Mohammed Qassas confirms that he has leased the ground-floor space in the Tower Building, Fourth Street between Louisiana and Center streets, Little Rock, that most recently housed Natchez Restaurant. Qassas is opening a restaurant called Arbella on or about Sept. 15, which he describes as a Middle Eastern fast-service grill -- choice of rice; choice of protein (gyros, grilled chicken or falafel), choice of dip (tzatziki or hummus), choice of salad or tabbouleh, plus pita bread, for $6.99, all in about a minute. He'll also serve gyros and falafel sandwiches. Hours will be 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, but that may change as business ebbs and flows.
Just across the street, according to one of our sharp-eyed observers, a Subway outlet is in the works in the long vacant space at Fourth and Louisiana streets.
Around the corner at Bruno's Little Italy, 310 Main St., Little Rock, head chef Dominic Bruno has left the family business and moved back to Portland, Ore. His uncle, Vince Bruno, re-assumes the title of executive chef and plans no changes to the menu. Meanwhile, Dominic's dad, co-owner and manager Gio Bruno, says he's still waiting on a timetable from the construction company before he can make any progress on Bruno's Little Italy Deli, the restaurant's planned grab-and-go lunch spot/delicatessen next door in the erstwhile Dundee store at 308 Main St. They have been on the premises removing asbestos.
Meanwhile, right next door, in case you missed the notice in our Business section earlier this month, Tiger Bryant and Raymond Williams are planning to open a Little Rock outlet of Memphis-based, three-restaurant-mini-chain Soul Fish Cafe. The menu (available at soulfishcafe.com) includes fried and blackened catfish; blackened salmon and tilapia; smoked chicken and pork chops; fried shrimp; and po'boys, collard greens and Southern-style tacos. For this outlet, they also plan to offer local craft beers.
And speaking of chefs, Del Frisco's Restaurant Group Inc. has named Maeve Grey as executive chef and Mark Smith as general manager for the new Del Frisco's Grille, opening Sept. 12 at the Promenade at Chenal, 17707 Chenal Parkway, Little Rock. Smith is a longtime Del Frisco's veteran; Gray served as director of back of the house operations for all of the Yellow Rockets Concept kitchens (including ZaZa, Local Lime and Big Orange). Check out the menu and other details at delfriscosgrille.com.
Trio's, in Pavilion in the Park, 8201 Cantrell Road, Little Rock, will close Sunday-Wednesday for what owner-chef Capi Peck describes as "cosmetic surgery," posting on Facebook, "Hey, it has been 29 years!!! We need a little work ... It will be worth it!" The phone number is (501) 221-3330; the website, triosrestaurant.com.
We now have a firm target date -- Sept. 8, the day after Labor Day -- for the reopening, at 521 Center St., Little Rock, of Jerky's Spicy Chicken and More. We dropped by last week and spotted a couple of folks putting on some finishing touches, including a coat of paint, and picked up some promotional material. You will recall owner John Walker Jr. has moved his "Jamerican" (Jamaican/American) establishment from 2501 Arch St. Walker has told us he plans to keep the phone number -- (501) 246-3096 -- and until recently it provided a voicemail message noting the restaurant had moved and suggested checking Jerky's Facebook page (which doesn't appear to have been updated since this time last year). The website, jerkys.net, notes the address change; another site, jerkysspicychickenandmore.com, listed on the promotional material we picked up, is still under construction as the "future home of something quite cool."
From the folks who brought you Mugs Cafe in North Little Rock comes Speakeasy Coffee Bar, in the Main Street Center, 3411 Main St., Bryant. The menu options are similar to, though not quite the same as, those at the North Little Rock location, and, now that Saline County has gone "wet," it's offering a selection of Arkansas craft beers. Current hours are 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Saturday, although our friends at Sync say that may change seasonally. The phone number is (501) 213-0729; the website, spkeasy.coffee.
And while we're in Saline County, Stephen Kincaid and his wife, Elizabeth, are operating Cafe7181, a mobile specialty coffee bar in a specially fitted teardrop trailer, headquartered at 5915 Wall St., Benton. You can find where they're parked on a daily basis via their Facebook page, facebook.com/cafe7181; menu and other details are available on their website, cafe7181.com. The phone number is (501) 794-9325.
Jay Baxter has announced he has transferred the ownership of his eponymous Jay's, 538 W. Grand Ave., Hot Springs, to an employee, Nancy Bull, and her fiance, Harold Leunnemann, who took over on July 1 (it has taken a few weeks, and lawyers are apparently still sparring over the details, Baxter says). The new owners have taken care of some of the problems (including the air conditioning) with the building, which, as you will recall, once was the home of the fabled Mollie's. Baxter will continue to operate, and devote more attention to, Jay's Pizza in River Market's Ottenheimer Market Hall, 400 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock.
And speaking of Hot Springs, although there is no mention of it on either the restaurant's website (kjsgrill.com, which still carries references to a Chef Eli) or its Facebook page, chef Paul Uher, formerly of his eponymous Chef Paul's and Pompeii, is now reportedly cooking and creating menus at KJ's Grill, 1834 Airport Road, Hot Springs. That's according to hotspringsonthego.com, a website of the Hot Springs Sentinel Record, which ran a positive review Aug. 15. Hours are 5-9 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 5-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday; the restaurant phone number is (501) 767-0063.
The second annual Little Rock Bacon Fest will take place 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sept. 19 at at the Arkansas State Fairgrounds, 2600 Howard St., Little Rock, including music, local merchant booths, a kids' zone with inflatables, cooking and bacon-eating contests, a beer garden "and lots of unique bacon concession items." Tickets are $5 in advance, $10 day of, free for up to two kids 8 and younger with paid adult admission. Visit tinyurl.com/bacontix. For competition applications, visit tinyurl.com/psl5eaa.
A reminder that North Little Rock's first food-truck event, "Patio on Park Hill," is 5-8 p.m. today at the Lakehill Shopping Center, on John F. Kennedy Boulevard, North Little Rock.
And in our nostra culpa department, our item last week on the advent of David's Burgers in the River Market put it at the wrong end of the Ottenheimer Market Hall -- it's going into the east end cap.
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. Send email to:
eharrison@arkansasonline.com
Weekend on 08/27/2015