By: Kendall Keylor
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Opening up a new restaurant on Dickson Street is not easy.
There have been a few restaurants that have managed to stay in business for over 10 years.
One of those restaurants is JJ’s Grill on Dickson.
In order to stay in business, there are a couple of characteristics that make JJ’s stand out from the rest.
“First thing is consistency,” Manager at JJ’s Grill, Richard Tolleson said. “Consistency of service. Consistency of food. I can’t take a whole lot of credit, but the credit goes to my staff that I hire.”
Some food industries, such as Taco Bell Cantina and Qdoba, couldn’t keep steady business for very long on Dickson.
Having to pay rent and get customers to visit your restaurant again is a continuous issue on Dickson Street that many of the restaurants face.
These issues could be solved by taking advice from Tolleson who runs a well known bar and grill.
That bar and grill is also known as JJ’s.
“Focus on consistency,” Tolleson said. “Focus on hiring the right people. Motivated people, and people that want to do well. Just train them right, you know, and train them to do the things that uphold your values and everything should work out.”
The new restaurant and bar called Feed and Folly is in the process of opening soon.
One of the co-owner’s said he’s excited for his bar to open, but expressed some concerns.
“Our biggest concern is just parking,” co-owner of Feed and Folly, Lewis Chase said. “We don’t have a lot of parking, so we are really going to rely on people walking and ubering, and not minding making it a little bit of an adventure to go out that evening.”
A good, exceptional atmosphere is an important trait to keep in mind while in the process of opening up a new restaurant.
“Everything that we are going to do is cured and housed, made by hand and scratch,” Chase said. “It’s a whole new environment, and the atmosphere is what we are excited to bring to the town.”
The biggest advice to receive could be taken from Tolleson himself.
“Making that first impression is huge,” Tolleson said.
Although, JJ’s isn’t the only restaurant thriving. Sassy’s and Grub’s have also been in business for a long time, and continue to keep their environment filled with people.
In more recent news, Feed and Folly plans on opening its doors closer to the end of March.