TRANSITIONS

Jimmy Weisman, owner of Jimmy’s Serious Sandwiches, 5116 W. Markham St., Little Rock, a few months ago stuck his toe in the dinner-hour waters by offering drive-through pickup from the restaurant’s previous 4 p.m. closing time to 8 p.m. weeknights. Now he has extended all hours to 8 p.m. - 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Saturday for dine-in, carryout, catering or curbside delivery. “The new extended hours are the result of many of our Garden Sandwich addicts who have had to go to bed jonesin’ without their fix,” Weisman explains. The phone number is (501) 666-3354; the website, jimmysserioussandwiches.com.

There’s been the wrong kind of action again at Pizza D’Action, 2919 W. Markham St. in the heart of Little Rock’s Stifft Station. Saturday, for the second time in about a year and a half, a car slammed into the front of the restaurant, the result of a two-car accident that sent one of the vehicles into the building. The result: a boarded-up storefront. This one happened in daylight; in December 2011, a hit-and-run driver put a white Toyota Camry through the front picture window at approximately 5:30 a.m.

An offshoot of the Alvarez family, which operates various locations of La Hacienda and also west Little Rock’s LaCasa Real, will open a second downtown location of Cotijas Mexican Grill on Monday in the Legacy Hotel, 625 W. Capitol Ave., Little Rock. (The original is at 406 Louisiana St.) Hours, at least initially, will be 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. and 4:30-8:30 p.m. Monday-Friday and the place will have a full bar. The phone number: (501) 371-0733.

Mugs Cafe, 515 Main St., North Little Rock, did in fact open on time Monday. Hours of operation have settled into 7 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Saturday. The phone number is (501) 379-9101.

Also opening Monday, and on schedule: the first Arkansas outlet of Dallas-based Twin Peaks, 10 Shackleford Drive, Little Rock, once the site of Cozymel’s. The restaurant, with its wait staff consisting of comely young women in khaki shorts and tied-top flannel shirts, will be open for dinner only through Friday, and open for lunch and dinner starting Saturday. We don’t have a listed telephone number yet for the restaurant; visit twinpeaksrestaurant.com or the Facebook page, facebook.com/TwinPeaksWestLittleRock.

And speaking of chain places and help-wanted ads, Craigslist carries this listing seeking managers for BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse “for our new location opening soon in Little Rock, AR!” We haven’t been able to confirm with chain management just where that restaurant will be, but we reported last month that a plumbing permit has been issued for an establishment by that name at the Shackleford Crossings shopping center, 2600 block of South Shackleford Road. We’ll keep you posted. In the meanwhile, details about the chain and menu are available at BJsRestaurants.com.

One of our sharp-eyed observers reports the apparent closure of the Waffle House at 2401 Main St., North Little Rock. The phone number, (501) 758-3250, is still operational but we couldn’t get anybody to answer it.

Michael Juiliano, aka Hot Dog Mike, has apparently nailed down a location for his permanent, fixed downtown Little Rock storefront location: The Hot Dog Mike Facebook page bears a message, “Hot Dog Mike Coming ASAP, 402 E. Third St., Little Rock.” That’s more or less across the street from Dugan’s Pub. We’ll keep you posted.

The Capital Hotel, 111 W. Markham St., Little Rock, will host a wine dinner with Peter Spann of Spann Vineyards on Aug. 7 - tasting at 6 p.m. with appetizers in the hotel ballroom ($20 inclusive) and dinner at 7 in the hotel’s Wine Cellar, limited to 12 guests ($125 inclusive). Ashley’s, the hotel’s top-flight restaurant, will offer its diners the option of a special menu, pairing its dishes with Spann wines at 7:30 ($70 plus tax & gratuity). Call (501) 370-7015 or email lingold@capitalhotel.com.

Another of our sharp eyed observers spotted a window in the storefront at 300 Ouachita Ave. (at Hickory Street), Hot Springs, announcing the approach of Sweet Revenge French Bakery & Bistro and suggesting that passersby “Smell the goodies.” We’ll keep you posted.

And while we’re in the Spa City, Cassie Francioni, the new owner of Maxine’s, 700 Central Ave., has made the place a nonsmoking establishment. The phone number: (501) 321-0909; the website, maxineslive.com.

Wine Spectator’s newly released 2013 Restaurant Wine List Awards, which highlight eateries around the globe that offer the best wine selections, lists 10 Arkansas restaurants - six in Little Rock (Anderson’s Cajun’s Wharf, Capers, Ciao Baci, Copper Grill, So Restaurant-Bar and Sonny Williams’ Steak Room) and four in Northwest Arkansas (Bordino’s and Vetro 1925 in Fayetteville and River Grille and Ruth’s Chris Steak House in Bentonville). All 10 are recipients of the magazine’s entry-level Award of Excellence (the lowest and least exclusive of three levels).

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 email to: eharrison@arkansasonline.com