Catfish n frog legs : JCs Catfish House is among the many new businesses to open in the area in recent months.
Posted on Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Daily Record photograph by Sarah Nader The Boomers Time Out restaurant put up a new sign recently at 3607 Magellan in Bentonville. The restaurant took over the old Brioso Brazil location.
BENTON COUNTY - There aren't many restaurants in northwest Arkansas that claim catfish and frog legs as their specialties. But JC's Catfish House, at 5400 S. W. Regional Airport Blvd. near the Wal-Mart Distribution Center in Bentonville, is one of the few.
The restaurant, which opened its doors just more than a month ago, is the concept of Joan Crone. Having worked as a waitress, managed or owned restaurants for as long as she can remember, Crone decided it was time to start serving up some of her own recipes for the greater Bentonville area. And apparently, her catfish and frog legs have struck a positive chord.
"We've started out doing Thursday-, Friday- and Saturday-night buffets, and the response has been very good," Crone said. "For everything to this point being word of mouth, I'm very pleased with the crowds we've been getting. It's something different, and I think the area needed it."
JC's Catfish House serves up a buffet of catfish, frog legs, fried shrimp, vegetables, coleslaw, homemade banana pudding and more from 4: 30 p.m. to 9 p.m. every Thursday, Friday and Saturday. With hundreds of associates working at the Wal-Mart Distribution Center across the highway, Crone knew she had a "builtin"audience, but plenty of customers have told her they had no problem diving to the outskirts of Bentonville for her cuisine.
"We'll have crab legs soon, and I'm thinking about doing a seasonal crawfish boil," Crone said. "So far, so good. "Bentonville When the orange barriers and construction equipment move out from the Bentonville Square area, there will be a few new businesses for Squaregoers to discover. The spaces between School Squared and Phat Tire on the south side of the Square are being retrofitted into one large space to house a new restaurant called Table Mesa Bistro. The anticipated opening date is still unknown, and The Daily Record was unable to reach ownership for comment, but Daniel Hintz of Downtown Bentonville Inc. said the investors own another such restaurant in the Seattle area. The restaurant was described by Hintz as "American fusion with a Latin flare."
"They've been very engaged and working with the city and Downtown Bentonville Inc.," Hintz said. "Retrofitting a space like that can be a challenge, but this has been a great example of the city, our organization and a restaurant working together to make an exciting new business possible."
Beth Cook, owner of B La Rue Gifts and Sass, recently moved her shop from a couple of blocks off the Square to the former Fusion Art Gallery space next door to the Wal-Mart Visitors Center.
"It's bitter," Cook told The Daily Record last month, " because I'm sad Fusion isn't there any longer, and owners Cindy Suter and Lou McCleese are gone. But it's also sweet because I'll be downtown in the middle of everything."
One block away, Tricycle Theater for Youth, a professional children's theater with the goal of providing "relevant, audience-driven theater for young audiences, creative learning activities and training programs"will open at 120 S. Main St. on Sept. 27.
For more information or a full listing of programs, go to www. triketheater. org.
For several months, the Bentonville Advertising and Promotion Commission has said an investor plans to turn the old Brioso Brazil restaurant, at 3607 Magellan, just west of Interstate 540 and south of Southeast Walton Boulevard, into a Boomer's Time Out restaurant and sports pub. Signs for Boomer's Time Out were recently erected at the restaurant and on the marquee out front, and work continues on the interior.
On Aug. 30, Beef O'Brady's, a restaurant chain known for its wings, burgers, wraps and sandwiches, opened at 2500 S. W. 14 th St. in Bentonville. The restaurant boasts seating for about 160, 22 flat-screen televisions, a party room, video games and a bar serving beer and wine. The restaurant chain began in Florida in the mid-1980 s and has since expanded to more than 200 locations, primarily in the southeast.
When Sayed Ashfaq Ali opened Aroma, at 1100 S. E. 14 th St., on Monday, he opened the doors to Bentonville's only Indian and Pakistani restaurant. The restaurant, in the Evergreen Plaza, serves biryani, samosa, naan and other Indian and Pakistani favorites. Ashfaq Ali plans to expand the menu over the next several months.
The Metro Market Plaza, at 2905 S. Walton Blvd., continues to fill up. Favorites like Gusano's Pizza and Cafe Rue Orleans were recently joined by Old Town Dry Cleaners and Impress Nails Salon and Spa. Rogers Rogers' stretch of the I-540 corridor has kept busy with several new restaurants and other projects opening or breaking ground.
At exit 81, a new McDonald's restaurant and Benton County's first Golden Corral have opened along Pleasant Grove Road, near the Wal-Mart Supercenter.
At Exit 83, Steak and Shake recently opened its doors and will soon be followed by Red Lobster and Einstein Bagels, all of which will be near the Olive Garden and Home Depot along the east side of the interstate.
Along the west side of the interstate, immediately south of the bustling Pinnacle Hills corridor, grading is under way for what is being dubbed "The District. "The area, anticipated to be Rogers' next large commercial center, will include a Target, a Harps and several other businesses and offices. Conceptual renderings for The District even include space for a performing-arts center.
The first Pottery Barn in northwest Arkansas opened last month and calls the Pinnacle Hills Promenade home. Prior to the opening, the nearest Pottery Barn store was at Utica Square in Tulsa. The new store is at the west side of the Promenade, near the Granite City restaurant, which closed in late August.
Peacock Production Studio, at 112 S. First St. in downtown Rogers, opened in late summer. The concept of Martina Peacock and her daughter Dru Peacock Wiser, the studio is envisioned as a place for kids to discover and grow in the performing arts.
"We see performing arts as an outlet for kids - somewhere they can build self-confidence, stage presence. It's somewhere they can express themselves and just kind of blossom," Martina Peacock said.
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