’23 skedaddles
Last year brought many changes to local cuisine scene — some good, some bad
Man may not live by bread alone, as the saying goes, but he doesn’t live long without it.
Then again, a number of restaurants we visited in the past year weren’t serving bread.
As with most years, the Central Arkansas restaurant scene reflected Greek philosopher Heraclitus’ view of existence as a continual process of coming into being and passing away.
Restaurants opened; restaurants closed. Chefs came and went. Menus changed. Much of it we recorded in our weekly Restaurant Transitions column, which is the source of this annual restaurant recap.
As has been our practice, this piece attempts to hit some high spots in the 2023 dining scene. It is in no way comprehensive; decisions on what to include and what to leave out are subjective, and undoubtedly we have left out some important developments and dwell upon some that are less important. We pass no judgments on and intend no offense to any establishment, owner, chef or manager thereby.
Meanwhile, we lift a fork to mark the start of 2024. Bon appetit to all and sundry.
TOP CHOPS
George’s Little Rock opened in August in the former Cafe Prego, 5510 Kavanaugh Blvd., Little Rock, the result of a multimillion dollar project of John Stephens, senior vice president at Stephens Inc., and his wife, Mary Olive Stephens, that involved reconstruction on the building. Charlotte, N.C.-based Rebecca Dickson Callis, who designed the interior, paid homage to the building’s origins, a Southern bungalow originally constructed as a residential home. The main dining areas continue to operate on a reservation-only basis, but the full menu has been extended to a subsidiary speakeasy, nicknamed Barnaby (originally set up to offer a separate menu), a secondary bar and a patio, all of which accommodate walk-ins. A to-go component opened up in December.
And speaking of Italian restaurants, the venerable Graffiti’s, 7811 Cantrell Road, Little Rock, shut down in March without notice to patrons; co-owner Armando Bolanos incorporated its menu into his other restaurant, La Terraza Rum & Lounge in Little Rock’s Hillcrest.
Don Dugan, who bought South on Main from Matt Bell in early 2020, closed and sold, or tried to sell, the restaurant at 1304 Main St., Little Rock, at the turn of the year; the sale fell through in Feb
ruary. Dugan, “going for the neighborhood bar in this area,” eventually reopened it in August as The Busker, keeping the stage and sound system so as to continue to offer live music on the weekends.
We found out in October that the folks who own and operate The Bleu Monkey Grill at 4263 Central Ave, Hot Springs, had taken over the former Gusano’s/Chili’s space in the Village at Pleasant Valley Shopping Center, 10700 N. Rodney Parham Road at Interstate 430, Little Rock, and are opening a west Little Rock branch, with a target to open this month.
Northwest Arkansas-based Wright’s Barbecue opened a Little Rock branch in August in the Quonset hut that once housed the Wine Cellar at 1311 Rebsamen Park Road, behind the Town Pump. It’s been popular, packing in the customers (particularly at lunchtime, when on a recent weekday the line extended out the door) ever since.
The partnership between Tori Morehart’s home-cooking DownHome Catering and Hot Springs’ McClard’s BarB-Que that created McClard’s & DownHome Catering, 9219 Stagecoach Road, Little Rock, collapsed in February after less than six months, with the new “fusion” that held its grand opening Oct. 14, 2022, splitting back into two separate entities. McClard’s retained the building; it subsequently closed in late November. Meanwhile, a franchisee opened a McClard’s in June in the former Belly’s Southern Kitchen (and before that, Chile Peppers Tex-Mex Grill), 2071 Oliver Lancaster Blvd., Rockport, on the edge of Malvern.
And Damgoode Pies closed its original location at 2701 Kavanaugh Blvd. in Little Rock’s Hillcrest neighborhood as October passed into November; its other location, 6706 Cantrell Road, Little Rock, shut down less than three weeks later.
GONE WITH THE WIND
The March 31 tornado walloped the Breckenridge Village Shopping Center, Interstate 430 and North Rodney Parham Road, damaging several restaurants and delaying construction and reconstruction on several others.
Mt. Fuji, which had occupied a corner location of one of the shopping center’s buildings for more than three decades, moved, more or less next-door, into the space previously occupied by Greenhaw’s, a men’s clothing store, opening in November — the first restaurant to open or reopen in the center.
