TRANSITIONS

LITTLE ROCK — Scott McGehee and John Beachboard are leaving Boulevard Bread Co. and “moving on to new projects.” McGehee, in an e-mailing to his “dear wonderful and amazing customers,” says he is handing over ownership of the bakery-cafe (with outlets on Kavanaugh Boulevard in the Heights, in the River Market and at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences) to his ex-wife, Christina, and will be spending more time at his Za-Za Fine Salad & Wood Oven Pizza Co., also on Kavanaugh in the Heights, and “working on some new exciting gourmet concepts that I strongly believe in.” One of those new projects includes a

ZaZa on Harkrider Street in Conway, near Hendrix College, scheduled to open sometime in late summer 2010.

Fatsam’s Louisiana Cafe in the River Market’s Ottenheimer Market Hall, 400 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock, has pared back its hours for fall and winter, closing on Monday and operating 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday. The phone number is (501) 244-4720.

Dixie Cafe outlets at 10700 Rodney Parham Road, Little Rock, and in Lakewood Village, 2724 Lakewood Village Drive, North Little Rock, will be open 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Thanksgiving Day, with a “special holiday menu” that includes “turkey and dressing and all the fixin’s,” including choice of two vegetables, rolls and jalapeno cornbread, for $9.99. The phone number on Rodney Parham is (501) 224-3728; in Lakewood Village, (501) 758-4777.

Other chain restaurants open on Thanksgiving, at least the ones we’ve heard about so far, include

Mimis Cafe, 11725 Chenal Parkway, Little Rock - (501) 221-3883 - and

YaYa’s Euro Bistro, in the Promenade at Chenal, 17711 Chenal Parkway, Little Rock, (501) 821-1144, which will offer a Thanksgiving buffet, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. And, of course, several hotels will be offering Thanksgiving buffets, including the

Peabody Little Rock

and the Wyndham in North Little Rock.

Kathy Webb will hold a cooking class on “Great Asian Soups,” featuring five soups from China, Japan and Thailand, 7-8:30 p.m. Dec. 2 at her restaurant,

Lilly’s Dim Sum Then Some, in the Market Place Shopping Center, 11121 N. Rodney Parham Road, Little Rock. Cost is $45; to make the required reservations, call (501) 716-2700 or e-mail lilly@lillysdimsum.com.

Is it true concern for the customer or a case of corporate cheese-paring? Maybe a little bit of both. A concerned reader told us the other day that while he and a companion were dining at the

Red Lobster

in North Little Rock, the server brought them only two of the restaurant chain’s signature Cheddar Bay biscuits instead of the basketful they used to get, and brought two more when those were gone. The server explained that the policy now is to provide one biscuit per customer initially and the same with biscuit refills. A Red Lobster customer relations representative - (800) 562-7837 - told us that is a recent change, and admitted that the new policy partly involves saving money during the economic downturn, but the main goal is to provide customers with “hot, fresh bread throughout the meal,” since the biscuits just plain don’t taste as good if they get cold.

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 e-mail to:

eharrison@arkansasonline.com

Weekend, Pages 40 on 11/19/2009

Print Headline: TRANSITIONS