Small Town Arkansas

Over the holidays, I spent five days in Arkansas visiting friends and family; exploring all my old haunts and checking out everything that has changed since my last visit. Each time I visit, I am struck by how "small-town" the place feels; it's the sort of perspective that only really comes from being away for a while. By Arkansas standards, Fayetteville is actually a decent-sized city (as of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 73,580 - the 3rd largest in Arkansas), and when you consider the Northwest Arkansas metropolitan area as a whole, the population exceeds 450,00. Despite these statistics, I run into someone I know just about everywhere I go; every other business is owned by a friend, acquaintance, or someone otherwise connected to a friend or family member; everywhere I need to go is less than a 10 minute drive away. You know, Small Town.

But I love it. I love going home to Arkansas, because it is so different than life on the East Coast. I wanted to share a few of the places I visited and the Arkansas-isms I encountered along the way. 

Tokyo Sushi , which apparently has no website (WTF), has been reviewed on a couple predictable sites:

Urban Spoon, Yelp and one less predictable site: Now That's Cookin ,an Arkansas food blog. Apparently this is my Mom's favorite sushi restaurant, so I was mildly shocked when she fought the temptation to introduce my brother and I to the owner (common occurrence on past restaurant visits). We had a small crisis with the parking situation here. In 2010, the city started charging for on-street parking downtown, charging a whopping $0.50 per hour during the day, a whole dollar per hour at night. Local residents are outraged. The rates seem pretty reasonable to me; especially if it means being able to park directly in front of the restaurant. Anyways, we parked. And were promptly greeted by our friendly waiter who offered us FREE edamame, FREE salad and FREE miso soup, which is apparently their "special" every day. Not bad. Sure made up for that $0.50 we had to pay for parking. And the sushi was delicious too!

Mount Sequoyah, a small hill (mountain?) overlooking the historical area of town. Home to the Mount Seqoyah Retreat & Conference Center, along with many beautiful hillside homes with georgous views, it is also the starting point of a series of little-known trails ("The Mt. Sequoyah Woods") that criss-cross their way along the east side of the mountain. Perhaps much of the reason for the trail's anonymity is that their development is recent; according to fayettevillehistory.com and historicwashingtoncounty.org, nearly 70 acres on the east side of the mountain were bought back by The City of Fayetteville and The Fayetteville Natural Heritage Association in 2003 with the purpose of protecting the area from future development and to make it accessible for everyone the community to enjoy. My family has made it a tradition to do a hike here on Chrismas Day the past few years - it's a beautiful, rugged area not more than a 3 miles from downtown, but you would never guess it while on the trail. 

Fayettechill (TM), the new hotness for the sorority/fraternity-type at the University of Arakansas. This is an impressive entrepreneurial effort by a recent U of A grad that appears to be pretty successful. Somehow this guy has convinced all the local outdoor stores to carry his clothing line, with great product placement to boot.  Fayettechill is a catchy brand name, and the founder certainly seems to have some business savy, but he's just selling T-shirts. Is that really sustainable? Seems like it would be tough, but another home-grown retailer has been at it for the past 20 years: Houndstooth Clothing Company. Maybe I should sell T-shirts.

Arsaga's Espresso Cafe  - With 5 locations in Fayetteville, it has been the coffee shop of choice for  Fayettevillians over the past 20 years. Each location has it's own personality, but all have great coffee, friendly service, and a fun artsy vibe created by uniquely designed spaces.  The cafe's success and loyalty of their customers may be part of  the reason that Starbucks didn't enter the local market until 2006. TWO THOUSAND AND SIX! And you thought Starbucks was taking over the world. Not in Fayetteville. To date, Starbucks only has 2 locations in town.

Shine Salon - Owned and operated by a spunky woman named Sunshine, this salon embodies all that I love about Fayetteville. I mean, where else can you find a stylist named Sunshine? The decor is simple and bright, with a funky antique couch and mid-century coffee table rounding off the waiting area. Sunshine is always friendly and talkative, but also refreshingly honest with her cynical comments and witty banter that she offers up to even her newest client. Every time I've been there I gain some kind of helpful info; last time I got a private viewing of the latest  Beyoncé  video and advice on what cell phone to buy! Now that's service.