BENTON, Ark. — After driving past an old concession stand that had been used as storage for years, Joseph Scott Elliott had a thought.
He had a vision to transform the concession stand in Benton's Tyndall Park.
"I decided to give the mayor a call," Elliott said. "I told him about a vision I had for this place and saw it as a community hub."
In order to make his vision come true, he has been working to make the building in the heart of the park, a spot where everyone wants to be.
"This park has been a staple for this community for a very long time," Elliott described.
Elliott said there are four schools nearby and thousands of people visit the park throughout the year.
"Why not just have a place that's centralized and that can service the community [and] service schools," Elliott said.
He and his friends started renovating the building about two months ago, and he hopes it will be a place where he can help serve the community.
The concession stand and pro shop will be open seven days a week from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Elliott said that will hopefully come in handy as Benton students return to school this week.
"The kids and teachers will know that they can grab breakfast [and] teachers will always know that we're going to be here every day for them to get a hot dog for lunch and get away from the school." Elliott described.
He also said the shop goes will go beyond just serving food and drinks.
He's committed to making the business a one-stop shop for things like biking gear and other recreational activities.
"You can show up here with nothing, [and] eat, play five or six different games, and then the next things you know, you've had a full day and you didn't even know what's going to happen," Elliott said.
Aaron Bradshaw, owner of Chrissy's Pub Style, will have a food truck located next to the concession stand and pro shop.
"He called me to bring my food truck out here and make sure that we could still offer this to the community seven days a week," Bradshaw said.
He added, that for him, he's happy he will be able to contribute and provide a safe place for people to be.
"My son is a high schooler here, so there's no better reason for me to get involved to try to make sure they're safe and make sure there's someplace to relieve stress in the city," Bradshaw said.