membership form

The Fayetteville Independent Restaurant Alliance was founded in 2020 in response to the COVID crisis and restaurant closures. Today we continue to raise funds to assist local hospitality professionals through the HERO fund and engage with the Fayetteville restaurant community by supporting workforce development programs and providing resources to local restaurants and their workforce. We support independently owned restaurants and all hospitality professionals working for any hospitality business in Fayetteville, Arkansas (whether their employer is an independent restaurant or not!)

Why become a member? Most importantly, bragging rights! FIRA has had a continued focus on keeping our local hospitality workforce housed and safe through crisis since March of 2020. This is a great opportunity to join the cause and help support our collective workforce! In addition to bragging rights, we’re happy to offer: (1) unlimited job postings to our grid +/or stories, (2) business listings on our website, (3) invitations to member events - like industry happy hours and hiring events, (4) the opportunity to request additional cross promotion throughout the year for special events or promotions [limitations apply, must be approved by the board]

Why do people need help? Workers in our industry are notoriously under-insured and rarely have savings set back in case of emergency. With the local housing crisis and continuous rise in cost of living, illness or unexpected emergencies can quickly result in utilities being cut off or risk of eviction.

Wait, there’s a housing crisis? Due to vast population growth and a lack of housing units, the cost of housing has continued to rise in Fayetteville. In 2024, the mayor assembled a Housing Crisis Task Force to address the issue - but there are not enough resources to quickly assist the individuals who need help now. You can read more about the housing crisis on the City of Fayetteville website.

How does this affect the local small business community? Outside of the obvious strain this puts on local businesses trying to hire and retain talent, small businesses rely on other small businesses and small business employees to generate revenue! Research from the National Association of State Procurement Officials shows that when we spend our money locally, it can have a multiplier effect. Essentially, every dollar spent at a local business can provide a return of about $1.50 to our local economy. But when that small business workforce is unable to stay local, we lose that multiplier effect.

Want to schedule a call? Just let us know in the comments below.

How did you find out about restaurant memberships?

Business Name

What kind of business is this?

Name

First Name

Last Name

What membership contribution(s) would fit best for your business model?

Member businesses must be located within Fayetteville, AR and must be a foodservice or bar operation. (If you'd like to be involved and are not a foodservice operation, please email us to discuss opportunities for "community partners")

$400 annual membership

$35 monthly membership

Any questions, comments, or suggestions you'd like us to follow up on?

Please let us know if there are any additional membership offerings that you'd like to see from us, or anything specific you'd like to accomplish with FIRA!