OPINION | REX NELSON: The best downtown


I was in El Dorado on that warm April day in 2019 when they broke ground on The Haywood, a luxurious boutique hotel that's the next step in the march toward having the best downtown of any city its size.

I promised the hotel's developers I would be back to spend the night as soon as The Haywood opened. Little did I know that a worldwide pandemic would end my Arkansas travels for more than a year until I could get my whole family vaccinated.

The $15 million project was completed in September 2020. It's now the spring of 2022, and I'm finally spending a night at The Haywood in advance of speaking to the annual meeting of the El Dorado-Union County Chamber of Commerce. The four-story, 70-room hotel reminds me of Greenwood's Alluvian, my favorite hotel in Mississippi.

The Haywood is part of the Murphy Arts District, a multimillion-dollar effort by south Arkansas business leaders to make El Dorado an entertainment and cultural draw for people from across Arkansas, north Louisiana and east Texas. Madison Murphy, the Murphy USA chairman, says the hotel is "critical to the success of MAD. It's something special that reflects the spirit of our city. It also fills the huge need we have for accommodations for weekday business travelers."

The hotel includes The Well, an upscale bar that offers tapas-style plates of food along with drinks. I prepare for my speech in the hotel's den, which features sofas, lounge chairs and a wood-burning fireplace. There's custom art from Arkansas artists throughout the hotel, an outdoor courtyard with a pool, and a porch along South Washington Avenue that overlooks MAD's concert facilities.

Because so much of MAD's calendar is devoted to music, some of the paintings in the hotel include iconic Arkansas musicians such as Levon Helm and Sister Rosetta Tharpe.

"We did market research, and one of the comments we got back was that there wasn't a great hotel within walking distance," says Pam Griffin, who heads MAD. "The Haywood is our answer to that survey."

Breakfast is provided for overnight guests, but they're encouraged to visit other restaurants downtown for lunch and dinner. Last fall, the Magnolia restaurant MuleKick, a favorite with Southern Arkansas University students and faculty members, took over the Griffin Restaurant at MAD.

MuleKick's casual style--think pizza, wings, local craft beers, live music and trivia nights--seems more of a fit for MAD than was the Griffin, a fine-dining venue.

MuleKick owner Christy Ouei joined me last summer for one of my all-day Delta food tours. Much of her time in the car that day was spent on the phone preparing for the opening of the El Dorado location. Ouei is a savvy business owner who knows exactly what she's doing.

"Our restaurant is fun, fast-paced and friendly," she says. "We pride ourselves on the customer experience. We remodeled the Griffin into a more laid-back, hip space with outside fire pits and an expanded interior to allow for more seating and private dining options."

Those not staying at The Haywood can still stay downtown at Downtown Guest Quarters. When developers Richard and Vertis Mason began revitalizing the neighborhood years ago, they saw the need for overnight lodging. They started with two units above Laredo Grill and later constructed eight more rooms above Corinne Court on Main Street.

Downtown Guest Quarters now offers more than 20 units ranging from small rooms to large suites with balconies. Breakfast is included, and special rates are offered for extended stays.

MAD has drawn national acts to perform downtown since its opening in 2017. The restaurant and the 2,000-seat Griffin Performance Hall are part of the 1928 Griffin Auto Co. building. During El Dorado's oil boom, the building included an automobile dealership, repair shop and filling station. The building has been on the National Register of Historic Places since May 2001.

Breakfast on this trip is at downtown's Off the Rail Cafe, which is housed in a former railroad car. Dean Morrison opened his business in May 2020. The restaurant is open each day but Monday from 7 a.m. until 2 p.m. Other quality dining spots within walking distance of The Haywood include Fayrays, Main Street Pizza, Pupp's BBQ, the Olde Towne Store, the Black Cat Cafe, House of Wylie, La Piazza and Laredo Grill.

Pupp's, which first opened as a food truck, later found a brick-and-mortar location in which to feature owner Hutch Preston's barbecue. Preston is known as much for his sides and banana pudding as for smoked meats. Downtown El Dorado also boasts one of the few Arkansas locations of PJ's Coffee, which is based in the New Orleans area.

There's a reason readers of USA Today last year chose El Dorado when asked what place has the best small-town cultural scene in America.

"Awards such as this don't just happen without a lot of planning and work," says Don Hale, an El Dorado public relations executive. "It's no secret that for the past decade our community has been working to develop an arts and entertainment destination to attract visitors as well as stimulate the economy. Millions of tax dollars, along with a wealth of private funds, have been invested to create world-class venues suitable for all types of entertaining.

"Years of planning and organization have brought us to a place where others like USA Today are taking notice. This major recognition isn't the end to our work. It's just another step along the path to becoming a well-known destination."


Senior Editor Rex Nelson's column appears regularly in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. He's also the author of the Southern Fried blog at rexnelsonsouthernfried.com.


Upcoming Events