GRAVETTE -- The Recreation Parlor is now open at 104 Second Ave. S.E., just off Main Street in downtown Gravette. Owners Travis Norris and his wife Sylvia held a soft opening for the new business on Saturday and opened for their first official day of business Sunday, Aug. 29.
The location has a long history as an entertainment site. The Norrises named the business after the Gravette Recreation Club, a pool hall opened by Tollie Henson in 1947 in the same building. The couple bought the building in 2018 and remodeled the living quarters upstairs, which they now have rented to a young married couple. Northwest Health opened its ambulance service in the lower front part of the building on Jan. 1, 2019. The Hair House beauty shop also is housed in the building, just north of the Recreation Parlor on Second Avenue.
The Recreation Parlor is a sports bar, and 13 TVs in the business ensure that all fans will be able to see their favorite teams competing onscreen. The bar has a capacity of 49 people, and six tables outside on a patio on the east side of the building will accommodate even more customers. The Norrises plan to install new TVs on the patio soon. An adjoining room features a big screen TV, foosball table and several serving tables and chairs.
A highlight of the main room is the beautiful old 19-foot bar, which was used in the Marshall Fields store in Chicago in the 1880s. The Norrises found it in a barn and had it shipped to Arkansas from Ohio. After extensive cleaning, it was revarnished and installed in the bar. Bar rails were fabricated by master welder Colton Carlton at Weld Source in Hiwasse. Above the bar is a wild hog named Dean for the man who shot it in Texas. Travis has draped a Razorback muffler over its neck and says he considers it the perfect accessory for an Arkansas bar. The Norrises also tore out a suspended ceiling to expose the original punched tin ceiling, which adds to the atmosphere of the room.
The Norrises moved to Arkansas in 2006 and, after working in construction for a few years, Travis took a job in marketing with Acxiom, a Conway-based company. Sylvia has worked for R & R Solutions for more than 14 years. Both Travis and Sylvia are Nebraska natives and attended the University of Nebraska, so Travis is a big Cornhusker fan. He opened his business last weekend to coincide with the opening game of the Nebraska football season and he and Nebraska friends who came down for the occasion enjoyed watching the game but, unfortunately, their team lost to Illinois.
Travis says he will not often be working behind the bar himself because of his regular job but he has a full staff of experienced bartenders and wait staff. Beverages available at the Recreation Parlor include beer, wine, ciders, seltzers and sake drinks. Seven beers are on tap and several others are available in the bottle or can, including offerings from area brewers such as Bike Rack Brewing in Bentonville and Ozark Beer Company in Rogers. The Norrises are partnering with Burntsugars Food Truck to serve food from their menu. Patrons can order from Burntsugars menu and their selections will be delivered to the bar.
A big grand opening is planned for Saturday, Sept. 11, with live music by Dirty Flannel Shirt and Patti Steel. Dirty Flannel Shirt, a band made up of BJ Lowell and Murray Williams of Rogers, plays '90s cover songs. That's also the evening of the Arkansas-Texas football game when Travis says he hopes guests will be able to watch the Hogs beat the Longhorns.
Open hours for the Recreation Parlor are 12 noon to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday through Sunday. The bar will be closed on Monday. The telephone number for the business is 479-344-2044. Persons wanting to learn more about the business may visit its website, therecreationparlor.com.
