Walk the green between Ellis, Steel, and Altus on a Thursday around 6:30 and you notice something that wasn't true a year ago. People are carrying drinks between buildings. Kids are on the playground at Hendrix Creek Preserve while their parents wait on a table at La Pista. A wristband on someone's wrist tells you the whole story.
That wristband is the reason The Village at Hendrix, and not the historic blocks around Oak and Front, has become Conway's default walk-around district in 2026.
The Rule Change Most Conway Residents Missed
Downtown Conway got its first entertainment district in December 2024, but it was a limited one. It only opened during approved special events inside a defined downtown footprint. That's why most Friday nights on Oak Street still feel the way they always have. The rule sits on the shelf until the city switches it on.
The Village district is different. On November 11, 2025, the Conway City Council passed an ordinance establishing an entertainment district at The Village at Hendrix, and the ordinance took effect 30 days later, allowing patrons of participating restaurants to carry alcoholic beverages within the district. Unlike the downtown district, the Village district does not operate only during special events. It runs Sunday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., with alcohol sales ending at 10 p.m.
That is a much bigger change than the ordinance headline suggested. Conway now has one district that flips on for festivals and another that is simply open. If you live in Conway and you have been wondering why The Village has felt busier on ordinary weeknights, that is why.
The boundary is smaller than people assume. The district covers only the green space in the center of the commercial district at The Village, between Ellis Avenue, Steel Avenue, and Altus Street. You can't wander from the district over to the Hendrix campus with a drink. You are meant to stay in the square. Participating restaurants serve drinks in special cups, and patrons receive a wristband that allows them to enjoy beverages outdoors in the designated zone.
What Actually Anchors the District Right Now
Two restaurants launched the district, and a resident should know both by name.
La Pista Pizzeria. La Pista opened in The Village at Hendrix last summer, serving made-to-order artisan pizzas, pasta, and salads. Owner Ernesto Castro was the first restaurateur to opt in when the ordinance was passed. If you have been in Conway a few years, this is the space that draws a line to the older Market Square rhythm. The pizza is the same. The wristband is new.
Roost & Tap Kitchen. This is the bigger arrival. Owned and operated by well-known Conway restaurateur Charles Frost, Jr., Roost & Tap filled the vacant space that was once occupied by Panera, offering a menu of elevated comfort food and a variety of beers. The grand opening was March 7, 2026, at 1050 Ellis Avenue. Regular hours run Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
The menu is worth knowing before you go. The menu features slow-roasted rotisserie favorites, bold soul-influenced dishes, locally inspired sides, and seasonal offerings. Frost has been pretty direct about why he opened there. He said Conway has a lot of food options, "but there's often four of each thing," and he wanted to bring a concept the city hasn't had yet.
Whether he pulled that off is the kind of thing you have to decide for yourself over a plate. What matters for the district is that the former Panera slot is no longer a dark storefront on the square, and the seat count at The Village on a Friday night has effectively doubled.
The Green in the Middle Does More Work Than It Looks
Take a step back from the food. The reason the district works is that the buildings around the green were designed for this fifteen years before the ordinance existed.
The Village at Hendrix is a traditional neighborhood development designed by the New Urban planning firm Duany Plater-Zyberk and Company and founded by Hendrix College. It is a 93-acre mixed-use walkable community with residential homes, commercial spaces, entertainment, and outdoor amenities, including the 18-acre Hendrix Creek Preserve.
That's the same firm behind Seaside, Florida, if that means anything to you. It should. It explains why the sightlines from La Pista's patio to the playground to Roost & Tap's front door are all comfortable walking distance and why the green space actually pulls people in instead of sitting empty.
Market Square has been quietly hosting more than you probably tracked. In the green space at the center of the market, you'll find students on the grass, families picnicking, and the occasional Frisbee game. Large events like the Silver Moon Cinema, Conway Symphony Orchestra concerts, and performances from the Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre are hosted here as well.
If you have kids, the other part of the district that matters is the preserve. The Hendrix Creek Preserve is an 18-acre conservation easement with a series of trails and boardwalks that wind through it, along with a handmade playground and stage. The preserve is not inside the drink-carry boundary, so plan accordingly. A wristband stays on the square. The stroller goes to the boardwalks.
What This Means for a Normal Week
Here is the practical version. If you have friends visiting and want to show them something distinctly Conway on a Tuesday evening, The Village now clears a bar that the historic downtown blocks cannot clear on a non-event weeknight:
- Sit outside with a drink, legally, without waiting for a festival to be scheduled.
- Walk from dinner to gelato to the green without moving your car.
- Let the kids run at the Hendrix Creek playground while the adults finish a pizza.
- Catch an orchestra rehearsal or a Shakespeare performance without a downtown parking search.
None of these are new individually. What is new is that they now stack on the same block on the same night, and the ordinance made the outdoor-drink piece official rather than a workaround.
Where Beaverfork Still Wins
None of this replaces Conway's summer center of gravity. The lake still owns the biggest nights.
Lights Over the Lake returns to Beaverfork Lake Park for an evening of games, prizes, and more than a dozen food trucks, capped with a fireworks show from 3:30 to 9:30 p.m., with American Idol Season 23 contestant and Dardanelle native Sam Sparks bringing country, rock, and Americana to the stage. The 2026 edition ran from 3:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Friday at Beaverfork Lake, 20 Kinley Drive, and the free event included raffles, live music, food trucks, games, bounce houses, and fireworks, according to Conway Parks and Recreation.
The distinction is useful. Beaverfork is where Conway shows up for the once-a-year moment. The Village is where Conway shows up for the ordinary Wednesday. Before December 2025, the city really only had the first of those.
A Note on What Comes Next
The other change worth tracking, if you follow Conway food closely, is what's happening a few minutes south. Rotolo's Craft & Crust, a Louisiana-based restaurant known for its elevated take on pizza and casual dining, is set to open its first Arkansas location in Conway, on Prince Street between Shadrachs Coffee and Tucker Creek Trail. Plans call for a 5,000-square-foot restaurant with an outdoor covered patio that will connect directly to Tucker Creek Trail.
That is a different pattern than The Village. It is a trail-adjacent standalone rather than a walkable district. Together with what has happened at The Village, it says something honest about where Conway is putting its energy in 2026. The city is choosing outdoor seating tied to specific green corridors instead of another strip-center pad site. A resident who has watched Dave Ward Drive fill in over the last decade will notice the shift.
Where to Go This Weekend
If you have not walked the district since the ordinance took effect, that's the assignment. Start at La Pista for the crust. Cross to Roost & Tap for the rotisserie. Sit on the green and let the kids find the playground at Hendrix Creek. The wristband is the point. Use it while the rule is still new enough that people are noticing.
If a walk around The Village has you thinking harder about where in Conway you actually want to plant, or unplant, that is the kind of conversation we like having. Richard Henley and the Henley team have watched this stretch of Conway change up close for three decades. When you're ready, get a free home valuation and we'll talk through what your block looks like against the rest of the market.
