A longtime fixture in Little Rock's Stifft Station will change owners in the coming weeks.
The Oyster Bar, 3003 W. Markham St., will come under new ownership sometime next month, says owner Virginia Boyd.
Chris Tanner, who owns Little Rock restaurants Samantha’s Tap Room & Wood Grill and Cheers in the Heights, as well as another Cheers in Fayetteville, takes over sometime between Sept. 4 and 18, Boyd says.
Boyd says Tanner and his team have brought in contractors and taken bids on physical renovations to the space and that she has seen a draft of a new, more upscale menu, but is not sure it's final.
Boyd says she is selling the restaurant because “I am 66 and I'd like to retire while I have time to play.”
“I love the Oyster Bar, I've had it for 35 years, so I would hate to see it not survive,” she adds.
But she's certainly not leaving it for good: “But I expect to be down there hanging out instead of working,” she says.
The shrimp and gumbo restaurant first opened in 1975, operating out of a building that once housed a grocery store, according to its website.
The restaurant posted Tuesday on Facebook that patrons have “a few weeks left to come taste and experience The OB you've known and loved for the last 45 years. … While the menu may change, we know the new folks will do us proud. Oh, and this may be your last chance to snap a pic with Johnny Cash!”
Restaurant hours until the transition will continue to be 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Saturday. The phone number is (501) 666-7100.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misstated the address for the Oyster Bar. It is located at 3003 W. Markham St. in Little Rock.