Few restaurants open on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but because Christmas falls on a Sunday this year, there's a chance more places will at least be open for brunch that are not on this list, and because Christmas Eve falls on a Saturday, some places that might otherwise have closed might remain open. Check before you go. And we strongly recommend making reservations at places that take reservations; we've provided phone numbers for that purpose.
Here's the list of places whose information we've received and, as always, the presence on or absence of an establishment on this list does not constitute any kind of endorsement or rebuke:
• Capital Hotel, 111 W. Markham St., Little Rock; all prices plus tax and gratuity; (501) 370-7068. Christmas Eve dinner in One Eleven, prix-fixe menu, 5-8:30 p.m., $95, $35 children 6-11, free for children 5 and younger (plus tax and gratuity). Christmas Day buffet on the Mezzanine, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., $55, $25 children 6-11, free for children 5 and younger.
• Wyndham Riverfront, 2 Riverfront Place, North Little Rock. Christmas brunch, 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m., $29.95, $24.95 senior citizens, $12.95 children 5-10, free for children under 5. (501) 907-4826.
• Camp David, Holiday Inn Presidential Center, 600 Interstate 30, Little Rock. Christmas buffet brunch, 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m., $28.95, $25.95 for senior citizens, $15.95 for children 11 and younger. (501) 975-2267.
• Heritage Grille, Steak and Fin, Little Rock Marriott, West Markham and Louisiana streets, Little Rock. Prix-fixe menu, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and 4-10 p.m., $29.99, $15.99 for children 6-12, free for kids 5 and younger. (501) 399-8000.
• Arthur's Prime Steakhouse, 27 Rahling Circle, Little Rock. Full menu and extended hours on Christmas Eve, closed Christmas Day. (501) 821-1838.
Many Chinese and Asian restaurants open on Christmas; all of these establishments will be open Christmas Eve and Christmas Day:
• Fantastic China, 1900 N. Grant St., Little Rock. 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. and 5-10 p.m. Saturday, 11-2:30 p.m. and 5-9:30 p.m. Sunday. (Expect to wait; the place does fill up.) (501) 663-8999.
• Chi's Dim Sum & Bistro, West Markham Street and Shackleford Road. 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday. (501) 221-7737.
• Forbidden Garden, 14810 Cantrell Road, Little Rock. 11 a.m.-9 p.m. (501) 868-8149.
• Panda Garden, 2604 S. Shackleford Road, Little Rock. 11 a.m.-9 p.m. (and they'll be serving crab legs on the buffet). (501) 224-8100.
• Taj Mahal, 1520 Market St., Little Rock. Christmas buffet, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; full menu, 5-10 p.m. (501) 520-4900.
• Tokyo House, 11 Shackleford Drive, Little Rock. 11 a.m.-9 p.m. (501) 219-4286.
• Chinese Pavilion Hunan Restaurant, 8000 Arkansas 107, Sherwood. 11 a.m.-9 p.m. (501) 835-8723.
• Kiyen's, 17200 Chenal Parkway, Little Rock. 3-9 p.m. (501) 821-7272.
• Mr. Chen's Authentic Chinese Cooking, 3901 S. University Ave., Little Rock. 11 a.m.-9 p.m. (501) 562-7900.
And for those seeking something not Asian and perhaps a little less fancy:
• IHOP, 11601 Hermitage Road, Little Rock -- (501) 954-7737 -- and 4225 Warden Road, North Little Rock -- (501) 771-9700 -- will be open regular business hours (as in 24/7) Christmas Day. The IHOP at 11501 Maumelle Blvd., North Little Rock, will be open normal hours, 6 a.m.-10 p.m. (501) 753-4457.
• Whereas once upon a time, the only day Denny's restaurants closed was on Christmas Day, but now most of them stay open, 24/7, as usual. That includes the one at 310 S. Shackleford Road in Little Rock. (501) 224-8264.
