TRANSITIONS

Correction: Mooyah Burgers Fries Shakes, in the Pinnacle Creek Shopping Center, 14810 Cantrell Road at Taylor Loop, Little Rock, is still open for business. An item in this Transitions column incorrectly reported that it had apparently closed.

With business license and health inspection certificate now in hand, 5 p.m. today is the target for the opening for dinner of Ira's Park Hill Grill, formerly Elizabeth McMullen's E's Bistro, in the Lakehill Shopping Center, 3812 John F. Kennedy Blvd., North Little Rock. Lunch is expected to start Tuesday. Chef/owner Ira Mittleman has made extensive changes to the front of the house, including a new granite-topped bar, which, when the liquor license comes through -- Mittleman says that could happen any time -- he'll open at 4 p.m. (The restaurant already has a license to serve wine and beer, the first Park Hill restaurant to get one after the previously local-option dry area voted to go back to "wet.")

Mittleman's menu is available at the website, irasparkhillgrill.com. McMullen, who had brought Mittleman in as a guest chef in December, is staying on as pastry chef. Hours are 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and 5 p.m.-9 or 10 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; the bar will stay open a little later based on business. Mittleman says once his team is fully in place, he'll open for Sunday brunch; Sunday dinner is also a possibility down the line. The phone number is (501) 771-6900.

The target date for the opening of Yellow Rocket Concepts' Heights Taco & Tamale Co. in the former Browning's Mexican Grill at 5805 Kavanaugh Blvd., Little Rock, is now the possible soft opening mid-April. Scott McGehee, who heads the cadre of proprietors, says "95 percent of recipes are nailed" and they're running taste tests on the recipes (the Facebook page shows photos of potential tamales in progress). They're also busy hiring staff -- "We're looking for great people," McGehee says. "Experience is appreciated, but more important is great attitude." Drop in between 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Friday. And there's now a listed telephone number, (501) 313-4848.

...

Italian Villa, somehow affiliated with Bruno Beqiri, he of the many central Arkansas Mediterranean restaurants (most recently Bruno's Italian Bistro, 315 Bowman Road, Little Rock, and the Legacy Bistro & Bar in downtown Little Rock's Legacy Hotel, 625 W. Capitol Ave.), is now open in the former Ed & Kay's, 15228 Interstate 30 North, Benton. Beqiri reports that he is not part of the ownership but is more of a "consultant," presumably with a hand in the menu of pastas, soups, salads, pizzas, veal, chicken and seafood. Hours are 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday. The phone number is (501) 315-3663.

We repeat this caveat: Other than that his first name is Bruno, Beqiri has absolutely no connection whatsoever with the Bruno family that has been operating Bruno's Little Italy since 1947, currently packing them in at 310 Main St. in downtown Little Rock. No matter what you see on the Bruno's Italian Bistro Groupon offer page (tinyurl.com/bistro315), which continues to further confuse customers already puzzled by the similarity in names (the words "Bruno's Little Italy" appear twice, once near the top and once with a map).

Which brings us back to Beqiri's Bruno's Italian Bistro, which has closed. The phone number, (501) 224-4700, has been "temporarily disconnected." (However, as recently as Tuesday, Groupon was still pitching discounts.) The restaurant's Facebook page carries this message: "I'm sorry to say I had to close Bruno's. This is sad to me. I believed in Chef Bruno Beqiri and wish him the best in his future adventures."

...

Pinnacle Valley Restaurant, 8501 Pinnacle Valley Road, Little Rock, near Maumelle and Two Rivers parks, will hold its grand opening today, with an 11 a.m. ribbon cutting. Hours are 7 a.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; the restaurant is also attached to a convenience store for local residents and park visitors and there's a party room for business and social meetings. The phone number is (501) 673-3900; the website is pinnaclevalleyrestaurant.com.

Mooyah Burgers Fries Shakes in the Pinnacle Creek Shopping Center, 14810 Cantrell Road at Taylor Loop, Little Rock, appears to have closed. As of our deadline, the phone number, (501) 868-1091, had not yet disconnected, but nobody answers. Which clarifies the report we got that Michael Smith, who operates the Flying Burger in El Dorado (a second branch of a restaurant in Magnolia), is looking at opening a similar restaurant in that location. It's not a done deal, he says, but if it goes forward, he expects to open as George's Seafood Co., sometime in mid-June. The name change is important because, unlike the Magnolia and El Dorado restaurants, this one won't serve burgers, but otherwise the menu items will be the same: po boys, home-cooking sides, fried and grilled seafood (fish, shrimp, catfish, oysters), boiled shrimp, crab legs and fish tacos. And also unlike its south Arkansas siblings, it will serve beer and wine. We'll keep you posted.

Fresh: An Urban Eatery is in progress with a May target opening in the long-vacant former OW Pizza, 1706 W. Third St., Little Rock, which closed in August 2013. Posted on the Facebook page: "Pam Jones and myself (Phillip Naylor) decided we wanted to open a place that served fresh, relatively healthy food, in 15 min. or less at a $10 price point. We then found a gas station that had been turned into a pizza place across from the Capitol, and the rest is history! We will have a salad bar with approximately 23 items, 3 or 4 soups made daily, pizza by the slice and sandwiches where the bread is made and delivered fresh daily! And maybe a few specials daily, because Pam and I live to cook! Again thanks for all your support!" The page lists a phone number, (501) 436-9094, which nobody answered by deadline, and a website, still under construction: freshanurbaneatery.com.

And speaking of pizza, Damgoode Pies' Pizzeria & Brewpub in the former Boscos space, 500 President Clinton Ave., in Little Rock's River Market District, held its grand opening on schedule Saturday. Hours, as at its other Little Rock locations, are 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday, and you reach it via Damgoode's call center, (501) 664-2239, or the website, DGPies.com. Meanwhile, Damgoode's Hillcrest location, 2701 Kavanaugh Blvd., is undergoing renovations and they're expecting it to reopen in May.

As of Tuesday, At the Corner -- that's "At" with an "at" sign (@) -- in the former Hop Diner, 201 E. Markham St. at Scott Street, Little Rock, was open with its full menu in place after rolling out various items during a "Sneak Peek Week." Co-owner Kamiya Merrick has described it as "finer diner," putting a creative take on traditional diner food with a "modern diner feel." Hours are 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday. The phone number: (501) 944-4753; the website, still under construction: thecornerlr.com; the Facebook page, tinyurl.com/q79l2z3.

One of our sharp-eyed observers reports that the Waffle House at 1215 Hot Springs Highway (aka Arkansas 5), Benton, is closed and gutted awaiting renovation or a rebuild. A call to the listed phone number, (501) 778-1431, returns a disconnect notice.

And earlier this week we spotted several collapsed tables in bright primary colors outside the door at 402 E. Third St. in Little Rock's River Market District, which, we've reported, is to be the renaissance of legendary Little Rock barbecue outlet The Shack. Could it finally be a sign of progress? No such luck. Turns out they were from last weekend's St. Paddy's Day street party on that block; a short time later we watched them being loaded onto a truck for relocation. So it's back to watchful waiting. The website, theshackisback.com, still says it's supposed to "open soon" and the voicemail message at the phone number, (501) 404-2020, has not changed since last fall. The windows are still covered with brown paper, the door is locked and there is yet no sign of a sign.

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 03/19/2015

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