FAYETTEVILLE — The Dickson Street landscape is about to change again as a new 24-hour restaurant prepares to open near the University of Arkansas campus.
A new Waffle House is under construction in the Underwood Plaza building at 609 W. Dickson St.
The business is slated to open in mid- to late February.
Property owner Bill Underwood said lease negotiation with the company-owned restaurant have been going on for about year.
“They actually started paying rent last August or September,” he said. “When they were trying to decide on this space a year ago, they had their regional people come up here and sit in a car on Dickson Street while they counted foot traffic at 1 a.m. I think that’s what influenced their decision.”
Waffle House Manager David Nall said the restaurant will become one of three Waffle Houses in the country to be in a university entertainment-life setting. The business will also be the first to occupy the street-side suite next to Orange Leaf Yogurt.
“Another example is the Waffle House in downtown Atlanta, next to Georgia Tech University,” Nall said. “That location has been very successful, especially at night. The Dickson Street location will be one of our only stores where the late-night business exceeds our morning crowd.”
Rachael McCloskey, a cashier at Orange Leaf Yogurt, said her customer base is always heavier at night.
“We stay open until 10 p.m. during the winter and we always have a bigger crowd right before we close,” she said.
Nall said the design of the building will mimic the typical Waffle House theme, but will also incorporate some Razorback red into the color scheme because the business is just steps from the university campus.
AT A GLANCE
Taking Applications
Waffle House on Dickson Street is hiring 25 to 30 employees in the next couple of weeks to begin training immediately. Anyone wishing to apply should do so between 1 and 4 p.m. Monday and Wednesday inside the south Fayetteville Waffle House at 2311 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Source: Staff Report
With the recent closings of Sunshine Cafe and El Sancho around the corner, Waffle House won’t have much competition in the late-night restaurant experience on Dickson Street, according to Lacy Roberts, a patron of the entertainment district.
“I think it will be a great place for people to go after a night out,” she said. “It’s another option besides Taco Bell or Jimmy John’s at 2 a.m.”
Nall said Waffle House restaurants are typically in stand-alone buildings, near interstates or highways.
The only other Waffle House in Fayetteville is on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
“Most Waffle Houses in this area are 15 to 20 years old,” Nall said. “The new location will feature an updated design that blends with the theme of Dickson Street. It will also give people in the entertainment district the option to have a hot meal any time of day.”
The Dickson Street location is owned by Ozark Waffles, a subsidiary of Waffle House.
Underwood said he has no doubt that the restaurant will blend with surrounding businesses.
“I think it’s going to be a real asset to the building and the entire street,” he said. “I see all kinds of theater people and Dickson Street patrons going there for a bite to eat after midnight. A lot of people don’t know this, but Waffle House sells more T-bone steaks than anyone in the world.”
The late-night eatery will become one of only a handful of chain restaurants that occupy the entertainment district.
Doe’s Eat Place, Qdoba Mexican Grill, Jimmy John’s and Orange Leaf Yogurt are among the other chain businesses in the area.
While some Dickson Street patrons are eagerly anticipating the new addition, others fear that including a Waffle House might take away from the “unique charm” Dickson Street has become known for.
“I think it would be better to stick with the theme Dickson Street has going,” said Lowell resident Jimmy Bryant, who frequents the entertainment district. “Maybe they could put a mom-and-pop store at that location instead. I just think Waffle House belongs in a more commercialized area.”
Billy Fleming, president of the UA’s Associated Student Government, said he sees the pros and cons of putting a chain restaurant on Dickson Street.
“I get the argument that it could take away from some of the local flavor of Fayetteville,” he said. “At the same time, there’s obviously a big market for a place like that with the number of students who go down there each night.”
Headquartered in Norcross, Ga., Waffle House operates more than 1,500 company and franchise-owned restaurants.
“We’ve had a lot of positive feedback because of the lack of stability on that street,” Nall said. “People like to know that this place will be around a year from now and maybe even 20 years from now.”