Sushi Cafe co-owner Robert Tju says a "few issues" have delayed what was supposed to be Tuesday's opening of the new Sushi Cafe Westin the Eleven Two Eleven Center, 11211 Cantrell Road, just west of Interstate 430, Little Rock. When it does open, the hours will be the same as at the original location at 5823 Kavanaugh Blvd. in Little Rock's Heights: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday-Friday, 5 p.m.-"close" daily. The listed phone number is (501) 954-7866.
Hillcrest coffee and pastry purveyor Mylo Coffee Co., which has been going like gangbusters since it moved its mobile operation into a brick-and-mortar operation last year at 2715 Kavanaugh Blvd., Little Rock, has expanded its hours and is now open Mondays, 7 a.m.-7 p.m. The rest of the week: 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 7 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday.
Mylo is also expanding its footprint. Owner Stephanos Mylonas posted last week on the cafe's Facebook page (facebook.com/mylocoffeeco), "We are very excited and proud to announce that we will be opening a second location in the Sterling Building at Capitol [Avenue] and Center Street. We look forward to participating in the restoration of this historic building and serving downtown LR!" (alongside neighbors Southern Gourmasian and Donnie Ferneau Jr.'s planned upscale The Still). While that's in development, Mylonas will put a mobile coffee cart out in front of the building later this month "to test the waters downtown and introduce the neighborhood to their coffee," reports Emily van Zandt of our sister publication Sync. The small teardrop trailer will house an espresso machine, a small fridge and room for pastries and will serve most of Mylo's espresso menu, including tea and hot chocolate.
And meanwhile, just around the corner, John Walker Jr. has said he's planning to move his Jerky's Spicy Chicken and More, currently at 2501 S. Arch St., Little Rock, to 521 Center St., Little Rock, in the newly renamed Charles Thompson (formerly the Mathis) building, where its next-door neighbor is EJ's Eats & Drinks. Walker calls his cuisine "Jamerican," citing its Jamaican influence; check out the menu at jerkysspicychickenandmore.com. The revolving-door space has housed at least half a dozen short-lived restaurants over the past decade, most recently 521 Southern Cafe.
The tap room part of Samantha's Tap Room & Wood Grill, on the ground floor of the Mann on Main building, 322 Main St., Little Rock, opened (ahead of schedule) and started serving more than 30 beers on Friday. The grill is set to start serving Chris Tanner's "cool casual" menu (available at the website, samstap.com) today, after a couple of soft-opening, invitation-only meals. Tanner, co-owner of Cheers in the Heights, named the 4,700-square-foot establishment after his wife. Call (501) 916-9613.
Although the phone number, (501) 753-6263, had not yet been disconnected when we checked just before deadline, we can confirm, based on the empty parking lot during a peak lunch period and a "closed for business" sign on the door, that Mi Burrito I, 11608 Maumelle Blvd., North Little Rock, has closed for business.
Speaking of Mexican restaurants, the Alvarez family has opened La Haciendato Go in the quasi-drive-in space at 7706 Cantrell Road, Little Rock, that was several incarnations of The Hop and has been a series of other short-lived establishments, most recently Luna Maya Burritos. It offers an abbreviated version of the menu you'll find at La Hacienda at 3024 Cantrell Road; hours are 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Saturday and the phone number is (501) 223-9060.
And still speaking of Mexican restaurants, or at least Tex-Mex/Ark-Mex restaurants, Scott McGehee of Yellow Rocket Concepts, which is working on putting its new Heights Taco & Tamale Co. into the former Browning's Mexican Grill at 5805 Kavanaugh Blvd., Little Rock, says the target opening date is now "looking like mid-March-ish."
Insiders atPiro Brick Oven & Barroom, 1318 S. Main St., Little Rock, say the target opening date is now the beginning of February.
Little Rock has a new South Asian restaurant: Shalimar Grill, part of Shalimar Halal Market and Groceries in the Galleria shopping center, 9700 N. Rodney Parham Road, Little Rock. The restaurant bills its surprisingly full menu as "IndoPak cuisine," with halal (that's the list of things that are lawful to eat under Muslim Sharia law, similar in many ways to Jewish kosher laws) chicken, lamb, beef and goat dishes and a range of vegetarian options, and there's a lunch buffet. Hours are 10 a.m.-8 p.m. daily; the phone number is (501) 246-5002.
Smyrna, Ga.-based chain Boneheads is set to open a Little Rock outlet in mid-February in the Promenade at Chenal shopping center, 17711 Chenal Parkway, Little Rock. The Afro-Caribbean menu focuses on grilled fish and piri piri chicken, a peppery preparation that originated in the African nation of Mozambique. Hours will be 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday. Check out the menu at eatboneheads.com or visit the Facebook page, facebook.com/BoneheadsLittleRock.
M&M Cafe, 96 Municipal Drive, Jacksonville, has closed and its phone number, (501) 985-9009, has been disconnected. And no, we don't know why.
One of our sharp-eyed observers has spotted a sign for the Pinnacle Valley Restaurant, 8501 Pinnacle Valley Road, Little Rock, near Maumelle Park. An under-construction website, pinnaclevalleyrestaurant.com, says it's "coming soon." We also tracked down the incorporation of a Pinnacle Valley Restaurant, LLC, as of October, with a registered agent and principal identified as Kristian Nelson.
That second Debra's Restaurant we reported on last week has, in fact, opened at at 3371 Central Ave., Hot Springs, the former location of Nom Noms Mexican Grill N Chill. Hours are 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 or 6 p.m. Sunday. The phone number is (501) 627-3327 (DEBS). The original Debra's remains open at 4510 Park Ave. Hot Springs; that phone number is (501) 623-6377.
The Flying Saucer Draught Emporium, 323 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock, is offering a beer dinner in conjunction with Mother's Brewing at 6:30 p.m. today. The dinner will pair dishes including crawfish hushpuppies with a tiger sauce remoulade, ham and beans with jalapeno cornbread and whipped butter, Hillcrest Artisan Meat bratwurst served over mashed root vegetables and chocolate velvet cupcakes with a browned butter cream-cheese frosting, all paired with appropriate Mother's products, plus aperitif and nightcap brews. Tickets are $45, $40 for Flying Saucer U.F.O. Club members; they'll take walk-ins as long as the event hasn't sold out. Call (501) 372-8032.
And in our good news-better news division, Jack Sundell and Corri Bristow Sundell, owners of Little Rock farm-to-table restaurant The Root Cafe, 1500 Main St., who in December found out they'll receive $25,000 after winning a vote that capped its appearance on cable TV network HLN's documentary series Growing America: A Journey to Success, are now also recipients of a much bigger $150,000 Mission Main Street Grant from Chase, one of 20 small businesses nationwide (out of 25,000 applications from all 50 states) to which that the bank is handing a total of $3 million in grants. In addition to the grants, Google will host the winning businesses at an exclusive marketing workshop at the tech giant's California headquarters.
Along with the TV money, the Sundells will use the grant to expand the size of the dining area and storage capacity and its hours, possibly including dinner three or more nights a week, which will in turn enable the Sundells to increase their support to local farmers and producers. The restaurant phone number is (501) 414-0423; the website, therootcafe.com.
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 01/22/2015