SPRINGDALE -- Folks in Northwest Arkansas can get more than just a home-cooked meal at Neal's Cafe. They can also get a political lecture, the lowdown on Razorback football or brilliant marital advice. Just ask the regulars sitting at that long table by the fireplace drinking coffee every morning.

Neal's Cafe, the place where it seems everyone goes to find out what's really happening in these parts, turns 70 this year. It remains one of those places where people gather day after day to socialize, complain, cajole and joke with friends, old and new.

"When people come back (to Springdale), they want to come back to something they know," said Micah Neal. He is the family's fourth generation to run the restaurant.

Annika Stensson, senior manager of research communications at the National Restaurant Association said with nearly 1 million restaurants in business across the United States, having one remain open for 70 years is quite an accomplishment.

"According to our research, nine in 10 Americans say they enjoy going to restaurants, and it's pretty tough to get nine out of 10 Americans to agree on anything these days, proving that restaurants really are at the center of local communities," she said.

Neal's is well known to area residents, even if they've never stepped foot into the restaurant at 806 N. Thompson St. Its pink exterior is hard to miss.

The cafe is renowned for its comfort food, specifically fried chicken and coconut cream pie. The walls carry Neal family mementos spanning four generations, including mounted elk and antelope heads from hunting trips and a World War II Japanese gun.

It also features a long table unofficially reserved for the morning coffee crowd.

"Restaurants serve as natural gathering places for both business and pleasure, especially if the eatery has been there for generations and its owner is an integral part of that community," Stensson said.

She added it's common for local leaders to frequent restaurants in their districts as a way to interact with community members.

"And of course, to simply enjoy great meals with family and friends," she said.

Regulars at Neal's know what she means.

Jeff Harper, Springdale district court judge, has been going to Neal's most of his life and has been part of the morning coffee group for about the past 20 years. He said fellow patrons and the restaurant's workers become like family.

"It's been a staple of the community for so many years. I've known all the owners," he said.

Neal's History

Toy and Bertha Neal started the restaurant in 1944. The couple bought 40 acres that at the time were outside the city limits. The family sold off parcels of land throughout the years and now owns about 2 acres.

"You used to be able to walk out the back door and quail hunt," Neal said.

The original Neal's was where the restaurant's sign stands today. The owners had to tear the building down and rebuild further off the road in 1963 when Thompson Street was widened.

That's also when the signature pink paint went on the walls. Neal said it was his great-grandmother's favorite color.

But some of the original Neal's remains: The sign hanging from the current cafe's front is from the first building.

The restaurant next went to J.D. and Bertha Mae Neal before Neal's parents, Don and Laverne Neal, took over. Micah Neal runs the restaurant with his father.

"I was the oldest grandson and was almost tagged at birth to be at the restaurant," he said. He has a brother and two sisters.

Neal, 39, and his wife, Cindy, have three children: Reagan, 14; Bodie, 9; and London, 18 months. He said it is hard to tell if his children will want to carry on the family tradition or if he would continue at the restaurant forever. Neal also serves as a state representative for District 89.

"Never say never. You never know what opportunities will come in the future," he said. "This place holds so many memories and good times."

Some of those memories are documented by the cafe's furnishings.

Many of the tables in the cafe are made of cedar trees cut from the original site. Neal said his grandfather made several other tables that feature arrowheads and pennies embedded in the surfaces. Another presents diners with a checkerboard.

The penny table is filled with wheat pennies, alternating between heads and tails. Neal said one penny is facing the opposite way than the rest and people sitting at that table often try to find it.

"Some guy came in and said he wanted to buy that table and he just wouldn't take no for an answer," he said. "I finally told him I would sell it for $10 million."

The wall mounts include the head of a 1,200-pound elk his grandfather shot in Colorado. Another wall has the mounted bill off a marlin Neal said he caught in Cabo San Lucas while fishing with his grandfather.

A stuffed bear used to be on display at the restaurant before Don Neal donated it to the University of Arkansas.

Harper said that bear used to scare him when he was a child. He started going to Neal's with his grandparents when he was just a toddler.

"It had big claws and I used to have nightmares," he said.

That same bear scared Harper again when he was a Springdale police officer.

Neal said the bear was eventually moved into a back room and when officers would respond to an alarm call a rookie would be the butt of a joke. The young officer would walk into a dark room to check it out before running into the bear. Harper was a victim of the ruse.

