In addition to Monday's ribbon cutting and Tuesday's opening of Taziki's Mediterranean Cafe in McCain Mall, 3929 McCain Blvd., North Little Rock, that city's mayor, Joe Smith, told our north-of-the-river reporter, Jake Sandlin, to expect another restaurant to open shortly in the mall. That dovetails with reports we've been getting that a second central Arkansas outlet of Bar Louie will open there in early 2015. Tarek Shehadeh, the chain's "local operating partner," opened the first location in the Pleasant Ridge Town Center, 11525 Cantrell Road, Little Rock, in June 2010. We'll keep you posted.
And speaking of that shopping center, the first Little Rock outlet of Springdale-based mini-chain MarketPlace Grill is now open in the former Johnny Carino's space, 11600 Pleasant Ridge Road, Little Rock. Hours are 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday. The phone number is (501) 221-3939. Visit MarketPlaceGrill.com or the Facebook page, facebook.com/MarketPlaceGrill.
Gail Dawn, a personal chef out of Florida, is reviving what was once the Starlite Diner, 250 E. Military Drive at MacArthur Drive, North Little Rock, as Gail's Diner, with an Oct. 18 grand opening. She has already changed the sign over the classic diner. She'll be serving breakfast and lunch, 6:30 a.m.-3 p.m. daily -- country breakfast for the former, burgers, sandwiches, pizza and home-cooking dishes for the latter, with "a little healthy cooking for those who don't want to indulge in real diner food," she says. She'll leave personal chef-ing while she's getting the place up and running, though her company will continue to serve her private clients in Florida. (That website, by the way, is gailsatyourplace.com.) The diner phone number is (501) 747-2193; you can reach her via email at gailsatyourplace@gmail.com.
Nancy Ward is reopening her Sassy Cake Lady bakery and catering operation in November in an actual storefront, 13120 Crystal Hill Road, North Little Rock, just on the edge of Maumelle. On Tuesday she posted on her Facebook page (facebook.com/sassycakelady) that "Due to the amount of preparation needed to open our store, we cannot commit to any more orders at this time. We will let you know as soon as we are able to take orders again." The phone number is (501) 413-8368.
We're also getting reports that David's Burgers is planning to open early in 2015 in the former National Bank of Arkansas location, 102 Country Club Parkway, just off Maumelle Boulevard, and that an outlet of Marco's Pizza is going in across the street.
Layla's Gyros and Pizzeria West, which has been at 8201 Ranch Blvd., Little Rock, is in the process of moving into the former Pizza Joint, 6100 Stones Road, Little Rock, facing Cantrell Road, with tentative expectations of reopening next weekend. Hours will continue to be 11 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Monday-Friday, 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Saturday. The phone number will remain (501) 868-8226. Meanwhile, Layla's Conway operation is also moving, from 713 Oak St. to 2755 Dave Ward Drive, near the University of Central Arkansas, where, all other things being equal, it will be open this weekend. That phone number is (501) 205-8224. The website remains laylasgyro.com.
After a soft opening last weekend, Donnie Ferneau Jr.'s Good Food by Ferneau and Travis McConnell's Butcher and Public are up and running in the former Argenta Market space, 521 Main St., North Little Rock. Hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m-"whatever" Friday-Saturday. The new phone number for the Ferneau side is (501) 725-4219; the B&P phone number is (501) 410-7783; the websites, goodfoodbyferneau.com and butcherandpublic.com.
And this update on Pizzeria Santa Lucia, which, according to its Facebook page (facebook.com/pizzeriasantaluciaLR), "should have an official opening date to announce Thursday" on the south side of Terry's Finer Foods, 5018 Kavanaugh Blvd. in Little Rock's Pulaski Heights. We still can't get anybody to answer the business's phone number, (501) 666-1885, but we're bating our breath accordingly.
The Main Street Food Truck Fridays lineup for Friday, 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at Main Street and Capitol Avenue in downtown Little Rock, will feature Cheto's, Food Commander, Haygood's BBQ, Chef's Little Hut and Kona Ice. The trucks will be out each Friday through the end of October, except Oct. 3, the day before the Food Truck Festival takes over downtown.
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 email to:
eharrison@arkansasonline.com
Weekend on 09/25/2014