SPRINGDALE -- Residents and visitors in the downtown area and the west side of the city soon will have access to new pubs.
Springdale-based Core Brewing & Distilling Co. has plans for one new pub in downtown Springdale and another in Har-Ber Meadows, said Jesse Core, chief executive officer.
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He plans to keep the brewery on Lowell Road in Springdale to produce the company's products. He also plans to increase the number of events, such as live music, at that location.
The pub in Har-Ber Meadows will be the first to open in April at 7022 W. Sunset Ave., Core said. The location is being remodeled.
Core said he has a verbal commitment to open a pub in the former Ryan's Clothing building on Emma Avenue in downtown Springdale. He plans for that location to open in the fall.
Springdale Downtown LLC, a company registered in Delaware with a Bentonville address, bought the building last summer. The post office box address, 1860, is used by Walton Family Enterprises, and by members of the Walton family who donate money to political campaigns, according to campaign contribution reports.
Kent Hirsch, treasurer for the Downtown Springdale Alliance, said the Core pub will be the first one in the downtown area he's heard of. It would be another stop on the Razorback Greenway and help bring more people to the downtown area.
"This is a major step for us," he said.
The downtown area needs to attract more people in order to increase development, said Perry Webb, president of the Springdale Chamber of Commerce. He called the pub an attraction for that area.
"This is the type of facility that will draw people," he said.
Core said establishing a pub in downtown Springdale was a way for him to invest in and show his support for the area.
"I'm a huge advocate for downtown Springdale," he said.
Webb also said there has been growth in the craft brewery industry nationwide. Establishing two new pubs is a sign of Core's success as a business.
Core said the company's pubs have a similar model to those in England. That means they are a place for people to decompress and "to get in a different state of mind," he said.
More pubs in the city means more options for residents, Core said.
"We need more places to go like that in Springdale," he said.
The company opened its first pub in September on New Hope Road in Rogers, Core said. The city's community has embraced the establishment, he said.
There was a slight "hiccup" in the beginning, when some restaurants in Rogers viewed the pub as competition and stopped carrying the company's products, Core said. The situation is now better, and those restaurants understand it's a partnership.
Core said the Rogers pub and the two future locations will partner with and promote local restaurants. They also allow customers to bring in food from other businesses.
Hot dogs are the only kind of food the pubs offer, Core said. The pubs have a microbrewery restaurant permit from the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division of the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration that requires them to sell food on a regular basis.
NW News on 03/12/2015