LITTLE ROCK — The latest central Arkansas outlet of Panera Bread, 10701 Kanis Road just east of Shackleford Road, Little Rock (and the first with a drive-through window), is set to open on Monday. Hours are 5:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 6:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday. The phone number is (501) 954-7773. As part of the chain’s national Operation Dough-Nation program, the new location, as with other central Arkansas locations in Little Rock, North Little Rock and Conway, is turning over endof-day, unsold baked goods to area hunger relief agencies (a different pantry each evening). The Kanis Road location is partnering with the Arkansas Food Bank. Oh, and stand by for Panera’s next expansion, in the Park Avenue development in midtown (Target will be a neighbor), tentatively set to open in January. You may have heard it here first.
La Casa Real, which had been the west Little Rock location of La Hacienda before relocating to the west side of the Market Place Shopping Center, 11121 N. Rodney Parham Road, Little Rock, is now open. Carla Alvarez, who runs the place, says the menu is similar to the one at La Hacienda but has undergone some revisions — some dishes have been added and others are gone. Hours are 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Saturday; the phone number is (501) 219-4689. The Alvarez family continues to operate La Haciendas on Cantrell Road in Little Rock, in Benton and the original in Hot Springs, as well as Cotija’s on Louisiana Street in downtown Little Rock.
In the River Market’s Ottenheimer Market Hall, 400 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock, one-time baked-goods shop Sweet Crumbs has moved and expanded into a full-fledged restaurant called Sweet Soul Southern Cuisine in the southeast corner, formerly occupied by Pasta Jack’s. Owners Andrea Sanders and her husband, Brian Hayes, have combined the bakery with the soul food specialties they once served at the erstwhile Hayestack Cafe in Ferndale for a daily hot line, including a soul plate special, Southern sandwiches and po’boys. Moving into their former west-side spot, according to a River Market spokesman, will be a gourmet pizza place, name yet to be revealed, which will offer personal pizzas as well as pizza by the slice. The proprietor reportedly “is a recognizable Little Rock chef.”
And speaking of cupcakes and the Park Avenue development, while we still have no information on opening dates for the pending Little Rock outlets of Gigi’s Cupcakes, we now have, thanks to Facebook, a phone number — (501) 614-7012 — for the one at 416 S. University Ave. And we have an inkling as to its operating hours: 9 a.m.-8 p.m. We have nothing whatsoever on the place still listed on the website gigiscupcakesusa.com/ littlerockarkansas as “opening soon” at 12800 Chenal Parkway. But we’ll keep digging.
And speaking of chains, Muscle Maker Grill, a Colonia, N.J.-based fast-casual operation that serves lean, proteinbased dishes (chicken, seafood, pasta, burgers, wraps and entree salads) and fruit smoothies, protein shakes and supplements, last week opened its first Arkansas outlet, 351 S.E. J St., Bentonville. Developer Donald Potvin, who according to a news release is a 35-year restaurant-industry veteran, is looking to eventually have 10 of them in Oklahoma and Northwest Arkansas (the first opened in Tulsa in July). The phone number: (479) 268-5490. Check out the menu at the company website, musclemakergrill.com.
The 2012 (second annual) Arkansas Cornbread Festival, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Nov. 3 on South Main Street between 13th and 16th streets (centering on the Bernice Garden, 1401 Main), Little Rock, will feature amateur and professional cornbread cookers competing for cash prizes and bragging rights, along with musical entertainment and vendors’ booths selling Arkansas art, crafts, clothes, jewelry, home furnishings, locally produced food and gifts. You can still get in on the competition, particularly the amateur part — entry deadline is Tuesday; call Liz Sanders at (501) 617-2511 or e-mail bernicegarden@gmail. com. The list (so far) of professional competitors: traditional — Big Daddy’s Hotwater Cornbread-Old South Cornbread Co. (the defending champion), Whole Foods Market, the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion and Redbone’s; non-traditional — Savory Pantry, Loblolly Creamery (defending champ), Pizza D’Action and Dogtown Coffee and Cookery; and sweet — Boulevard Bread, Brown Sugar Bake Shop and (gluten-free) Dempsey Bakery. Tickets are $7, $3 for kids 6-12 in advance (arkansascornbreadfestival.com), $10 and $5 day-of, free for children under 6. Last year’s inaugural festival attracted 2,600 paying attendees.
And speaking of the Bernice Garden, the second SOMA Food Truck Thursday will be there 4:30-7:30 p.m. Nov. 8. The participants will include The Food Truck, Clyde n Kiddos BBQ, Joel’s Philly Steaks, Southern Gourmasian, The Taco Truck and The Sugar Shack. Little Rock Urban Farming will set up a pumpkin patch. Loblolly Creamery at the other end of the block will stay open to serve ice cream treats. Call (501) 707-8999.
And speaking of festivals, congratulations to the winners at the Oct. 20 World Cheese Dip Championship at the Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock:
Best booth design: Concheeztadors (amateur)
Most Innovative: Papi Tino’s of Austin, Texas (a dip containing parmesan cheese, raisins, capers and cranberries)
People’s Champion: Mitchell Williams Law Firm (amateur); Dizzy’s Gypsy Bistro (professional)
Little Dipper (second prize): University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (amateur); U.S. Pizza (professional)
Big Dipper (grand prize): Concheeztadors, Dizzy’s.
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, 121 E. Capitol Ave., Little Rock, Ark. 72201. Send e-mail to:
eharrison@arkansasonline.com
Weekend, Pages 39 on 10/25/2012