Restaurant Transitions: New central Arkansas Chick-fil-A; Pei Wei to offer free food for year prize

FILE — The Chick-fil-A across from Park Plaza Mall in Little Rock. A new location of the popular fast food chain is expected to open in Maumelle.
FILE — The Chick-fil-A across from Park Plaza Mall in Little Rock. A new location of the popular fast food chain is expected to open in Maumelle.

Wrapped up in chains:

• After fielding several reports and rumors about the approach of a Chick-fil-A on Maumelle Boulevard in Maumelle that we had been consistently unable to verify, comes now an Oct. 27 resolution from the Maumelle City Council approving a Maumelle Planning Commission preliminary development plan for that very Chick-fil-A for the patch of property next door to the Walgreens. That seems pretty definite.

• The new west Little Rock branch of Pei Wei, in The Promenade at Chenal, 17701 Chenal Parkway, will offer a prize of free food for a year during its grand opening Saturday.

• One of our eagle-eyed Hot Springs correspondents reports seeing a sign above the now-closed Mooyah Burgers, Fries & Shakes, 3954 Central Ave., indicating a WingStop outlet would be "landing soon." We'll keep you posted.

• Bonefish Grill -- 11525 Cantrell Road, Little Rock, and 3201 Market St., Rogers -- is introducing on Tuesday a new winter menu featuring a new Lobster, Crab & Artichoke Dip with sweet lobster, lump crab and house-made tortilla chips; Fresh Oscar Mahi Mahi -- wood-grilled fresh Mahi Mahi, topped with jumbo lump crab, freshly steamed asparagus and lemon butter; Misoyaki Chilean Sea Bass -- grilled over oak, then topped with misoyaki marinade and pickled ginger relish, on a bed of sauteed spinach, mushrooms and jasmine rice; and, for dessert, a seasonal Chocolate Creme Brulee, made with a splash of Grand Marnier. Visit bonefishgrill.com.

• Interested in running the North Little Rock outlet of Wichita, Kan.-based Freddy's Frozen Custard and Steakburgers, pending at 4305 E. McCain Blvd.? Check out the want-ad for a general manager at tinyurl.com/freddysmgr. One of our eagle-eyed observers says ground has been cleared in the shopping center next to the Home Depot in North Little Rock; no word yet on a second outlet planned for the vicinity of the Chenal Parkway-Bowman Road intersection. The chain has outlets in Fayetteville and Rogers. Check out the menu at the website, freddysusa.com.

• Pie in the sky: Cabot-based Pizza Pro ranked No. 37 on Pizza Today magazine's 2016 ranking of the nation's most successful pizza companies (up one from last year), with 395 units creating 2016 gross sales of just over $79.1 million. The top five: Pizza Hut, gross sales of $13.7 billion; Domino's, $9.6 billion; Little Caesars, $3.5 billion; Papa John's, $3.49 billion; and Papa Murphy's, $892.3 million. Check out the complete list at pizzatoday.com/departments/pizza-todays-2016-top-100-pizza-companies.

And this slight update on our report last week on Terry's Finer Foods the Restaurant -- no firm opening date yet as of deadline, but we can provide a little additional information on "Terry's new Sushi offerings by the Nyunt family." Sushi construction will take place in the grocery store and apparently also be on sale there.

A Marble Slab Creamery/Great American Cookies hybrid has opened in Donaghey Hall at the University of Central Arkansas, 240 Donaghey Ave., Conway, serving Great American Cookies' baked goods and Marble Slab Creamery's made-from-scratch-in-store ice cream with mix-ins and milkshakes. Hours are 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, noon-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday. The phone number: (501) 329-4504. It's the second such Conway location; the other is at 605 Salem Road.

The deadline is 4 p.m. Nov. 18 to sign up for the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center's fifth annual "Say It Ain't Say's" Sweet Potato Pie Contest, 2-5 p.m. Dec. 4 at the center, 501 W. Ninth St., Little Rock, in conjunction with its annual Holiday Open House. Between 12 and 16 participants will compete for bragging rights for central Arkansas' best sweet potato pie, with first and second prizes in professional and amateur categories and a people's choice winner. There's no registration fee; participants must take a toy to donate to Robert "Say" McIntosh's "Black Santa" toy drive. Contest rules and the registration form are available online at mosaictemplarscenter.com/events/holiday-open-house.

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The Eureka Springs Food & Wine Weekend kicks off today and runs through Sunday at various Eureka Springs venues, including:

• Cottage Inn Restaurant, 450 W. Van Buren St.: 5-8 p.m. dinners, each night a different multi-course meal with wine pairings for each course, today-Sunday; Saturday's is a one-time seating at 6:30.

• Grand Taverne Restaurant, 37 N. Main St., food and wine specials, 5-9 p.m. today-Sunday, with a special "locals appreciation" today.

• DeVito's, 5 Center St., special food and wine menu with cocktails and wine flights (as well as its regular fish and lasagna specials), 5-8 p.m. today-Sunday.

• Brews, 2 Pine St., special French wine and Boursin cheese platter, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. today and Sunday, 10 a.m.-midnight Friday-Saturday.

• The Stonehouse, 89 S. Main St., wine flights and cheese pairings, 1-10 p.m. today-Saturday, 1-8 p.m. Sunday.

• KJ's Caribe Restaurant and Cantina, 309 W. Van Buren St., five-course dinner prepared with local farmers-market oriented specials and pairings with Railway Winery, 5-9 p.m. today-Sunday.

Visit eurekaspringsfoodandwine.com for full menus and additional details.

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And is our custom, we'll be providing information on restaurants that will be open on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 24), a preliminary list to run next week and a hopefully fuller list on the holiday. If your restaurant will be open on the holiday, hot-shot an email to [email protected], listing your address, hours, method of presentation (buffet or sit-down), menu, whether or not you're taking reservations and contact information (particularly if you're taking reservations). And many thanks in advance.

Has a restaurant opened -- or closed -- near you in the last week or so? Does your favorite eatery have a new menu? Is there a new chef in charge? Drop us a line. Call (501) 399-3667 or (501) 378-3513, or send a note to Restaurants, Weekend Section, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, P.O. Box 2221, Little Rock, Ark. 72203. Send email to:

[email protected]

Weekend on 11/10/2016

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