TRANSITIONS

The new 34,000-square-foot Whole Foods Market Little Rock store, relocated from Rodney Parham Road and slated to open Wednesday, at 501 Bowman Road, Little Rock (next door to Best Buy), will feature "enhanced prepared foods grab-and-go breakfast, lunch and dinner options"; a coffee and fresh-squeezed juice bar; a 12-tap beer and wine bar; a hot barbecue bar, featuring smoked-in-store meats; self-serve pizza; and a signature sandwich menu "created just for Little Rock" that includes the "Clinton Classic" (turkey, apple, brie, fig spread, spring mix), "Chenal Cuban" (roasted pork loin, ham, dill pickles, provolone and Dijon mustard on a toasted baguette) and the "MacArthur Melt" (tuna salad, Swiss cheese, remoulade and red onions on toasted marbled rye), plus build-your-own options.

A Monday preview party, 4-6 p.m., offers a sneak peek at the store with sips and samples of local and exclusive products. A limited number of free tickets (suggested donation: $5 to go the Museum of Discovery) will be available at the door; make reservations at tinyurl.com/whole21. The preview coincides with the closing of the Rodney Parham store at 5 p.m. Monday.

Wednesday's store-opening celebrations will kick off with a traditional bread-breaking ceremony at 7:30 a.m., followed by the grand opening at 8. The first 500 shoppers will receive a reusable shopping bag. During the opening week, the store will donate 1 percent of its proceeds to various area nonprofits. Hours are 8 a.m.-10 p.m. daily; the phone number is (501) 312-2326 and the website is tinyurl.com/lpobcst.

Sushi Cafe West, with the menu motto "east + west = modern fusion/beyond sushi," got all of its certifications (including its liquor permit) over the weekend and is now open in the Eleven Two Eleven Center, 11211 Cantrell Road, just west of Interstate 430, Little Rock. The sushi and main menus are pretty much identical to the one at the original Sushi Cafe on Kavanaugh Boulevard in the Heights (available online at sushicaferocks.com); the new establishment also has a hibachi grill serving up a wide range of teppanyaki specialty entrees and a not-quite-available-yet list of a half-dozen "West Side Sushi Cafe Specialties," including several Asian noodle dishes and a seafood combination fried rice. Hours are the same as at the original location -- 11 a.m.-2 p.m. weekdays, 5 p.m.-"close" daily. The phone number is (501) 954-7866.

Natchez, in the Tower Building, Fourth and Center streets, Little Rock, is adding breakfast hours, 8-10 a.m. Tuesday-Friday, serving waffles, granola with roasted apples, an everything bagel "bomb" filled with bacon marmalade, and peanut-butter-and-Nutella French toast. (See the complete menu at natchezrestaurant.com.) The restaurant remains open 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesday-Friday for lunch, 6-9 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday for dinner. The phone number is (501) 372-1167.

The new Little Rock outlet of the Smyrna, Ga.-based Boneheads chain is on target to open Friday in the Promenade at Chenal, 17711 Chenal Parkway, Little Rock; noting the opening falls on Friday the 13th, the restaurant management requests, via the Facebook page, tinyurl.com/pl4k7oh, "No hockey masks please!" Hours will be 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday. The phone number is (501) 821-1300; check out the menu at eatboneheads.com.

Emily Van Zandt over at our sister publication Sync reports that Skinny J's, with restaurants in Jonesboro and Paragould, is expanding into central Arkansas, going into the former Cornerstone Pub, 314 Main St. in North Little Rock's Argenta District. According to Skinny J's Facebook page, you should "look for us to open in late April/early May!" The restaurant will be open for lunch and dinner -- both northeast Arkansas locations are open 11 a.m.-midnight Monday-Saturday -- serving burgers, fried pickles, wings, wraps, steaks and pasta dishes with a full bar and music on weekends. Check out the menus at skinnyjs.com; the Jonesboro restaurant phone number is (870) 275-6264.

There's a Waffle House ready to open -- there's a "now hiring" sign in the window -- on the University Avenue side of the former Kmart shopping center at University and Colonel Glenn Road.

The folks who run Damgoode Pies say that they're now looking at a March 1 soft opening -- the date of the Little Rock Marathon, when every food seller in a 25-mile radius fills up with runners -- for the new Damgoode Pies River Market pizzeria/brewpub in the former Boscos space in the Museum Center, 500 President Clinton Ave., in Little Rock's River Market District. And that they'll open to the public March 14, which is "Pi Day." They're hoping to have the beer part of the brewpub available by March 1, but will certainly have it in place by March 14. Tentative hours are also the same as other locations -- 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday -- but could extend as River Market conditions demand. They'll be linked to the Damgoode call center number, (501) 664-2239; the website is DGPies.com.

As of our Tuesday deadline, chef-owner Justin Patterson reports that, although he has been ready to go for two weeks, holdups in the permitting process have kept Southern Gourmasian from opening its brick-and-mortar doors at 219 W. Capitol Ave., Little Rock. The establishment will retain the phone number from the food truck, (501) 954-0888; we've also been keeping track via the Facebook page, tinyurl.com/oqf86x7; a new website is in the works, but in the meanwhile, it's thesoutherngourmasian.com.

Pinnacle Valley Restaurant, 8501 Pinnacle Valley Road, Little Rock, near Maumelle Park, is going through a soft opening on weekends -- right now, they're serving to-go orders, catfish 5-8 p.m. Friday, barbecue 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and 5-8 p.m. Saturday and burgers, hot dogs and fries 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and 5-8 p.m. Sunday. The target for full opening is Feb. 27 with a grand opening sometime in March, with hours tentatively set at 6 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Saturday. The phone number is (501) 673-3900; the website is pinnaclevalleyrestaurant.com.

Diamond Bear Brewing Co., 600 N. Broadway, North Little Rock, will host an Irish Beer Fest, 2-6 p.m. March 14 in advance of St. Patrick's Day. It'll feature craft beers from breweries and brewpubs from around the state, including Diamond Bear's Irish Red; food distributor Ben E. Keith Co. will bring its monster smoker and serve up brats and potato salad. Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 at the door; a portion of the proceeds goes to the Canvas Community Church's Dinner & a Movie Night ministry, which helps the homeless, and to support Arkansas Brewers Guild. And, of course, you must be at least 21. Call (501) 708-2739 (BREW).

Ethan Altom is the new chef at Bordinos Restaurant and Wine Bar, 310 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville, replacing Matt Barclay. Altom started cooking at age 16 at a barbecue restaurant in Heber Springs, studied hospitality and restaurant management at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and graduated in nine months from what was supposed to be a two-year culinary arts program at the New England Culinary Institute. He has previously cooked at Little Rock's Capital Hotel and Hog & Hominy and Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen in Memphis.

And in connection with our report last week on Birmingham, Ala.-based Taziki's Mediterranean Cafe's receiving a Responsible Epicurean and Agricultural Leadership certification from the United States Healthful Food Council, we have since learned about a pair of additional Arkansas connections. Banker Bob Williams reports that his brother, Little Rock native Lawrence Williams, is the founder and president of the council. And Chef Mike Selig, currently of the Clinton Presidential Center, sits on the advisory board.

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 02/12/2015

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