Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Consistency counts
Haven 55’s Cordon Bleu trained chef focused on freshness, quality and price
Pam Bone is proud of her sons and proud of their restaurant, Haven 55, in Pineville. Her role at Pineville’s most popular dining establishment is simple.
“I’m the free labor,” she said, laughing. “The restaurant was Alan’s idea. He’s the chef. He went to culinary school in Orlando at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts.”
After Alan graduated he stayed in Florida a while and worked under different chefs. Then returned to Southwest Missouri where he was born and raised. Here he worked for other chefs. He decided to open his own restaurant and the building where Haven 55 is now located was available. Flash forward almost six years and the restaurant is still going strong.
“It was where he wanted to be and what he wanted to do,” Pam said. “Now, here he is. He was born and raised two miles down the road from the restaurant.”
All in the family
Haven 55 is truly a family affair. Pam takes care of the front of the house and has been a server. Dad takes care of maintenance and other duties as needed and Alan’s Brother, Brian, who is a partner in Haven 55, mans the Tavern on weekends.
With Alan’s formal culinary training, the menu he has created at Haven 55 is somewhat unique in Southwest Missouri.
“He was taught by the French,” Pam explained. “A lot of the dishes lean towards that style with the sauces. We don’t have fried foods per se. He has a New York strip steak with a blue cheese sauce on it. His sirloin has a red wine reduction sauce. It’s not fancy-fancy, but it’s not just your fried chicken either. The pork tenderloin is really popular and it’s got a blackberry sauce on it. You can’t beat his New York strip steak. It’s a 16-ounce steak for $25 bucks. He does catfish on Tuesday nights. It’s awesome. It’s the whole filet. He does a pork chop with a rub and it’s really good.”
Fresh and affordable
Everything on the menu at Haven 55 is made fresh as the orders come in.
“Everything is made to order,” Pam said. “It is not prepared ahead of time. It’s not waiting for someone to order it. It doesn’t hit the skillet until someone orders it. That includes the sauces. They are made right with the dish in the skillet. It’s all fresh.”
Lunches at Haven 55 are all made fresh and are affordable, too.
“Except for one, all of our lunch specials are $8,” she said. “You can get a 1/3 pound burger with a big pile of hand cut fries.”
Wednesday is prime rib night at Haven 55. Pam suggests guests make reservations by noon on Tuesday to ensure there will be enough to go around.
“If someone just walks in on Wednesday night and wants to order prime rib, they might not get prime rib,” she stressed. “But, if you have a reservation you’re going to get prime rib.”
The family team at Haven 55 shows no sign of slowing down or changing the way they approach their business.
“The freshness, quality and price of our food is what we really take pride in,” Pam said. “Alan’s just one of those guys with a knack for it. We have people who have been coming in since we opened and they say everything is always the same. It’s not good one day and different the next. It’s consistent.”
Want to go?
The Tavern at Haven 55 is open on Friday and Saturday nights.