We sat down with Nathan See, Mayor of Pea Ridge, to talk about what’s actually happening on the ground in one of the fastest-growing cities in Northwest Arkansas. Pea Ridge has added over 1,000 new single-family homes under his watch, is running 17% population growth over the last two years, and is quietly positioning itself as one of the most developer-friendly cities in the region.

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In this episode, we dig into why Nathan says investors who haven’t visited Pea Ridge lately are sleeping on one of the best remaining opportunities in NWA, how the city is building infrastructure ahead of growth rather than reacting to it, and what a 24-hour response policy and 120-day permitting timeline means for developers who need to move fast.

We also cover the downtown revitalization vision, the sewer and water capacity picture, the McGee Farm green space acquisition, and why Nathan believes Pea Ridge will hit 32,000 people within four years...it's currently at 13,000.

00:00 – Nathan’s path from mower to Mayor
04:00 – Why people are choosing Pea Ridge over neighboring cities
09:00 – Embracing growth vs. fighting it
13:00 – Sewer capacity and what investors need to know before they build
21:00 – Vision for Downtown Pea Ridge
26:00 – How Nathan pitches Pea Ridge to developers
30:00 – The Tractor Supply story
35:00 – 10-year vision for Pea Ridge
39:00 – Fire Round: biggest misconception about Pea Ridge

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We sat down with Taylor Rayburn and Mitch Moore, founders of The Wanderlust Co., one of Northwest Arkansas’s leading short-term rental management companies, inside one of their flagship Bentonville properties to talk about what Airbnb investing actually looks like in 2026, and why most investors are getting it wrong before they ever close on a property.

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In this episode, we dig into why the 2018-to-2022 playbook of buying an Airbnb and "furnishing it with Wayfair" is dead, how Fayetteville’s density cap is quietly driving up average daily rates for permit holders, and the “invisible excellence” operating philosophy that has kept Wanderlust at a 4.9-star average across 100-plus properties.

We also cover how to underwrite a short-term rental from scratch, what a realistic expense ratio looks like, and why Taylor and Mitch say they talk more investors out of Airbnb than into it.

00:00 – Most investors misunderstand short-term rentals
04:00 – What’s driving the Airbnb market shift?
12:00 – Origin of The Wanderlust Co
17:00 – Operation strategy and "invisible excellence"
26:00 – The “Wanderlust experience” vs. the “Airbnb stay”
30:00 – Underwriting a short-term rental
39:00 – The 55% expense ratio investors need to plan for
43:00 – What the NWA short-term rental market looks like right now in 2026
48:00 – Fire round

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We sat down with Omar Kasim, founder of Plomo Quesadillas, inside his flagship location on Dickson Street in Fayetteville, a building he now owns. Omar graduated magna cum laude from the University of Arkansas in three years and has spent the decade since quietly building one of the most interesting business and real estate portfolios in Northwest Arkansas.

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In this episode, we dig into how Omar turned a $5,000 back-door quesadilla experiment into a three-location brand and how he bought a 100-year-old school building in downtown Springdale. We also cover why downtown Springdale is still producing deals that Bentonville and Fayetteville stopped offering years ago, and what he'd do with $20,000 and a fresh start in Northwest Arkansas today.

00:00 – Restaurant vs. real estate: the difference
04:00 – The speakeasy origin of Plomo Quesadillas
13:00 – Getting told no by investors
21:00 – The $60,000 property: Omar's first real estate lesson
26:00 – Bidding $635,000 on a 100-year-old school building
30:00 – Why downtown Springdale still makes sense
35:00 – How Omar bought this Dickon Street building
43:00 – Fire round

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