When William Ford opened his Russellville, Arkansas seafood restaurant “The Crackhouse” he hoped people would understand its food was addicting. However, community members are concerned that local college students will think it’s a place to buy drugs. One neighbor took to Facebook when he discovered the establishment was advertising discounts to students at the nearby Arkansas Tech University.
Why Did Neighbors Get Angry?
Ford started his business as a food truck in 2019 and recently secured a location at the local mall. He decided to welcome students back from vacation with a special deal, but his promotion angered community members.
The man who started his angry Facebook campaign said the restaurant’s marquis sign, which stated, “Crack House Welcomes Tech Students Discount with Tech ID”, was “proof” that the community was going downhill.
“Some guy jumped on there and said something is wrong with the community where they could put up ‘crack house’ and stuff like that,” Ford said.
But the restaurant owner did not let the man’s remarks ruin his day. He says he has gotten similar feedback before.
He even joked around by creating his own Facebook post that stated, “Y’all, we are not selling your children discount crack.” He followed up saying he would change the sign to advertise the deal to the “boldest drug dealer in town”.
“We are a block away from the police station,” his post pointed out. He also encouraged customers to mention the Facebook post to get a discount on Crack House food items.
Other Locals Defend Ford
Some community members are enraged by Ford’s name choice. Others find it amusing.
“When I first heard it was called the crack house. A restaurant named “The Crack House”, okay? That is kind of funny,” said customer Makayla Rollas.
Rollas confirmed that the food is addicting. So much so, that the restaurant has become a new favorite for her quilting group’s meal outings.
“We did kind of go ‘crack house? What is that? you know,” said quilting group member Anice Tedford.
“We call ourselves the Crackaroni mafia,” her friend Cindy Devereux told the media.
Members of the group say the food is so good, it’s hard to keep leftovers.
“I was going to take some home to my husband, but he might not get it on this trip,” said Judy Fleeman, another quilting group member.
About The Crack House
The Crack House is in the Russellville City Mall, just over a mile from the Arkansas Tech campus. Many of the dishes play on the crack theme, such as their crack-fish, crack-puppies, and crack-fish. If you come into the restaurant and show the Facebook post, you will get a discount on your meal.