The restaurant merry-go-round continues to spin in Fayetteville with several restaurants closing and one opening.
Owners Shawn Wilkins and Saad Elsawy opened Tiamo Italian Restaurant on Dec. 14 in the Evelyn Hills Shopping Center, 1466 N. College Ave.
Wilkins said his mother and Elsawy owned a restaurant in Fort Smith, but decided to sell it and move the business to Fayetteville.
Elsawy is the main chef and has been cooking for more than 30 years.
Wilkins said Tiamo has 23 tables in a “pretty big area, nice and quaint.”
Work on the restaurant began about a month ago and the restaurant opened quickly because there wasn’t much work to do on the space, Wilkins said. Most of the work was painting and decorating, keeping startup costs low because the space had previously housed a restaurant.
The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 4 to 11 p.m. Saturday.
“We’re testing the waters and seeing how these hours work. We may eventually open on Sundays,” he said.
Wilkins said they have candlelit dinners at night and offer a lunch menu ranging from $5.95 and $7.95.
The restaurant employs six or seven employees, and Wilkins said they try to “keep it in the family.”
He said they have applied for a mixed-drink liquor license.
Michael Langley, director of administration for the Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Control Division, said he received the application Dec. 3 but sent it back for further information. He said if they receive the application back in the next week or so the board will act on it in February.
“I don’t expect any problems with the license,” Langley said. “It’s just a matter of processing it through.”
On the other side of the spectrum, Gullet’s Gourmet closed Dec. 6 and Railhead Saloon will close Dec. 23.
Gullet’s Gourmet was at 326 N. West Ave. between Dickson and Watson streets.
Owner Grant Gullet said he is selling his restaurant and still has a couple years left on his lease.
“Things have just kind of slowed down,” he said of the closing.
He had 15 employees and all but two worked part time.
“This was a planned closing. I had a sit-down with my employees and let them know,” Gullet said. “You forge friendships with the people you work with.”
Gullet will continue his catering business and is seeking a new location for it, perhaps a smaller space that costs less to operate.
Catering is going “really well.” Gullet catered Thanksgiving meals for families and has Christmas dinners on the books.
Fayetteville collects a 2 percent hotel, motel and restaurant tax. Gullet’s Gourmet’s numbers, which include the restaurant and catering business, ranged from $186.33 in January to a high of $370.19 in September. He had not paid his October taxes, according to the latest information provided by the Advertising and Promotion Commission HMR report.
Fayetteville City Attorney Kit Williams said they like businesses to pay as promptly as possible. Payments can be made at any time but may not be reflected on the HMR report until the following month.
Railhead Saloon co-owner Shawn Stigge said he probably won’t try the restaurant business again.
“I don’t see the economy getting better for quite some time. People are cutting back and one of the easiest things to cut back on is eating out,” he said.
Stigge owns Railhead Saloon with Brad Nabors.
The restaurant is at 550 W. Dickson St. Suite 2. This is not the first restaurant Stigge has tried at that location. From June 2007 to Dec. 31, 2008, the restaurant was Tapanazos, a Spanish tapas bar and restaurant.
Railhead Saloon opened earlier this year. Stigge said it was time to refocus and look for a low-price point in product and sales.
He said the business was doing fine until October when sales started declining at a pretty good rate.
Railhead Saloon’s HMR payments increased from $119.84 in March up to $246.81 in September. The latest HMR report also showed he had not paid his October taxes.
“It’s been a rough year for everyone this year,” Stigge said. “You continue to struggle and it becomes pointless at some point. A business has to be profitable.”
He said Railhead Saloon had 14 employees, including the co-owners, and almost all of them worked part-time.
Nabors and Stigge invested in the property, including building a patio and buying restaurant equipment. He did not divulge the amount spent, but said they are trying to sell the lease and equipment.
Two years remain on the lease.
Stigge said he also has a part ownership in Buster Belly’s Bar and Deli at 420 W. Dickson St.
He will remain in the hospitality business with his involvement in the bar, but said he’s doesn’t like seeing the restaurant close.
“It’s a sad thing and it’s not something we want to do,” Stigge said. “We appreciate all of our clientele.”
Other Fayetteville restaurants that recently closed include T.G.I. Friday’s at 3619 N. Mall Ave., Mariachi’s Mexican Grill at 25 E. Center St., Ichiban Hibachi Grill & Sushi at 637 E. Joyce Blvd., and Bizys Neighborhood Grill at 1838 N. Crossover Road.