A new restaurant has opened its doors in Cassville, offering a fare unique to the area — fried chicken and waffles.
Reid Dore, co-owner with Cash Watkins, said the idea for Weezer’s Sweet Chicken & Waffles came while they were passing through the city to Roaring River State Park.
“Cash is from Texas and was in Arkansas, and I moved to Bentonville, Ark., from Los Angeles,” Dore said. “We met and were driving to Roaring River coming through Cassville and fell in love with Cassville. We rented a house and moved here, and we saw an opportunity to open a restaurant, so we seized the moment.”
Dore owned a restaurant in Puerto Rico and has lived in mostly larger cities, like Los Angeles, New York and Dallas. He said the concept behind Weezer’s is to offer a family atmosphere with menu items not widely available.
“We wanted to bring something for families, and where everybody is welcome,” he said. “There weren’t any chicken restaurants here, so we wanted to offer that, and we have a focused menu on what the community is missing.
“We wanted to take something exciting from those big cities and bring Cassville something it is missing.”
Dore said the Cassville location,at10235Evergreen Drive near Highway 37, is the first of three he and Watkins aim to open, with the second location set to be in Garfield, Ark., and a third to be determined.
“We are playing that one by ear,” Dore said. “We hope in a couple years to offer some franchising opportunities, too.”
The menu at Weezer’s, which held a soft opening on Friday and fully opened on Tuesday, is straight-forward and focused on the main protein — chicken. Sandwiches, fried chicken combo’s, wings and buckets are the features, with sides including fries, coleslaw, baked beans and mac and cheese. Appetizers include fried mushrooms and fried pickles, and the establishment also offers buttermilk waffles, hand pies and gelato.
“Everything is mad from scratch, and all our product comes from local vendors in Arkansas and Missouri,” Dore said. “We make everything fresh every day, which is why our menu is so focused. We want to be the best we can at what we do.”
Weezer’s is open daily from 11 a.m to 8 p.m., and for more information, people may call 417-671-4422, or visit the restaurant’s Facebook page, “Weezer’s.”
