Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Restaurant Opens With State Park, Community In Mind
PRAIRIE GROVE — The new Coyle’s Restaurant on Douglas Street is designed to blend with the setting across the street at Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park.
Jerry Coyle of Prairie Grove designed the new 4,000-squarefoot restaurant. His sister, Chris McAlexander, owns it and another sister, Brenda Polson, is the kitchen manager. Their parents also will work at the restaurant.
“The community has been so ecstatic about the restaurant because it fits into the park,” Coyle said, noting he planned that intentionally, right down to the split-rail fence in front of the restaurant that matches the split-rail fence across the street.
The original design plans were for a log cabin but Coyle converted those plans into a restaurant with several different eating areas.
The largest eating area, referred to as the patio room, has a gas fireplace with a wall of windows facing the state park. This will be available to reserve for meetings. Another eating area has tables and booths. There’s a small room that can be closed off for private parties and a fourth eating space in the front part of the restaurant.
The restaurant has a rustic look in places, barn doors, shiplap on the walls, large chandeliers hanging from the ceilings and vinyl plank flooring.
Coyle did not want a “lodge” look so customers will not see any mounted deer or moose heads on the walls.
Coyle’s Restaurant held two soft openings last week and then opened to the public, Feb. 13. On Valentine’s Day, the restaurant was open for reservations only and then it opened with its regular hours Friday, Feb. 15.
Coyle said he purchased the vacant lot about two years ago with plans to open some type of restaurant on the land. He was looking at
several options, such as a gourmet burger place, when his sister said she would be willing to take on the challenge of a restaurant.
McAlexander was working as a manager of a store in Bentonville and was under a lot of stress. She said when her brother talked about the restaurant, her response was, “It’s now or never. Let’s do it.”
Coyle designed the building but McAlexander said she was in charge of decorating it and she wanted a place that was “clean and inviting.” She wants people working at the restaurant and her customers to have fun. She also wants it to be friendly and familyoriented.”
Coyle’s Restaurant has around 60 employees and about half of the employees are high school students working their first jobs. The restaurant will seat 140-150 people.
It is a full-service restaurant but will have a Blue Plate Special for lunch. Other ideas are to have a sandwich of the day or a side item of the day. The restaurant also has a full salad bar and McAlexander said she believes it will be popular for people wanting to drop in for a salad for lunch.
The idea, McAlexander said, is to keep the menu interesting.
Most of the menu comes from recipes belonging to McAlexander’s mother, Patsy Coyle. Her father, Bruce Coyle, designed the kitchen. The parents have their own experience because they once owned a small restaurant in Winslow.
McAlexander said she is excited to be working in Prairie Grove, and the family plans for the restaurant to be a part of the community.
“We love Prairie Grove,” she said, adding her family has strong faith in God and believes, “There’s a reason everything was falling into place.”