FAYETTEVILLE -- A Taco Bell Cantina will move into the former Common Grounds at 412 W. Dickson St., an official with the franchisee said Tuesday.
K-MAC Enterprises closed the Taco Bell on College Avenue on Sunday, and a sign on its window said the restaurant will remain closed.
The cantina restaurants are the brand's new concept for urban locations with a tapas-style menu. They also offer alcohol, according to taco bell.com. K-MAC plans to open the new restaurant late this year and is still in the planning stages, said Sam Fiori, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the company.
K-MAC operates Yum! Brands -- Taco Bell, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut, and other restaurant chains -- in Arkansas and eight other states, according to its website.
The Dickson Street cantina will not have a drive-through and will keep the existing back patio. It plans to serve beer, wine and "a small assortment of other liquors," Fiori said.
"It will also have glass screens where you can see the food being made, more like Chipotle," he said.
Taco Bell officials announced the new concept last year, opening the first two restaurants in Chicago and San Francisco in September. The company is striving to build or remodel about 600 stores this year, including more cantinas, according to its website.
Taco Bell is only allowing about a dozen test cantina locations, Fiori said.