Urban Table closes doors for good
Posted on Friday, January 2, 2009
ANTHONY REYES Northwest Arkansas Times The interior view of Urban Table before a New Year's Eve celebration Wednesday in Fayetteville for Art Amiss. The upscale restaurant closed its doors for good Thursday morning, citing a bleak economic outlook as the cause.
Owners of Urban Table Bar & Grill, which is in the old post office building on the historic Fayetteville Square, closed its doors for good Thursday morning after ending the year with a five-course dinner and a New Year's Eve bash conducted by Art Amiss.
One of the owners, Rhett Hall, who opened the restaurant last year with his wife, Judy, issued an official statement Wednesday, citing a bleak economic outlook.
"Operating a restaurant during good economic times is challenging enough, particularly in the first two years," Hall said.
Urban Table opened in August 2007 in the old post office building and offered gourmet American cuisine. The OPO Gathering Place was in the downstairs portion of the business.
At the time the business opened, it was noted in the statement released by Hall, the Renaissance Tower was expected to be built soon, and there were plans to bring more shops, conventions and activity to the Square.
"Since that time, much has changed. Some businesses and residents have moved away from the Square, and the Renaissance Tower seems to be a distant dream," according to Hall's release.
A giant hole on the former Mountain Inn site at the corner of College Avenue and Mountain Street intended for the foundation of the Renaissance Hotel has been filled in, and the project has been put on hold indefinitely until financial backing can be restored.
"The economic outlook, particularly for the next six to 12 months, looks bleak, even for the somewhat insulated Northwest Arkansas area," Hall stated. "Restaurant business is typically slow during January through March, but casual dining will most likely experience the most decline during early and most of 2009."
According to the release, the Halls "wanted to be a part of breathing life back into the downtown area and more particularly the glorious Old Post Office building."
Bill Ramsey, president of the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce, said he had heard rumors about the closing and hated to hear it was actually happening.
"Everybody was betting on the Renaissance and the condo activity and more activity around the Square," Ramsey said.
"It's just been tough. I think it's going to get better."
He said the downturn in the economy in general is part of the problem, and that he continues to hear national and local news that does not bode well for the economy. Still, he said, Northwest Arkansas, while not recession-proof, seems to be a little better off than other areas.
"We still have a net gain of people moving in each month," he said.
As a side note, in August the Fayetteville City Council unanimously approved an amendment to the sign ordinance to allow A-frame signs under certain conditions in certain locations. The move was praised by Hall, whose earlier A-frame problems led Alderman Nancy Allen to propose the Aframe amendment. The new amendment allows one freestanding A-frame sandwich/ menu board sign for eating establishments.
Building history
Since it closed as the post office, the building at 1 W. Center St. that housed Urban Table has provided a home to several businesses, including restaurants and a coffee shop.
Building owner and Fayetteville attorney Ron Bumpass' parents bought the historic structure in 1978. Bumpass referred questions about Urban Table's closing to the Halls.
Hog City Diner had operated both the ground-level restaurant and basement sports bar space since 1997 before Bumpass marketed the spaces separately in 2002. Operators of the Hog City Diner were evicted from the premises in June 2002 by an order of the Washington County Sheriff's Office for nonpayment of back rent.
Prior to the Hog City Diner, the Old Post Office operated in the building as a restaurant and dance establishment.
Stogie's Fine Cigars and Tobacco operated in a small side space of the building before Jammin' Java moved in 2002. The gourmet coffee house moved from that location to 21 W. Mountain St., No. 228, near the Fayetteville Town Center, in 2004. It was replaced by Sodie's Fountain and Grill, which occupied the first floor of the building and also ran Sodie's Underground, a sports bar, in the basement.
The fountain and grill was an expansion project for Maureen and Garry Fancher of Flippin. They operated the original restaurant out of Flippin's old train depot.
The fountain was where the coffee shop was and featured milkshakes, malts, banana splits and flavored sodas "jerked" in an oldfashioned way. The grill was in the central part of the building where Hog City Diner had been, with a lounge in the small bar on the side opposite the coffee shop. The grill featured breakfast, lunch and dinner items, such as omelets, buttermilk pancakes, homemade cinnamon rolls, large salads, sandwiches, steaks and pot roast.
The Underground featured bar fare.
Sodie's lasted until March 2006, when the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce considered buying the old building for its offices, the Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Fayetteville Economic Development Council.
"We would rather see a business, particularly a restaurant, in that location," Ramsey said, referring to a survey that was performed concerning the possible purchase of the building.
Ramsey said he does not know what the right fit for a restaurant is.
The owners of Sodie's blamed lack of parking for their lack of success.
"Everybody that's been in that location talks about parking," Ramsey said.
While there is parking around the Square, he said, there is also a lot of activity.
"It's just a problem that we consistently hear," he said.
The building was empty for nearly two years before it was filled again with restaurant patrons at the Urban Table.
The building sits on the site of the original Washington County Courthouse. The first two were log structures that burned. The last courthouse on that site was razed around 1908. The post office building went up in 1911.
Judy Hall said Wednesday night, "It's a wonderful building, and we really wanted to try to make it succeed. I hope something else can come in here when the timing's right."
According to the release, Hall said, "We could point to many things that could've been better, some within our control and some outside our control. Overall, we have had a good run, and we are happy to have been a part of the downtown Fayetteville community the past year and a half.
"We especially hope for the best for our employees; they have been great. We also want to thank our guests - those who tried us once or a few times - and we'll miss our regulars."
Hall thanked Fayetteville "for letting us be a part of your lives for a while."
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