Restaurant Closings and Kaitz Takes the Credits

The Kruth Talks

By Amber Kruth

Three restaurants have or are closing this month. The closing of the chain restaurant T.G.I. Friday’s near the Northwest Arkansas Mall left nearly 100 without jobs. In the Dickson Street area, two locally owned restaurants are closing, Gullet’s Gourmet and the Railhead Saloon. We also hear that a third eatery in the Dickson Street area is considering shutting down. We’ve talked to more than one restaurant owner this week, and they all say that business is down. Cross your fingers that those still in business can weather these hard times until things turn around. Support your favorites.

New Lounge

She’s taken the town by storm with her music, and now she’s setting up shop … that would be chanteuse Opal Fly. Opal Fly’s Good Time Lounge will open on New Year’s Eve at 40 E. Center St. across from Damgoode Pies. By day the space will be a yoga and massage studio, and by night it will be an all-ages, no-alcohol music venue. Live music early and DJs spinning into the wee hours long after the pubs close on the weekends.

Kaitz Takes The Credits

Fayetteville singer-songwriter Emily Kaitz will have her melody “The Scrabble Song” run during the closing credits of the BBC documentary “Imagine … Scrabble,” which will broadcast on Tuesday. Kaitz featured the song on her 1999 CD, “Yuppie Scum.”

Liberty Bowl Guide

The Hogs will play East Carolina in the Liberty Bowl on Jan. 2 in Memphis. If you are not one of the 23,000 Razorbacks fans traveling to the game, you can watch it at 4:30 p.m. on ESPN. If you are one of those ticket-holding fans, be sure to pick up the Sunday edition of your local newspaper (the Northwest Arkansas Times, the Springdale Morning News, the Rogers Morning News, the Benton County Record and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette) for a guide to what to do in Memphis. A special Liberty Bowl section will highlight where to dine, stay and dance before and after the game.

2010 Census

The U.S. Census Bureau will be hiring about 1,000 locals to help gather 2010 Census information. If you are interested in applying for a position, call 866-861-2010. Starting in March, census forms will be mailed out asking pertinent questions about the age, gender, race and number of people at each residence. The answers gathered help distribute $400 billion in federal funding for hospitals, schools, road construction projects, emergency services, etc. For those who do not return the forms by April, census workers will be canvassing the neighborhoods. Be cautious of scams though. Census workers will have proper identification and will never ask you about Social Security numbers or bank information, although they may ask for your phone number to verify information.

BBB CPA

Keith Ekenseair, a local certified public accountant, was added to the Bikes, Blues & BBQ board of directors. With more than two decades of experience in financial institutions, government and nonprofit organizations and manufacturing, Ekenseair will be an asset to the board.