One of the tables going into Arsaga's on the Mountain still has cinder burns on it. It came out of the old Arsaga's at the Depot, which caught fire after that shop closed. It now sits near the front of a green-painted room on the Mount Sequoyah Center campus at 150 N. Skyline Drive. When the Fayetteville Flyer stopped by on Oct. 9, Cary Arsaga was out back building a deck.
The coffee shop rests on a zoning change. Until recently, nobody could sell a cup of coffee on this campus at all. A cafe arrived only because the plan behind it was cut down to a single building. That smaller footprint explains what kind of place the mountain is becoming.
The Campus Was Zoned for Churches, Schools and Government
For most of its history, the Mount Sequoyah Center campus was zoned for institutional use only. That limited it to churches, schools and government facilities. A cafe run by an outside business wasn't allowed.
The first attempt to change that went big. As the Flyer reported in November 2023, an earlier proposal would have rezoned the full 29-acre campus for uses that included concerts, food service and a hotel. Neighbors raised concerns, and that version was withdrawn.
The version that passed covered one structure, the Ozark building behind Parker Hall near the campus entrance. The City Council approved it 7–0 on Nov. 7, 2023. No member of the public spoke during the final discussion. The Center's stated goal was a public-facing coffee shop or cafe run by an outside business.
So the cafe opening this year is the narrowed version, the one that passed 7–0 with no public comment at the final discussion. That limit shaped everything that came next.
Three Years From Vote to Deck Boards
Getting from a rezoning to a working kitchen took longer than the vote did:
- Nov. 7, 2023: City Council rezones the Ozark building for third-party commercial use.
- May 2025: Mount Sequoyah Center issues a request for proposals. It's looking for an experienced local operator to run a community-focused cafe serving coffee, tea and light snacks, and possibly beer and wine if permits allow. Proposals are due May 30.
- Aug. 21, 2025: Arsaga sells the Mill District building at 481 S. School Ave. for a reported $2.2 million.
- Oct. 9, 2026: The Flyer reports Arsaga's on the Mountain under construction, with an opening hoped for later this year.
The RFP spelled out what the operator would be signing up for. The operator would design the space and run daily operations, and the cafe had to fit the Center's mission of recreation, nature and the arts. The Flyer's May 2025 coverage also noted that feedback improved once the plan was narrowed to just the cafe. At one point Clubhaus Fitness considered taking on the project and decided against it, according to the Flyer.
Cary Arsaga had other plans. He told the Flyer he expected to retire after selling the Mill District location, which made way for Dempsey Bakery. Even in August 2025, he was already talking about the Mount Sequoyah cafe. The concept he described then included community gatherings, occasional live music, fundraisers and private parties. That's close to the mix the full-campus rezoning would have opened up, scaled down to one room and a patio.
"I really love it up here. I just like being on this campus."
That's how Arsaga explained it to the Fayetteville Flyer this month.
What the Ozark Building Is Turning Into
Arsaga's now runs four Fayetteville locations, according to the Flyer: the "toast" shop at 200 W. Center St., the "Carsaga's" drive-thru at 1509 W. MLK Jr. Blvd., and counters inside Fayetteville Public Library and the University of Arkansas Law School Law Library. The mountain location is a different kind of project from any of them.
It will serve the full Arsaga's coffee menu plus food, beer, wine and a new soft-serve ice cream program. Ava Arsaga is running the food side. She told the Flyer the menu will lean toward shareable plates, such as charcuterie-style dishes sized to the number of guests. It will also have tartines like the ones at the Center Street location, breakfast sandwiches and salads, and the menu will change with the seasons. The soft serve will come in a range of flavors, including vegan options, and a local resident is helping develop it. The family also plans to move part of its bakery operation on site.
Cindy Arsaga has designed every shop until now. This one was designed by the couple's daughter Jacqueline. Inside, the space is green with tiles along the coffee bar, and large front and side windows bring in a lot of natural light. Local artisans Craig Young and Eugene Sargent built the center tables. Sargent also built the sign out front and several patio tables, some of them salvaged from the Depot. Outside, there's a large rock patio in front, and the deck going in now will wrap the side and back of the building.
Shared plates, a patio, a deck and a room built for groups make a cafe meant for lingering, not quick takeout. That fits a campus where the arts programs and grounds were already pulling people up the hill.
The Mountain Already Had a Calendar
The Center describes itself around recreation, nature and the arts. Its site lists nature trails, swimming, tennis, Camp Sequoyah, studios, exhibition space, performance venues and artist residencies. The cafe joins a schedule that's already full, especially in the fall.
Here's what's left on the mountain this season, as of mid-October:
- Music on the Mountain, Oct. 23: Crescent City Combo closes out the free fall concert series, 6 to 8 p.m. at Vesper Point on the Center's grounds. The series is funded in part by a Division of Arkansas Heritage grant drawn from the Arkansas 1/8 Cent Conservation Tax, and free tickets can be reserved through Mount Sequoyah's ticketing site. The Flyer's lineup announcement has the full series.
- Sequoyah Hall Gallery: Bodies of Color by Erin Morrison and Sarah Schellenberg runs through Oct. 27. Work by Claire Pongonis and Rose Brown opens Oct. 30. The gallery is open Fridays 2 to 5 p.m. and most Saturdays 1 to 4 p.m., according to the Center's exhibition schedule.
- The Overlook: The Center rents this venue for weddings and private events, and all events there must end by 9:30 p.m., per the Overlook venue page.
The Public Ground Around the Campus
Part of what draws people up the mountain is city land, not the Center's. Mount Sequoyah Gardens Park was set up in 1998 to preserve and improve the panoramic views of Fayetteville and the surrounding mountains. The City lists an overlook, a nature area, open green space, a paved multi-use trail, seating and ADA-accessible parking.
Down the slope, the Mt. Sequoyah Woods Trail at 5 N. Happy Hollow Road has a different feel. The City describes an outer loop of about 1.25 miles over wooded, sometimes rugged ground. It has trailheads at Williams Drive and at Paddock Road and Happy Hollow Road, a picnic area, and parking along Paddock Road.
At the campus entrance, near the Ozark building, are rain gardens the Center built with the Illinois River Watershed Partnership. They address erosion and water quality and replace the old ground cover with native plants. When they were finished in 2024, the Center held a free public volunteer day and tours, the Flyer reported.
Still Unconfirmed
There's no opening date yet. Arsaga told the Flyer the shop will open "sometime later this year" if all goes well. The Flyer's report doesn't list hours. The Flyer's 2025 coverage linked to the RFP document, but that link now opens a deleted-file notice, so the news coverage is the available summary of what the Center asked for.
The terms the Council approved in 2023 are public: one building near the campus entrance, open to outside business, with the rest of the 29 acres still zoned for institutional use.
At Coldwell Banker K-C Realty, we keep up with changes like this one across Northwest Arkansas, from a rezoning on a single campus to a new patio on Skyline Drive. If you'd like to talk about what's changing near your part of Fayetteville, Contact Us.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
