LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The River Market in downtown Little Rock is a main attraction, but according to city leaders, one of its centerpieces has seen better days, which is why they’re hoping to make some big changes.
The area in question is the Ottenheimer Market Hall, which has a few restaurants inside and sits right in the middle of the River Market.
City Board Member Dean Kumpiris oversees the area and explained how people tend to go elsewhere at night.
“The market has evolved in different ways,” Kumpiris said. “And now mainly it's a place for breakfast and lunch and not really for dinner.”
In fact, the current hours of Ottenheimer Hall are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., which is one of several things that Kumpiris would like to change.
“We need to make this a place where, at nighttime, people want to come,” Kumpiris said. “Where you can have good quality food and a casual atmosphere but have entertainment.”
Libby Doss Lloyd with the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau (LRCVB) explained how there's other city groups that share those same sentiments.
“Recently, the Downtown Little Rock Partnership rolled out its master plan,” Lloyd said. “Both of those plans talk about the importance and the impact of what that means to have a beautiful Market Hall.”
The LRCVB’s 2023 tourism master plan also mentioned Ottenheimer Hall, which is significant because they commissioned the study in 2019 which originally led to the idea of renovations to the River Market Area.
Part of the tourism plan said that "there is also a need to reinvent the Ottenheimer Market Hall as the anchor destination for the River Market district.”
So what might these changes actually look like?
Kumpiris wants to add a stage for live music and to make better use of the building’s outdoor pavilions and amphitheater. He said that the building has the potential to be much more than it is, and that’s his ultimate goal.
“We want it to be the showcase of Little Rock,” Kumpiris described. “Where if you're a tourist, you want to come here, and if you live in Little Rock, you want to come here.”
As for the timeline of it all, it’s not clear just yet.
Kumpiris said negotiations are currently underway with a St. Louis-based architecture firm, and both parties have to agree on their plans for the building before things can proceed.
“I am hopeful they're going to bring back something that we go, wow, this is really neat,” he said.
Kumpiris also added that if and when the renovations do begin, it could lead to the Ottenheimer Market Hall and the immediate surrounding area being closed for a little while.