"I almost put a couple of bullets in it just for good measure," he said.

Social Site

Harper, at age 59, is the youngest regular attendee of the morning coffee crew. Most of the group's members are retired or semi-retired.

There is not a "no girls allowed" rule, but all the regulars are men.

"We come every day and solve all the problems, but as soon as we leave all the problems come back," said Bob NeSmith of Springdale. "We have to come back the next day to solve them again."

NeSmith was one of a half dozen people gathered for coffee at Neal's on Friday. The group changes throughout the morning as people come and go. Sometimes as many as 20 people will be there at one time, prompting the group to push other tables together. The men even sit in the same seats every day.

They shared stories Friday of past jokes they've played on one another such as putting a live possum in the back of someone's truck or planting turnips in the front flower garden. They go on float trips together and visit one another when they are sick.

The morning group has a book listing the birthdays of regular attendees NeSmith holds on to.

"We do things backwards. When it is someone's birthday they are in charge of buying pie that day," he said.

The books listed 41 names; seven are highlighted purple to mark those who have died.

Neal said there is also a group that meets daily for lunch.

"This is where they can put their guards down," he said. "This is the American way, get things done over food."

Rex Bailey, a Washington County justice of the peace from Springdale, said he's been going to Neal's for nearly 25 years. He is part of the lunch crowd on Wednesdays, and said he goes on other days when he can fit it in his schedule.

"It's the only place you can go to get sports, politics and marriage counseling," he said with a chuckle. "Of course none of them know what they are talking about."

The group Bailey usually meets with consists of past and current local politicians, but said it is not unusual for other people to join as well.

Neal said the restaurant attracts people from all walks of life, from blue-collar workers to millionaires.

"When I was in the first grade I told granddad I didn't need to go to school anymore because I could learn everything I needed to know at the restaurant," he said.

State Sen. Jon Woods, 37, considers himself a Neal's regular.

"The joke is, if you start a rumor at Neal's Cafe in the morning, by lunch you will have the mayor and chamber calling you," he said.

Steve Luoni, director of the Community Design Center at the University of Arkansas, said establishments like Neal's play an important role as "third places."

Author Ray Oldenburg wrote in his book "The Great Good Place" that third places are community anchors that give people a place to gather and socialize. They can be restaurants, taverns, bars and coffee shops. According to Oldenburg, home comes first and work second.

These third place gathering spots tend to be in urban areas that many middle age people left for life in suburbia, he said.

"The younger generation of 30 and younger are moving back to the cities," he said. "Now instead of electing retirement communities, a lot of empty-nesters are looking to move back to the downtowns.

"Communities need third places. It's really important to have those kinds of places if you want a thriving area," he said.

Political Arena

Woods said any politician running for office needs to stop at Neal's when passing through.

"It is a political hot spot for Northwest Arkansas," he said. "If you don't stop by, you aren't running very hard."

The Neal's crowd definitely runs on the conservative side of the political spectrum.

"Your election goes through Neal's," Bailey said. "Democrats may visit once, but they probably won't come back."

Bailey has served many years on the quorum court and is retiring this year, but he said Neal's will still be on his must-do list.

Neal said everyone is always welcome, but not many Democrats make the restaurant a campaign stop. He is a Republican and the restaurant has a framed picture of Ronald Reagan hanging on the wall.

There is also a photo of Gov. Mike Beebe, a Democrat, on the fireplace mantel.

Politicians from the local to national level have made an appearance at Neal's over the years.

Third District Rep. Steve Womack, R-Rogers, has been going to the restaurant for many years. Neal said at one point the congressman asked if he would send the restaurant's apple salad to him while he was in Washington. Neal said no.

"It's the place to go," Womack stated in an email. "And whenever I visit, I know I will have great conversation and a great meal. Neal's dedication to its traditions and their customers -- and, of course, the apple salad -- have made me a longtime and frequent customer, and I look forward to continuing to be one."

Janine Parry, a political science professor at the University of Arkansas, said retail politics are still important in Arkansas. Stopping by local events and community hangouts such as restaurants give candidates one-on-one interaction with voters, she said.

"People here still expect to meet you and shake your hand and look you in your eyes," Parry said. "I hope that is still the case 20 years from now."

If it is, you'll probably still be able to do so at Neal's.

NW News on 09/01/2014