Holidaze / Staff photo
Local pop-up bar Holidaze raised over $55,000 for local non-profit organizations this year, officials told us this week.
The holiday-themed bar, created by locals Hannah Withers, Ben Gitchel, Richard Gathright and CJ Crespo, operated two locations in Fayetteville this year.
The “naughty bar” in the former Ozark Cleaners building on Block Avenue raised nearly $30,000 for Children’s Safety Center, Fayetteville Independent Restaurant Alliance, and NWA Center for Equality. The Block Avenue location also hosted an NWA Makers club sale that raised $3,100 for Peace at Home Family Shelter.
The “nice bar,” an all-ages location in the Walton Arts Center’s rose garden, raised over $22,000 to benefit educational programming at Walton Arts Center.
The pop-up locations were open from late November until just before New Year’s Eve.
“This year was such a massive undertaking for so many of us involved,” said Holidaze co-founder Hannah Withers. “We’re really proud of the holiday cheer we brought to our community and proud of the way we utilized new spaces to do good non-profit work and bring foot traffic to downtown. The big question now is: how do we top last year?”
In all, Holidaze served over 28,000 guests, and employed 52 hospitality workers with extra holiday shifts over the course of their run at the two locations, Withers said.
