By Jason Klaiber
Staff Writer
Tentative plans are set for Bull & Bear Roadhouse to open its Fayetteville location around Easter.
Proprietor Mark Bullis said he intends to open the restaurant to the public on April 24. Leading up to the public opening, he said he plans to have private gatherings and a media night.
The former occupant of the 411 E. Genesee St. property, the family-owned-and-operated Hullar’s Restaurant, closed its doors after 107 years of business this past fall.
“We’ve got a lot to hold up to,” Bullis said. “It was a flat-out honor that the Hullar family chose us among some other suitors they had for that space.”
Bullis and a crew of workers have spent time in recent months remodeling the timber structuring of the establishment.
“We’re dealing with a building that was built in 1825,” Bullis said. “We had to tear the building down to its skeleton, from the inside out.”
The new Bull & Bear will be introducing handicapped-accessible features to areas such as the bathroom, bar and entrance with its opening.
Bullis said other challenges in setting up his restaurant involve financing, liquor licensing and abiding by building codes.
“There’s a lot of moving parts in opening a restaurant or developing a property, period,” he said.
Still, Bullis contends that he hasn’t “worked” a single day in his life as far as his career as a restaurateur goes.
“I enjoy everything I do,” he said. “Not only do I get to be creative through building and designing but through menu writing and graphic design and idea mashing.”
The Fayetteville spot will make use of the same menu as the other two Bull & Bear locations in East Syracuse and Liverpool.
Bullis said his favorite dishes that the restaurant serves include the rough road pasta—a riff on chicken riggies infused with vodka sauce and chipotle—as well as their hand-rubbed, roasted and fried chicken wings.
With the exception of occasional all-you-can-eat brunches, the Fayetteville roadhouse will mainly serve lunch and dinner.
Bullis said he aims to unveil a parking map with the opening of the new eatery, which itself will be poised to seat around 130 people.
The Fayetteville location will staff close to 40 employees, according to Bullis.
This adds to the 90 people currently working for Bull & Bear, some of whom have been on board from the beginning, when Bullis started up the original, since-sold location at Hanover Square in March 2002.
