SPRINGDALE -- Temperatures dropped in Springdale on Tuesday evening, and Blizzards are on their way.
The Planning Commission on Tuesday night approved 9-0 to rezone land and development plans for the DQ Chill and Grill fast-food restaurant in Springdale. The City Council will consider the plan during its meeting March 27.
The Dairy Queen restaurant -- which sells the Blizzard ice cream treats -- will be built at 1471 W. Sunset Ave. The location is known to longtime residents as the site of the medical offices of Dr. John Dorman, an early Springdale physician who helped found Springdale's first hospital.
The 2,600-square-foot-building will look similar to the restaurant's locations in Lowell and Bella Vista, said Jason Appel of Engineering Services in Springdale. He said he expected construction to begin in the next 60 days, with a possible completion in six months. The company is in the process of hiring a construction contractor.
"I've seen a lot of people on social media very excited because they had one when they were a kid," said Perry Webb, president of Springdale's Chamber of Commerce of the city's newest restaurant plans.
The location in the center of town should be a good one for Dairy Queen, Webb said. Several fast-food restaurants have opened locations near the intersection in the past five years, including Zaxby's and Waffle House and Captain D's, Webb said. McDonald's, Taco Bell and Arby's are all renovating their buildings there.
"Some of the highest traffic counts in Northwest Arkansas are there at Sunset and Thompson," Webb said. "That amounts to a mass of people."
NW News on 03/07/2018