LITTLE ROCK — It’s one of the places about which we get a lot of inquiries, and we finally have good news: Timothy Rogers reports he’s finally on the verge of reopening the landmark
Starlite Diner, 250 E. Military Drive, North Little Rock, sometime in the next two to three weeks.
He has his occupancy certificate and has completed his final building inspections; the next steps are contacting the Health Department and hiring and training staff. (A classified ad in Sunday’s Democrat-Gazette noted that the diner is “now hiring Cooks, Wait Staff & experienced Bakers for all shifts.”) We reported in October that Rogers was rehabbing the diner, felled by fire in June 2008, but despite the “Grand Reopening Soon” and “Taking applications” signs on the front of the building, it didn’t look like that grand reopening was going to happen any time soon. However, “I really believe it this time,” Rogers says,adding that he plans to keep the diner open 24/7. There’s no phone number yet. We’ll keep you posted.
Christina McGehee, owner of
Boulevard Bread, confirms that the bakery-caterer-restaurant will be moving its baking and catering facilities to 1417 Main St., Little Rock. Target opening date for the new facility, which will also include a retail storefront that will sell baked goods, coffee drinks and some highend groceries, will be shortly after the first of the year. McGehee says what will go into the space in the original Heights location that has housed the bakery is “the million-dollar question,” but will probably be a combination of more dining space and new kitchen equipment that will allow her to expand the daily dining specials. Boulevard Bread also has locations in the River Market’s Ottenheimer Market Hall and at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
Over the past several years we’ve gotten several reports of the demise of
El Dorado, 5820 Asher Ave., Little Rock, none of which turned out to be quite true. However, there’s some evidence for it this time: An alert colleague spotted a big “Closed” sign across the front of the restaurant. And calls to the telephone number, (501) 562-9130, return a “temporarily disconnected” message. We’ll keep you posted.
Starving Artist Cafe, 411 Main St., North Little Rock, has suspended weekday dinner service as part of its recently announced “summer hours,” which a restaurant employee said will be in effect for an indefinite period, at least sometime into September. That leaves full restaurant service at 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday for lunch and 4-9 p.m. Friday-Saturday for dinner. However,the restaurant will be open Tuesday evenings for tapings of co-owner Paula Morrell’s public radio show, Tales From the South, and for Wednesday night wine dinners. The phone number is (501) 372-7976; the website is starvingartistCafe.net.
An ad in the Aug. 12 Saline Courier (formerly the Benton Courier) presages the “coming soon” of something called
Cajun Eatery, in a former catfish restaurant on Interstate 30 in Bryant. It’s a buffet, $10 a plate for adults; a server measures children age 4-12 and charges 10 cents an inch for their meals; food is free for kids under 4. We don’t yet have a phone number or any further details on an opening date but we’ll keep you posted.
Gino’s, a pizzeria and deli that has been operating out of the Shell Station at 8000 Geyer Springs Road and Interstate 30, Little Rock, has a new locationat 20th Street and Pike Avenue, North Little Rock, in what used to be a Church’s Fried Chicken outlet. It will serve the same pizzas and Philly cheese steaks that we praised at its southwest Little Rock location, though not into the wee hours of the morning as that place does - hours are 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Saturday, noon-8 p.m. Sunday. The phone number is (501) 379-8410. Phone for the Geyer Springs location: (501) 562-0152. There is also a
Gino’s Pizzeria & Philly Steaks, 1301 Albert Pike, Hot Springs, open 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday. The phone number there is (501) 624-5400.
The revolving-door (or perhaps drive-through window would be more appropriate) space at 5504 JFK Blvd., North Little Rock, which has housed innumerable pizza and wing take-out establishments, now houses a new Mexican restaurant:
Los Hernandez
. There’s a temporary banner at the street side and the display sign now bears the message, “Authentic Mexican restaurant - dine in for our fajitas” and the telephone number, (501) 753-2010. Hours are 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday.
Six investors/friends, including three former Little Rock residents, have formed Mkuze Ventures Inc., to buy the central Arkansas franchise rights for
Newk’s Express Cafe, a Mississippi-based “express-casual” restaurant chain. Plans are to open five locations in the area over the next five years, starting with a to-be-announced location in the Midtown area, opening byApril. Newk’s menu, “available for comfortable in-restaurant dining, grab-and-go or convenient pick-up,” includes salads, oven-baked sandwiches, California-style pizzas, made-fromscratch soups and homemadecakes, plus a selection of beer and wine by the glass. We’ll keep you posted.
And Phil Brandon, founder of Rock Town Distillery, Arkansas’ first craft distillery, will hold a launch party for Brandon’s Vodka and Brandon’s Gin, 6-9 p.m. Sept. 2 in the atrium of the Arkansas Arts Center in MacArthur Park, 10th and Commerce streets, Little Rock. The event will feature an open bar (presumably including those items), hors d’oeuvres by Simply the Best catering and entertainment by local band Tragikly White. Business casual attire, please. Tickets are $30 in advance, $40 at the door; proceeds benefit the Arts Center. Tickets are available through the website, drinkbrandons.com.
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:
Weekend, Pages 38 on 08/19/2010