FAYETTEVILLE -- The Common Grounds Gourmet Espresso Bar will close later this month after almost two decades on Dickson Street, the owner said Wednesday.
The restaurant -- which serves alcohol, coffee, sandwiches and other food -- will close Feb. 21, a post on the restaurant's Facebook page stated. In an interview, owner Kari Larson said an undisclosed buyer is under contract to buy the building. She said she's been told, "It's a successful business coming to Dickson Street."
Common Grounds opened in 1997 and is the second long-running business on Dickson to close in recent months. Jose's on Dickson Street closed in December and is expected to reopen as a JJ's Grill this year.
Larson said she didn't regret anything with the restaurant, but she was looking forward to changing course.
"I'm happy and sad at the same time," said Larson, who's going into the second year of running a yard care company called Simply Meticulous Mowing. "I've got a lot of great memories, but at the same time I'm going to be 48 this month, I'm getting married this year, and it's a new chapter in my life."
Larson put the building up for sale in January for $1.3 million but said she didn't expect the restaurant to close.
"Things just didn't work out that way," she said Wednesday.
On Facebook, Larson thanked the restaurant's past co-owner, its staff and its customers. The Common Grounds business is also for sale, the statement said.
"It's been a lot of work, but it's been very rewarding," Larson said. "It's been a great ride."
Dan Holtmeyer can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter @NWADanH.
NW News on 02/11/2016