Transitions
Memories, 11121 N. Rodney Parham Road, Little Rock, Ark. 72212 (and if you need your photos back, please let them know); email Frankes1919@gmail.com; through the Franke’s Facebook page (facebook.com/FrankesLR) or website (frankescafeteria. com); or drop ’em off in the “comments” box at any location. The family is “looking forward to serving many more generations to come!”
The west Little Rock outlet of Chili’s Grill & Bar is moving from the Village at Pleasant Valley, 10700 N. Rodney Parham Road, where it opened in July 1985, to a new location near the intersection of Markham Street and Chenal Parkway. According to a chain spokesman, it’s tentatively scheduled to open “on or around” Oct. 16. That’ll make two large vacant restaurant spaces in that shopping center, following the December closure of the Dixie Cafe chain, which had an outlet there.
Catfish City, 1817 S. University Ave., Little Rock, shortens its hours as of Jan. 30, to 11 a.m.6:30 p.m. (dining room ) and 11 a.m.-7 p.m. (drive-through) Tuesday through Saturday. The phone number is (501) 663-7224.
There’s still no word when it’s expected to open, but there has been some progress in turning the former Shogun Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Bar, 2815 Cantrell Road, Little Rock, which closed in April, into a Starbucks: A plumbing application has been filed with the Arkansas Department of Health. We reported in August that the Little Rock Board of Adjustment was considering a zoning variance request, which would involve tearing down the existing restaurant (which had closed at least in part because the building had gotten too decrepit to renovate) and building a 2,300-square-foot coffee shop. (The board approved the application, 5-0 vote, by the way.) The site plan also calls for 23 parking spaces and landscaping as a sound buffer for nearby residents.
An early-morning Jan. 4 fire that likely started in the rooftop air-conditioning unit totally destroyed the kitchen and has at least temporarily felled Feastros, 4200 E. Kiehl Ave., Sherwood. Owner Mark Spaight said last week that he was working with his insurance company to figure out the level of damage. Calls to the restaurant phone number, (501) 864-7860, consistently produced only a busy signal.
Google lists the Heights outlet of the Dallas-based Red Mango chain, 5621 Kavanaugh Blvd, Little Rock, as “permanently closed” and at the chain’s website locator for the store, redmangousa.com/ store-locator/the-heights-little-rock, we got this cheery message: “Whoops! Sorry, the Page You Requested Could Not Be Found!” As of deadline, the phone number, (501) 663-2500, hadn’t yet been disconnected, but nobody answered it during business hours.
Speaking of frozen treats, the folks who run the DQ Grill & Chill, 6100 W. 12th St., Little Rock, and also the outlet at 1550 Country Club Road, Sherwood, are offering three days of fan-appreciation promotions: Monday, “$1 Misty Slushes”; Wednesday, “halfoff ALL treats & cakes”; Jan. 20, “Half-off EVERYTHING.” They’re also planning to soon start “family nights with board games, coloring sheets, balloons and FREE kids meals for all!” The Little Rock phone number is (501) 661-8171; the Sherwood number, (501) 8341300.
And still speaking of frozen treats, the North Little Rock Planning Commission on Tuesday was expected to take up the proposal of the Missouri-based Andy’s Frozen Custard chain proposal to build a location at 6907 John F. Kennedy Blvd., North Little Rock, on part of what appears to be the parking lot of the Indian Hills Shopping Center. The chain has five Arkansas locations: one each in Conway, Fayetteville and Rogers, and two in Jonesboro. A second Conway shop is reportedly in the works for 201 E. Oak St.
John Graham of Old Mill
Bread & Flour Co. says he can neither confirm nor deny that his operation is buying EJ’s Eats & Drinks, 523 Center St., Little Rock, but he does say talks are in progress and that if anything should happen, it’ll happen within the next 30 days. The sellers are Jim Miners and Kristi Pruett.
The Capital Hotel, 111 W. Markham St., Little Rock, will host “Food, Libations & Conversations — Conviviality not Formality,” a monthly gathering sponsored by O’Looney’s Wine & Liquor, 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 1 (with a 4:30 p.m. happy hour in the lobby bar of One Eleven, not included in dinner price). This one is a “Spanish themed family-style dinner” paired with wines selected by the liquor store’s Jonathan Looney. Tickets, $93 per person, include tax and gratuity. Visit tinyurl.com/Capitaldinner.
Flywheel fried pies, which you can get at Black Angus, Lazy Pete’s, Homer’s, Burge’s and Grady’s, and several other central Arkansas eateries, now will be available for retail sale at Bamboo, 1525 Merrill Drive, Little Rock. The handmade pies come in 16 flavors, $12 for a dozen, for frying or baking at home. Proceeds go toward programs assisting individuals with disabilities. Contact Steven Hitt at (501) 940-7020 for more information.
The Butcher Shop, 10825 Hermitage Road, Little Rock, is the Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board’s January Kitchen/Fields Table Tour partner, featuring a soybean-centered white-chocolate-chip-macadamia-nut-cookie-dough cheesecake. The promotion board pairs each month with an Arkansas restaurant so diners can “experience the many ways to eat this versatile bean, and to learn of the impact our soybean farmers have on Arkansas’ $2 billion soybean industry.” The lineup for the next few months — February: The Hive in Bentonville; for March, Postmaster’s Grill, Camden; for April, Three Fold Noodles + Dumpling Co., Little Rock; and for May, J Town’s Grill, Jonesboro. Visit TheMiracleBean. com.
And speaking of beans, Jan. 24 is the deadline to register to take part in Delta Cultural Center’s second annual Beans, Greens & Cornbread Cook-Off, Jan. 27 at the American Legion Hut, 406 Porter St., Helena-West Helena. Contestants will prepare a dish — beans, cooked leafy greens or any variety of cornbread, enough for multiple samples, in an appropriate cooking or presentation container or slow cooker. A panel of celebrity judges will choose a winner in each category, starting work at 10 a.m.; the event opens to the public, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., and a popular vote picks the overall winner. It’s free to participate. To register, call (870) 338-4350 or (800) 358-0972 or visit deltaculturalcenter.com.
And Northwest Arkansas-based Potluck Arts is introducing a new series called “Out of the Ordinary Experience,” promising “unusual and different contemporary arts experiences,” with “At the Illusionist’s Table,” 7 p.m. Jan. 30-Feb. 1 and Feb. 4, 5:30 and 8:30 p.m. Feb. 2-3 at Brightwater: A Center for the Study of Food, 801 S.E. Eighth Street, Bentonville. Illusionist Scott Silven hosts an “unforgettably exquisite sensory experience combining food, wine, conversation, and wonder that Entertainment Weekly [called] ‘a magical, unforgettable theatrical meal … not to be missed.’” The show has been a success at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and most recently at the McKittrick Hotel in New York City. Each seating will admit 24 guests, all of whom must be at least 21. Tickets, $230 per person, include “an immersive experience with a gourmet three-course dinner with curated beverages including wine and scotch pairings.” Visit artful.ly/store/events/14114; get a look at the menu at tinyurl. com/illusionistmenu.