The tornado and a subsequent September microburst interrupted construction on the pending second location in the center of Hot Springs’ much-celebrated Deluca’s Pizza. Meanwhile, in January and February, the original Deluca’s in Hot Springs moved, after spending 4½ years at 831 Central Ave., into larger quarters next-door, 833 Central Ave.
The tornado and the microburst also heavily damaged the center’s Eat My Catfish branch, which is now set to reopen Jan. 9. More than 20 employees from that location have been working in the interim at a Riverdale location, 2516 Cantrell Road, which opened in June.
Still to come in the center: an outlet of Waldo’s Chicken and Beer and second locations of The Root and Flyway Brewing.
The tornado also did considerable damage as it proceeded northeastward to Cantrell Road. It tore into Trio’s, which was closed for several weeks for repairs, and the Purple Cow, which has still not reopened. Then it crossed the Arkansas River, wiping out Dogtown Pizza, 5500 MacArthur Drive in North Little Rock’s Amboy neighborhood.
YOU CAN ALWAYS GO … DOWNTOWN
In January, after a delay of more than three years, in part the result of the covid-19 pandemic, the consortium of sisters that owns and operates @ the Corner — Lila and Helen Grace King and Kamiya Merrick (the chef) — opened their second restaurant, which they originally planned to call Henrietta’s, in the former Andina Cafe space, 433 E. Third St., in Little Rock’s River Market District. Except, in the interim, the name changed, to Flora Jean’s. So did the concept; the menu now focuses entirely on vegetarian, ovo-vegetarian and vegan dishes, as well as a big spread of pastries, many of them gluten-free.
The Bagel Shop, which Myles Roberson and Trevor Papsadora had been operating as mostly a pop-up operation since July 2022, opened in August in a storefront at 1501 Main St. in Little Rock’s South Main neighborhood.
Across Main Street, chef-owner Nathan Miller, formerly of YaYa’s Euro Bistro, opened BCW — that stands for Bread, Cheese and Wine — in September at 1424 Main, serving “elevated” grilled cheese sandwiches and shareable items with wine and an extensive cocktail program. And the place stays open late — until midnight Thursday-Saturday.
Ben Brainard opened his second, downtown Little Rock location of Big Bad Breakfast in October in the former Soul Fish space at 306 Main St. He opened the first one at 101 S. Bowman Road at West Markham Street, in July 2022.
And after 30 years in business, Dave’s Place, 210 Center St, Little Rock, which closed at the end of May while namesake owner-chef “Big” Dave Williams was recovering from a bad infection, closed altogether at the end of July.
EAST OF … WELL, DOWNTOWN
Sterling Market opened in mid-March at 515 Shall Ave., in the former Cathead’s Diner space in Little Rock’s East Village, featuring five areas: Bakery (sweets and house-made bagels), Greens (salads), Pizza (specialty pies and “house pizzas” by the slice), Butcher (sandwiches and meats by the pound) and Libations (a capacious bar).
And Rosie’s Pot & Kettle co-owner Katie McDaniel told us in December she’s moving her establishment from Fourth Street and Bond Avenue to the former Flight Deck in the Central Flying Service flight training facility, 2301 Crisp Drive, Little Rock, at the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport, where she hopes to be up and running “as soon as possible after the first of the year.” Rosie’s replaces Flint’s at the Flight Deck, the most recent of several restaurants in the facility, which Flint Flenoy had been operating until the beginning of November.
SOUTH OF THE BORDER
Mar y Tierra Cantina and Grill, 1900 W. Third St., Little Rock, in sight of the state Capitol, closed in December. It went through a series of renovations that started out in half the building (which had housed a whole host of restaurants over the years) and then took over the other half (which had housed a down-at-heel liquor store).
A Mexican restaurant named La Chingada (depending on your translation, that could be a very rude, possibly obscene, word in Spanish, though looser, more colloquial translations are not particularly offensive) took over the space at 313 President Clinton Ave. in Little Rock’s River Market District formerly occupied by The Library Kitchen + Lounge (and prior to that, Gusano’s). It opened at the “border” between October and November.
October saw the long-awaited reopening of the Riviera Maya Mexican Restaurant, 801 Fair Park Blvd., Little Rock, rebuilt after a devastating fire at the end of March 2022.
We’re still awaiting the opening of Maximo Cocina Mexicana, in the long-vacant former Romano Macaroni Grill, 11100 W. Markham St., Little Rock. It’s from, but featuring a different concept from, the folks who run Diablos Tacos & Mezcaleria, 300 President Clinton Ave., on the edge of Little Rock’s River Market District. (There’s also a Diablos in Hot Springs.)
