New Fayetteville bar, Dad Bod's Dive Bar, to replace Bright Light

Nov 03, 2024

A Fayetteville food truck is getting its own self-titled "dive bar" in the city next month.

Dad Bod Dishes, known for its barbeque-style food truck, is taking over 444 W. Russell St. on Nov. 15. The location was home to Bright Light Brewing Company for eight years. In a September Facebook post, the brewery announced its last day would be Oct. 25 because "we have decided to move in different directions." Attempts to reach Bright Light Brewing Company for comment were unsuccessful.

Dad Bod Dishes first announced on Oct. 18 in a video from owners Keith and Ashley Bowen that they would be taking over the Russell Street space.

Co-owner Keith Bowen, 35, told The Fayetteville Observer on Tuesday that they aim to provide a different experience than what is found at other bars in the area.

"We know what Fayetteville needs as far as a nightlife, that’s why we’re bringing Dad Bod’s Dive Bar," Bowen said. "We’re taking Bright Light Brewing and getting away from the brew aspect of bars ... We’re going to have our favorite local beers on tap and then also we’ll be having a full liquor bar, as well.”

Bowen said the bar will also serve lunch and dinner out of the food trailer that will be permanently parked at the bar.

"Smoked brisket, smoked chicken…we’re super well known for our loaded options. We do a loaded macaroni and cheese, loaded mashed potatoes, fries, nachos," Bowen said. “Now that we’ll be permanent in one spot, we’ll be able to broaden our menu. We’ll be able to do more ribs, we’ll have steak night, taco night, stuff like that.”

Bowen said the bar will allow dogs, show NFL football games, and even occasionally invite other food trucks to feed the patrons on days they aren't serving their own food. On Fridays and Saturdays, he said, the bar will be more of a dance club.

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Dad Bod Dishes first began serving food in March, winning Best Fries in Fayetteville in July, according to readers from The Fayetteville Observer.

Bowen said he and his wife decided to explore this new venture after serving outside of breweries in the food trailer. He credited his wife with the idea of acquiring an already operational brewery, he said.

"We fell in love with the brewery aspects and the crowds really fed into our energy," Bowen said. "We had did an event at Bright Light before so we were familiar with the staff and their parking."

Bowen said he hopes the atmosphere at Dad Bod's Dive Bar will be similar to the vibe of the food trailer.

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"We’re huge on entertaining our patrons, in their face every day. Just like we run the food truck now, with me in it every single day, serving our patrons, cooking, preparing everybody's foods," he said. "The difference now, we’ll be able to operate a larger scale as far as being open and having a larger supply of product to give to our patrons."

A new drivable food truck is not out of the question for the new bar owners, Bowen said.

“We’re in talks right now to purchase a drivable food truck, instead of the trailer," he said. "The trailer will stay at the dive bar and once we get the wheels rolling on the dive bar, then we’ll look into purchasing a food truck that we can actually just stock and supply. Then, we would shut down our food truck at the dive bar and we would go mobile and continue to do events and venues throughout the city."

Public safety reporter Joseph Pierre can be reached at [email protected].