue before that business closed a few years ago.
If all goes well, we’re told the restaurant could open as soon as this weekend.
Buttered Biscuit
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A popular breakfast spot with locations in Bentonville and Springdale will soon open a Fayetteville restaurant.
Buttered Biscuit got its start on Moberly Lane in Bentonville, and opened a second location in Bentonville along with a Springdale location in 2019.
The menu focuses on traditional breakfast items like pancakes, egg dishes, sandwiches, and signature dishes like chicken waffles, acai bowls, and other items.
Owner Anna Russell said it has been a longtime goal of theirs to open a Fayetteville location.
“We wanted our second restaurant to be in Fayetteville, but that isn’t the way things turned out,” she said. “We are so excited to finally be opening in Fayetteville, though.”
Russell said the building will require an extensive remodel.
“We are going to take it down to the studs, and we’ll move some walls around,” she said.
If all goes well, Russell said she hopes to be up and running with the new location by this fall.
TJ’s Sandwich Shop
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A local sandwich establishment is moving into the old KFC building at the corner of Rolling Hills Drive and College Avenue.
According to owner Nikki Golden, TJ’s Sandwich Shop will make the short move across the street from their current location into the new building.
The space, located at 2992 N. College Ave., will provide some more visibility for the business, and another feature that Golden said she’s excited about.
“We are very excited about the move. We will have a drive thru!” she said.
TJ’s was first opened in 2014 by Nikki and her husband Todd Golden, the longtime local restauranteurs who also operate Mermaid’s Seafood Restaurant on College Avenue, and were also behind the well loved Belvedere’s restaurant in Fiesta Square years ago.
As the name suggests, TJ’s focuses on sandwiches, along with salads, soups and other items.
If all goes well, the new restaurant will be up and running by the first week of June, Nikki told us.
Big Whiskey’s
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A Missouri-based restaurant chain has opened its first Fayetteville location.
Big Whiskey’s officially opened at 1320 N. College Ave. back in February, in the Evelyn Hills Shopping Center space formerly home to East Buffet.
The menu focuses on steaks, seafood, pastas, sandwiches, salads, and other items.
According to the company’s website, the chain operates a location nearby in Bentonville, along with restaurants in southern Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Alabama. The company also recently opened a location in Siloam Springs.
The Bentonville location was the first franchise for the chain, and it opened in 2017.
For more information about the restaurant, visit bigwhiskeys.com.
Wake and Bake
Wake and Bake / Staff photo
A new breakfast, lunch, and brunch joint is open in the downtown Fayetteville area.
Wake and Bake is located just off Dickson Street at 339 N. West Ave., in the same building as West End.
The restaurant is owned by the folks behind Nomad’s in south Fayetteville, and the menu focuses on breakfast sandwiches, baked goods, and other items.
Wake and Bake shares the space with West End, which is open late night as a bar, and has access to the indoor area as well as the large rooftop patio.
They had experimented with some pop-up events at Nomad’s late last year, and officially opened for business in January.
According to the company’s Facebook page, hours are Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m.
Lift Coffee Bar
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A new spot for coffee, wine, and waffles is now open on the north side of town.
Oklahoma-based business Lift Coffee Bar is up and running in the Uptown Apartments + Shops development in north Fayetteville, in the space formerly home to Puritan.
The restaurant, self-described as a “modern and sleek style coffee and wine bar” currently operates a location in Tahlequah, OK.
Lift Coffee Bar offers a selection of coffee and wine, along with some waffle dishes, sandwiches, smoothies, and other items.
They are open Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. until 9 p.m., and Sunday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.
Apple Blossom Brewing Co
Photo: Brian Sorensen
A north Fayetteville brewery and restaurant has reopened for business.
Apple Blossom Brewing Company, located at 1550 E. Zion Road near the entrance to Veterans Memorial Park, closed last summer, but new owner Anthony Trammell of the Trammell Restaurant Group officially reopened the business in February.
The restaurant has a totally new menu, with items like a candied pork belly appetizer, braised short ribs, along with new flatbread pizzas, porkchops, a steak, burgers, and other entrees.
Many of the beers the brewery had been known for are still listed on the menu, including the Fayetteweiss, Armstraong APA, Earl Grey ESB, and others.
Apple Blossom was the brainchild of Smoke & Barrel Tavern founders Evan McDonald, Sammie Stephenson, Joe Utsch and Al Schaffer, along with brewery partners Ching Mong and Daniel Smith. The partners opened the brewery and restaurant in January 2013 before announcing the closure of the business last year.
According to the Facebook page, Apple Blossom is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m.
Bartlebee’s Seiten Stand / Ozark Mountain Bagels
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A couple new trucks have opened recently at the Yacht Club on College Avenue.
Locals Bartleby’s Seitan Stand and Ozark Mountain Bagel Co. recently opened at the mobile food court, located at 617 N. College Ave.
Bartleby’s is a food truck focusing on vegan and vegetarian items, including their seitan nuggets and cutlets, sandwiches, and more. The company also recently began selling nuggets and cutlets at Ozark Natural Foods in Fayetteville.
Ozark Mountain Bagel Co. got started in Bentonville, and the new truck at the Yacht Club will serve as its first foray into Fayetteville. The restaurant, as the name suggests, serves bagels of all flavors as well as sandwiches for breakfast and lunch.
Update: We were told Ozark Mountain Bagel was moving in for April, but that hasn’t happened yet. We’ve asked for more info, and we’ll update this space once we hear back.
Mojo’s Pints & Pies
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Mojo’s Pints & Pies is officially open on the east side of town.
It’s located at 2630 E. Citizens Dr. near Walmart Neighborhood Market.
Like their original location on Garland Avenue, the new Mojo’s focuses on pizzas, pastas, and other items with a fun indoor environment along with a large outdoor patio to enjoy in the warmer months.
For a bit more info, check them out on Facebook.
Swoon Juice Bar
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A new juice bar and restaurant is coming soon to the south side of town.
Swoon Juice Bar is set to open at 565 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. next to Austin Vision Care, according to the company’s Facebook page.
The new restaurant will focus on fresh juice, smoothies, salads, sandwiches, and wraps made to order.
According to their website, the restaurant is owned by Roman and Nicki Villasana.
If all goes well, the new juice bar will be open this spring.
