(Staff photo)Kilowatts. Party on the Patio. The Hall of Foam. Crab Rolls and Oysters Rockefeller.
All of these and other traditions associated with long-running Fayetteville restaurant Powerhouse Seafood will soon go dark when the business closes on June 30.
“Powerhouse Seafood & Grill will be closing our doors at the end of this month,” according to a statement posted on the restaurant’s Facebook page on Thursday. “It’s been a good run and we appreciate all of our guests so much.”
The restaurant opened in the 1990s in a former electric power station, and grew into a Fayetteville staple over the years. Known for its seafood and steak dishes, potent signature frozen drink dubbed “The Kilowatt,” and large outdoor space and stage that were the setting for popular Party on the Patio live music nights through much of the 1990s and early 2000s, the restaurant was the setting for countless memorable evenings (and a few nights where the details are a little fuzzy due to those Kilowatts) and events over the years for Fayetteville residents.
We can think of several memorable nights ourselves. This writer started his junior prom night there with a pre-dance dinner in the late 90s. I also worked there for several years, and bartended for dozens of packed Party on the Patio shows featuring Jed Clampit, Grandpa’s Goodtime Fandango, B-Side Folk Union, and others.
Darius Rucker of Hootie and the Blowfish fame played a packed fundraiser for the UA golf team put on by former Razorback John Daly in the early 2000s. Daly even got on stage and sang a couple tunes that night.
Razorback game days were packed, and the restaurant was a regular on the Top 10 list for sales back in the day.
Several customers have sounded off with their own memories of the restaurant in the more than 450 comments and counting on the Facebook post announcing the closure.
Folks will have a chance to stop in and say goodbye to the landmark establishment over the next few weeks. The restaurant is open Fridays and Saturdays from 4-10 p.m., Sundays for brunch from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and in the evenings from 4-8:30 p.m., and on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 4-9 p.m. until they close for good at the end of the month.