NORTH OF THE RIVER
Cregeen’s Irish Pub, 301 Main St., in North Little Rock’s Argenta neighborhood, closed right after St. Patrick’s Day, to be replaced by Draft + Table, which opened in mid-November with a “upscale, casual fine dining” menu.
Diamond Bear Taproom & Pub, 600 N. Broadway, North Little Rock, transitioned in June into Ol’ Bart at Diamond Bear, a sort of branch office of Conway barbecue restaurant Ol’Bart Southern Eats, 1220 Old Morrilton Highway (U.S. 64). It opened in August.
And an early October fire caused significant damage to the interior of North Bar, 3812 John F. Kennedy Blvd., North Little Rock, which has remained closed since. Owners in late November, however, announced the planned launch of a mobile kitchen.
ASIAN WITH GRACE Red Bowl Noodle & Dim Sum
opened in April in the Galleria shopping center, 9700 N. Rodney Parham Road, Little Rock, in the former home of Homer’s West. Customers order from a menu of 33 dimsum items plus six types of ramen bowls and a couple of chow fun items (that’s the noodle part) and a handful of Asian appetizers.
Gold Bowl Noodles-Hibachi-Boba Tea opened in August at 215 Center St., Little Rock, serving hibachi-cooked meats and seafoods, several varieties of ramen plus a Szechuan beef noodle soup, a variety of fried rice and lo mein options and a selection of flavored ice milk and hot boba teas. The menu has continued to expand to add more Chinese and pan-Asian items.
We learned in March that two outlets of the KPOT chain, serving primarily Korean barbecue and hot pot items, were headed to Arkansas, one to 4317 Warden Road, North Little Rock (which had previously housed outlets of Old Chicago and Newk’s), and one to 2312 E. Parker Road in Jonesboro. The North Little Rock outlet is still pending; the Jonesboro outlet opened in November.
ASIAN WITHOUT GRACE
Kawaii Boba House filed for bankruptcy and as of July 13 closed its four Central Arkansas locations in Little Rock, two in Conway and the one that had only recently opened in Hot Springs — putting nearly two dozen employees out of work without notice.
And Sushi Cafe, 5823 Kavanaugh Blvd., Little Rock, has been dark for months. The website, sushicafelittlerock.com, explains it is “temporarily closed for renovation,” but provides no clue when/if that will be accomplished. Sushi Cafe West, 11211 Cantrell Road, Little Rock, remains open.
WRAPPED UP IN CHAINS
An outlet of Baton Rouge-based Walk-On’s Sports Bis-treaux opened in November in the former Mellow Mushroom location in the Chenal Marketplace center, 16103 Chenal Parkway, Little Rock. Franchisee Chris McJunkins operates Walk-On’s locations in Conway, Fayetteville, Fort Smith and Rogers and also owns several Walk-On’s in Louisiana.
Little Rock’s first Whataburger outlet (at least since a Texas company took over the chain) opened in April at 17100 Chenal Parkway. Subsequent outlets have opened in North Little Rock, Benton, Searcy, Fort Smith and Van Buren, with more planned for Hot Springs and Conway.
Arkansas’ first outlet of the Rockford, Ill.-based Beef-A-Roo chain opened in July at 1111 N. U.S. 62 in Harrison. The second opened in October the former Krispy Kreme, 1315 S. Shackleford Road, Little Rock.
The Chick-fil-A outlet in Park Plaza, 6000 W. Markham St. at University Avenue, closed at the end of October. The drive-thru Chick-fil-A, 6201 W. Markham, continues to operate for Midtown chicken sandwich fans.
And the long-awaited Conway Olive Garden Italian Kitchen outlet, which realizes what had been a multi-year, social media-fueled joke, opened in October at 554 Museum Road, fronting Interstate 40.
IN MEMORIAM
Rhoda Adams, owner and namesake of the Chicot County’s famed Rhoda’s Famous Hot Tamales and Pies in Lake Village, a destination for foodies from across Arkansas, the U.S. and the world, died Aug. 16. She was 85.
And Timothy “Tim” Morton, longtime executive chef at Restaurant 1620 and subsequently at Cache, died Sept. 1. He was 48. A Hall High grad, he attended the American Institute of Culinary Arts in Atlanta. He worked for his aunt, Evette Brady, at 1620 for 16 years.