Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – Aug. 3, 2025 – The Jonesboro City Council Tuesday will hear first reading of an ordinance that would give its approval of a private club permit for a new restaurant, private club and microbrewery proposed for the South end of the historic Bridge Street bridge/overpass.

According to the City of Jonesboro private club permit application, Bridge Street Brewery would operate at 516 Cate St. at the corner of Cate and Bridge. The nonprofit owner of the private club and microbrewery permit would be SHJ Concepts.

The President of SHJ Concepts is listed as Davy Carter (803 Fairway Circle/regional president for Centennial Bank overseeing Jonesboro and Northeast Arkansas operations); the Vice President is Ted Herget (1305 S. Main St./owner of Gearhead Outfitters and other downtown properties); the Secretary/Treasurer is Kalpesh “Junior” Das (3904 Teal Drive/owner of Dairy Queen and Smoothie King).

The permit application identifies SHJ Concepts as a non-profit club that exists for the purpose of “common recreational, social, community hospitality and benevolent purposes.” The application says SHJ will support the Arkansas State University Foundation and Downtown Jonesboro Association. It also says the private club will serve food and provide dining for its members and guests and “on occasion live music and dancing will be provided for its members and guests.”

The application documents included a proposed lease agreement between Bridge Street Investments, LLC and SHJ Concepts dba Bridge Street Brewery of Jonesboro. The terms of the lease call for a monthly lease payment of $10,000 for the Cate Street property, described as “approximately 10,377 feet.”

An Arkansas Secretary of State corporation search did not yield a return for “Bridge Street Investments, LLC,” although there was a return for an entity “Bridge District Investments, LLC” with a principal address of 3904 Teal, the same address as Davy Carter, listed on the application as President of the SHJ Concepts non-profit entity.

Jason Willett, who has assisted many of the applicants for private club permits in Jonesboro, appears to be assisting in the SHJ application as well. Willett’s name is listed on several documents in the council’s application packet, including the application for a “fictitious name” and on e-mails providing photos of the proposed location.

Willett is also a “member” on the “list of members” of the private club submitted with the application. Willett recently appeared before the council on behalf of the entity planning to open a private club in the Arkansas State University pavilion.

A proposed menu submitted with the private club permit application included a selection of appetizers, soups and salads, entrees, sandwiches and dessert.

If the SHJ permit is eventually approved, it would be the third microbrewery to open in Jonesboro. Native Brew Works (Gee Street) opened in August 2021. Lebowski’s (Southwest Drive) opened in March 2025. In addition, La Torcia Brick Oven (Highland), which opened in 2024, serves microbrew selections brewed at its Paragould location.

In July 2022 Arkansas Times writer Brian Sorensen wrote “Jonesboro poised to be Arkansas’s next beer boomtown.”

The city council meets Tuesday night, August 5, at 5:30.