The sale of South on Main, 1304 Main St., Little Rock, which co-owner Don Dugan had announced as the year was turning, has fallen through, Dugan says. So he and wife Tasha Stratton are planning to reopen the restaurant as something else. "Give it a couple, three months," he says, noting that they have not yet fully formed a concept for the space. Dugan bought South on Main from Matt Bell in early 2020; he shut it down and announced the sale as December turned into January. He and Stratton also own and operate Dizzy's Gypsy Bistro, Dugan's Pub and Stratton's Market.
The Zaxby's Chicken Fingers & Buffalo Wings outlets at 104 Carnahan Drive, Maumelle, and 208 Brookswood Road, Sherwood, are apparently gone; Google lists them both as "permanently closed." The phone number in Maumelle, (501) 851-9777, has not yet been disconnected but nobody answered it during business hours over several attempts. The Sherwood number, (501) 833-9777, repeatedly delivered a busy signal. Both locations are still listed on the website, zaxbys.com.
And speaking of Maumelle chain restaurants, we noticed the last time we were in the neighborhood that the neighboring Taco Bueno at 102 Savannah Drive, Maumelle, has also closed, long enough ago for the building signs to have been removed.
Central Arkansas' newest Dairy Queen opened Saturday at 4601 Northshore Drive, North Little Rock. Hours are 6 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 7 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday, and they're serving breakfast — breakfast platters, biscuits and sausage gravy, chicken and gravy biscuits "and so much more" — until 10 a.m. daily. (Not all DQs serve breakfast, notes a DQ spokeswoman, who also broke the news to us that the the DQ at 6100 W. 12th St., Little Rock, just off University Avenue, has also just started serving breakfast, as well — same hours.) Phone number for the new North Little Rock DQ: (501) 650-8205. dqarkansas.com. Franchisee You Scream Holdings LLC also plans to open a DQ later in the spring at 2811 Alma Highway (U.S. 71B) in Van Buren.
Target opening date is now end of March or first week of April for West LR Social, 18406 Cantrell Road, Little Rock, a little bit east of where Cantrell meets Chenal Parkway, across from Milano's Italian Grill. It's a juice and smoothie bar described on the Facebook page, facebook.com/WLRSocial, as "fast food for smart people serving healthy shakes and clean energy drinks." Latest in a long series of delays: construction on the parking lot. (214) 542-3169.
El Herradero Mexican Bar & Grill, in the former El Chico, 8409 Interstate 30, Little Rock, on the frontage road off Geyer Springs Road, continues to inch toward opening. The latest post, Feb. 17, on the Facebook page, facebook.com/elherraderolr, tells us that "We received our first food order today ... We are prepping and getting things ready ... Just two more things in place until we can finally announce our grand opening date!"
The North Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau will host a North Little Rock Food Truck Permitting Day on March 15 in downtown North Little Rock (exact location to be announced). All mobile food vendors that would like to operate in North Little Rock in 2023 are encouraged to sign up for the required appointment. It'll allow food truck operators "to easily go through each step necessary for operating in North Little Rock, according to a social media post, including how to set up fire marshal and health department inspections, how to obtain a business license from the North Little Rock City Clerk's Office and a permit from the North Little Rock Advertising & Promotion Commission and marketing information from the North Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau. Visit northlittlerock.org/north-little-rock-food-truck-permitting-day.
Joel Phelps, writing for The Arkadelphian (arkadelphian.com), a website that provides "News in Arkadelphia and Southwest Arkansas," reports the sudden "and mysterious" closure of the Sonic Drive-In, 303 N. 10th St., Arkadelphia, sudden enough that a customer was able to place an order on the Sonic mobile app (and have his bank account charged for it) but was turned away when he arrived. Phelps reports he made several unsuccesful attempts to contact the franchisee, the Woodward, Okla.-based Van Dorn Group. Employees and sources close to management told Phelps, "under the condition of anonymity from fear of retaliation from upper management," that the restaurant wasn't making enough money to cover its costs or payroll. Our call to the listed phone number, (870) 246-5873, produced a recording that the number had changed but that the new number is "unknown."
Fayetteville’s Pesto Cafe, which closed in December, will reopen under new management. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Garrett Moore)
The Fayetteville Flyer reports that according to a social media post by private chef Lance Corbin, he's planning to reopen the Pesto Cafe, 1830 N. College Ave., Fayetteville, which closed in December. Apparently it'll now be called Pesto's by Lance; the target to reopen is mid- to late spring to reopen. "Today the keys were turned over to me, and I promise to bring Pesto's back to life, just as delicious as you remember and better than ever," Corbin posted. According to his website, lancedchef.com, Corbin got his start at 19 as a pantry chef for a resort in northern Michigan called Marsh Ridge. Later, he worked as executive chef of Sarasota, Fla., restaurant Mama Leone's. He moved to Northwest Arkansas in 2018 to work for Tyson Foods, and has also offered personal chef services.
Sunset Lodge at Rusty Tractor Vineyards, 10 Rusty Tractor Lane, Little Rock, hosts a German Wine Dinner with Fassler Hall and Vino Distribution, 6:30 p.m. March 3. Evan Spingarn, German and Austrian wine portfolio director at Bowler wines, will be the special guest, and has assembled four whites and two reds to go along with three courses: Fassler's Sausage Sampler; Schnitzel, Sprouts and Spaetzle; and Pretzel-Bread Pudding. Cost is $55. facebook.com/events/574226611304455.
University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College's Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management Institute, 13000 Interstate 30 Frontage Road, Little Rock, is offering a "Last Night on the Titanic Dinner," 6-8 p.m. April 14, featuring 16-course tasting stations from the last dinner served on the Titanic. Preparing the meal: the chefs of the American Culinary Federation Central Arkansas Chefs chapter and Culinary Arts & Hospitality Management students and faculty. Cost is $125 ($150 at the door); black tie or 1912 costume optional. Visit tinyurl.com/y8k8ywym.
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. Send email to: [email protected]