• The Midtown McDonald's location, 104 S. University Ave., Little Rock, we're told, will open 24 hours for Christmas.
• And Waffle House, with multiple area outlets, is, of course, open 24/7/365.
...
Co-owner Tom Fuge says he anticipates that he'll reopen B-Side today in the Market Place Shopping Center, 11121 N. Rodney Parham Road, Little Rock. The place has had an interior makeover -- new floor, new coat of paint on the walls that isn't red. They'll be reintroducing many of the items that drew customers during its glory days and they'll have an expanded lunch menu. Fuge and his wife, Barbara, dedicated customers, bought the place after Nancy Tesmer announced last month she would be closing it and its parent restaurant, Lilly's Dim Sum Then Some. Hours are 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday; call (501) 716-2700.
Some months ago we reported that La Hacienda, 3024 Cantrell Road, Little Rock, would be closing for some duration for major remodeling. It never quite happened, or at least it hasn't happened until now. The restaurant posted on its Facebook page on Monday: "We will officially be closing for reconstruction/remodeling on Dec. 24. ... Our process will take approximately 3 months and we are working hard to provide a new La Hacienda experience that will match and exceed the current values of our La Hacienda Restaurants." They will keep the doors open until 4 p.m. Saturday. The phone number is (501) 661-0600. Meanwhile, their to-go location, 7706 Cantrell Road, will remain open (closed Christmas Day), 10 a.m.-8 p.m. daily. Call (501) 223-9060.
We have an update on the status of Movie Tavern, the first Arkansas outlet of a Fort Worth movie theater/restaurant chain in the works for the Gateway Town Center, where Interstates 30 and 430 meet. A spokesman says construction has yet to start, but "if all goes according to plan, the theater will be opening in late summer 2017." The 46,000-square-foot theater will feature 11 screens and will have a "chef-crafted" menu (with wait service during movies) and a full bar.
The website for Wichita, Kan.-based Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers -- freddysusa.com -- lists the location at 4305 E. McCain Blvd., North Little Rock, as "coming soon," and similarly lists a pending outlet at 6801 W. Sunset Ave., Springdale. It does not yet, however, list the west Little Rock location franchisee Paul Hoover told us some months ago we should expect to see near the intersection of Chenal Parkway and Bowman Road.
Fuzzy's Taco Shop did, in fact, open last week at 140 John Harden Drive, Jacksonville, serving Baja California-style tacos, nachos, quesadillas, enchiladas, fajitas, burritos and breakfast options -- and, having obtained a private club license in dry-by-local-option Jacksonville, alcoholic beverages. Hours are 7 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 7 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday. The phone number is (501) 457-7953.
The Mazzio's Italian Eatery, 1400 Military Road, Benton, has closed and the phone number, (501) 860-6400, has been disconnected.
Arkansas Online reports Atlanta-based Carvel Ice Cream is opening in Park Plaza, 6000 W. Markham St. at University Avenue, Little Rock, in the same food-court kiosk (between Forever 21 and Napoli Pizza) with the return to the mall of Auntie Anne's Pretzels. The two brands are co-owned by Focus Brands, which also has under its umbrella Moe's Southwest Grill (which also has an outlet in that food court), Cinnabon and McAlister's Deli. It'll offer soft-serve ice cream, ice cream cakes, shakes and sundaes. It will be the state's only Carvel outlet, although there was once one inside Little Rock National Airport, now known as Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport/Adams Field. We don't yet have a projected opening date but we'll keep you posted.
And the former Sterling Paint building, 1300 E. Sixth St., Little Rock, is now officially the Paint Factory, a redevelopment that will offer 4,021 square feet of restaurant/retail space in addition to 21,723 square feet of office space, 2,478 square feet of community room space, 16 one- and two-bedroom loft apartments and 250 surface parking spaces. No tenants have yet been named. The joint development of Cromwell Architects Engineers, Moses Tucker Real Estate and the Central Construction Group is slated for completion in November.
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 12/22/2016