“I was an overnight success all right, but 30 years is a long, long night,” Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonald’s, once said. Argenta, North Little Rock’s downtown, has a similar take on its success. Over the years, Argenta has lifted its head up and showed flashes of brilliance. When it happens, the reporters line up for quotes about our “overnight success.” Funny thing, some of these reporters were not even born when we started this project.
The year 2020 started with such promise and so many plans. There were ribbon cuttings scheduled for the new 600 Main Building that would house the North Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Arkansas Automobile Dealers Association and Taggart Architects. The five-story First Orion building would bring over 200 new tech jobs to the district and the completion of the Argenta Plaza. There were plans for the new four-story Power & Ice Building that would border the Argenta Plaza to the north and include a ground-floor food hall, and new locations for the Bentonville-based restaurants Tusk & Trotter and Trash Creamery.
Simmons Bank rebranded and remodeled the downtown arena in preparation for the likes of Elton John, Justin Bieber and Bob Dylan. Dickey-Stephens Park added to the game day experience by building a new splash pad for the kids. The Argenta Community Theater was coming off a phenomenally successful 2019 and producing its best lineup of plays for 2020 that included “Billy Elliot” and the musical “Memphis.” Nonprofits were set to host numerous fundraising events like the Arkansas Times Craft Beer Festival, CareLink’s Cupcake Festival and the Central Arkansas Pride Fest.
The Argenta Downtown Council created a culinary production schedule that would showcase talented food and beverage personalities in intimate dinner settings.
Then COVID-19 hit, and “poof,” everything was canceled. Over 1 million visitors would not be visiting the Argenta Arts District.
After the shock of the initial closures and the realization that we were going to be in this situation for some time, we began to formulate a new strategy, pivoting away from our original plans, but staying within our organization’s mission.
Our mission
The role of the Argenta Downtown Council (ADC) is to provide a clean, green and safe place that fosters economic development and supports downtown businesses.
While the ADC leans into this role daily, we re-examined what this would mean during the pandemic and immediately started taking action to support our local businesses.
The first thing we did was increase our Green Team staff from three to four employees. We did everything we could, including adding 20 additional flower planters, to make sure the downtown was beautiful and ready for business when the businesses were ready to reopen. With our nightlife completely shut down, we changed the role of our public safety ambassadors. Our safety ambassadors’ usual purpose is to assist downtown patrons with finding parking or giving directions to a restaurant or an event. Our ambassadors now focus on the security of our Argenta buildings and businesses, with much less focus on the concierge service they provided before. However, with the opening of the Argenta Outdoor Dining District and the beginning of businesses’ reopening, some of those concierge services will pick back up, which is why the addition of one additional employee has been especially helpful.
Community
Knowing that the downtown needed community, John Gaudin, a founder of the Argenta Downtown Council and president of the board for the ACANSA Arts Festival, revived the Argenta Farmers Market on Saturday mornings from 8-10 a.m. The ADC worked with Gaudin to promote the market as a safe place to shop and feel a much-needed sense of connection. Gaudin also facilitated the installation of several murals that added to the Art District experience.
With the stage set, the next step was to partner with the North Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau to promote the restaurants that decided to stay open and provide delivery or curbside service.
Governor Hutchinson announced in May that restaurants could open at 33 percent capacity. Many Argenta restaurants decided to continue to offer only carry out, delivery or curbside, realizing they would lose money at one-third capacity. Some restaurants even opted to remain closed completely. Flyway Brewing, finding a creative option to the current situation, contacted the ADC to promote its outside seating. To support Flyway Brewing, the ADC offered to loan tables, tents and chairs that are typically used at events hosted throughout the year. Together a partnership formed, and Flyway’s Tent City was born. Tent City was an instant success, drawing people from all over Central Arkansas looking for a safe place to enjoy dinner and a local craft beer.
With Tent City’s great success, we wanted to see if we could duplicate it for the rest of the restaurants in the Argenta Arts District. We had a head start on our mission. In the last two years, a group called the Justice League had been working to develop plans to activate more outdoor spaces within the Argenta Arts District in anticipation of all the exciting plans for 2020. The league includes members of the North Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau, the North Little Rock Chamber of Commerce, the Argenta Business Improvement District, the city of North Little Rock, and the ADC.
The ADC, NLR CVB, and the city of North Little Rock worked with the city attorney’s office to propose legislation based on Arkansas Act 812 to create an entertainment district. The district would make it legal for alcoholic beverages to be sold in restaurants within the district and carried outside, within the district’s boundaries, for consumption. Act 812 passed April 9, 2019, and, while other communities around the state immediately implemented entertainment districts, in North Little Rock, we took a “wait and see” approach. Our goal was not to turn Argenta Arts District into an environment like Bourbon or Beale street, but instead into a fun, safe place where families and friends could enjoy a meal outside, walk around, gather in one of our many outside areas and enjoy a positive experience. The North Little Rock City Council passed an ordinance in early June creating the Argenta Outdoor Dining District.
The district operates daily from 10 a.m.-10 p.m. with 13 Argenta restaurants and businesses participating with growing numbers every week.
With the ability to offer drinks and food outside, we needed a safe place to allow visitors to the dining district to gather and dine while social distancing. The NLR CVB and the ADC had another opportunity to join forces and partner together to plan these spaces. The plan includes closing portions of Main Street on the weekends. We started slow, with a soft launch, closing one block on Friday, Aug. 7, and not heavily promoting the event. Two restaurants participated: Four Quarter Bar and Brood & Barley. Twenty-four tents with tables and seating were set up in the closed-off section of Main Street. It was a huge success! Both businesses generated revenue that would have been impossible with only inside dining. The second weekend, Aug. 14-15, will include another block with an additional 24 tents. We plan to improve week after week, adding entertainment, more dining options and more dining areas.
Planning for success
The overnight success of the dining district was possible not just because of the work we did today but also because of the work we have done over the last several years. The beautification of Argenta and the preparation for what we know today as a thriving entertainment district started in the 1990s, with the North Little Rock’s investment in streetscaping, which included new sidewalks, flower beds and decorative lighting. In the 2000s we remediated a brownfield site that sold to a developer for luxury apartments. The proceeds helped fund the Argenta Plaza. A group of downtown property owners created a Business Improvement District to generate funding for the Argenta Downtown Council. This funding helps cover the cost of our Green Team and our public safety ambassadors. Joining the Main Street Arkansas program in 2018, the ADC has received tremendous support and training from the Arkansas Department of Heritage; Parks, Heritage and Tourism Secretary Stacy Hurst; and her staff.
Continued growth
The unfortunate truth is that we do not know how long we will be in our current situation. While we cannot control what’s going on with the pandemic, we can help our businesses be successful, while following all the safety guidelines. Our goal is to continue to grow the Argenta Outdoor Dining District so that our community and visitors can have a fun, safe experience. Argenta has always been a friendly place to hang out, get to know everyone and really experience that #ArgentaVibe. We believe the dining district provides this same experience while maintaining our visitors and businesses’ safety. So, grab your family and pets and head on down to Argenta!
Chris Kent is executive director of the Argenta Downtown Council.
