Future site of City Park at 1332 N. Leverett Ave. (Flyer Photo/Todd Gill)
A new outdoor restaurant from the folks behind Feed and Folly is coming soon to Fayetteville.
The new concept is called City Park, and will be located in the former AT&T truck station at 1332 N. Leverett Ave. We first wrote about the project when it was up before the Planning Commission in January.
Since then, more details – including a name for the restaurant – have been decided on. Co-owner Lewis Chase, who purchased the property along with Feed and Folly business partners Michael and Matt Sutton, told us the name is a nod to another local community space.
“City Park is actually the original name of Wilson Park from back when my Mom was a kid,” Chase said “We decided it would be cool to pay homage to that.”
The idea for the new business, he said, is to create a concept similar to what you might find in Dallas, Austin, and other cities, that serves food and local beers, all in an outdoor space with easy access to the trail system.
Chase said the kitchen will be located in the existing building on the property, and will serve a variety of food options.
“Our original idea was to have three or four kitchens serving different foods, but it turned out we weren’t going to be able to update the building that much,” he said. “So we’ll have one kitchen with 3-4 types of food coming out. As of now, we are thinking Texas-style barbecue with specials Thursday through Sunday, smashburgers, street tacos, and a trailside snack menu with healthier items so you can grab a bite and keep riding.”
The restaurant will utilize the existing building’s metal overhangs for shaded seating. The partners also have plans to add fans, heaters, televisions, and other amenities.
“We like to find old buildings and find new uses for them, and that is why this property is so attractive,” Chase said. “We like not having to tear down and start over.”
Some shipping container buildings will also be added to provide bar space and take care of other storage needs, he said. On big Razorback weekends, the space will have room for local food trucks to set up and help serve larger crowds.
Most of the resources for the project will be spent on the outdoor space.
“We are spending a lot of our budget on landscaping,” Chase said. “Large trees for shade, and things like that.”
There will also be space for outdoor games, such as a bocce ball court and other activities.
Chase said the project may come together in two phases, with the first phase focusing on renovating the existing buildings and adding the shipping container spaces. A second phase could focus more on the outdoor beer garden.
Chase said that he and his partners just secured a building permit for the space, which is in a flood plain due to its proximity to Scull Creek. Direct access to the property from the trail could be a challenge, but Chase said he’s currently working on solutions to provide a bridge across the creek to access the property.
“Our trail system is growing so much,” Chase said. “We ride our bikes all the time from Feed & Folly to Nomads and Fossil Cove, and we thought it’d be so great if there was another trailside beer garden in that area. There aren’t a lot of places to stop between Dickson Street and Lake Fayetteville, really, so we are excited to add another destination along the trail.”
If all goes well, construction could be complete by the end of the year, though the owners may wait until things warm up in the spring of 2023 before they officially open to the public.
