Finally, finally, we have an update in the saga of the supposed return of legendary Little Rock barbecue outlet The Shack, which was trumpeted nearly two years ago (May 13, 2014) to be coming to 402 E. Third St. in Little Rock's River Market District. There is a new voice-mail message since last we checked the phone number, (501) 404-2020, echoed on the website, theshackisback.com: "Thanks for checking back in on The Shack -- we appreciate your patience while we work to bring back Arkansas' most legendary [barbecue]. The River Market sure is one thriving business district these days, and we hope our landlords will soon give us the green light to start smoking the best cuts of meats in the state. We also are very excited to announce that we will begin selling original Shack sauce in a bottle very soon! You will be able to buy Shack sauce online and we will ship it to you directly! Thanks go out to Eric Harrison, who writes the Transitions section for the AR Democrat Gazette! We appreciate your interest! We love your column and will have more updates from the Shack soon." (You're welcome, guys, and you know where to find me when those updates become available.)
Cravens Popcorn and vegan vendor The Veg, in adjacent kiosks in the Ottenheimer Market Hall in the River Market, 400 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock, have closed. Soon to open, in the part of the former Coast Cafe space that Boulevard Bread Co. didn't take over, something called Bea Blessed Bakery. River Market officials we approached for details did not call back by deadline.
Meanwhile, The Veg has posted on its Facebook page that "We're moving -- stay tuned," without specifying just where. Owner Shiem Swift says he's planning to sign a lease on Monday on a downtown location, but would not specify an address on the record; when pressed, he said it would be on West Third Street near where it turns into West Markham. There are two vacant restaurant spaces in that stretch: the former gas station at 1706 W. Third, whose previous occupants include OW Pizza and most recently Fresh: An Urban Eatery, and the brick building that also houses a liquor store at 1900 W. Third, which has been many restaurants, the latest of which was Satchemo's Bar and Grill. In whichever space, Swift says his target date to reopen will be the first week of April.
Former 1620 Chef Tim Morton will team up with longer- and immediately past chefs Payne Harding, Denis Seyer, Yvette Brady and Joe Salgueiro for a 1620 farewell dinner with the original kitchen crew, with each chef creating one dish for the repast. Date and full menu are TBA.
We've got a bit of a mystery on our hands. You will recall we reported a couple of weeks ago that a Pasta Jack's was "coming soon" to the recently closed Mooyah Burgers Fries Shakes space in the Pinnacle Creek Shopping Center, 14810 Cantrell Road at Taylor Loop Road, Little Rock. John Ingram or Brian Smith, the managers, respectively, of the two extant, independently owned Pasta Jack's restaurants at 2900 Horizon Drive, Bryant, and 1314 Green St., Benton, say they don't have a clue who's behind this one. "That's a very good question, and I'm trying to find that out myself," Smith told us. The restaurant at 9811 Maumelle Blvd., North Little Rock, which had originally opened as a Pasta Jack's, long ago became Boudreaux's Grill & Bar.
Juice Leaf, 402 Louisiana St., Little Rock (most recently Pie Hole Pizza), billing itself as "the first locally owned juice bar in central Arkansas" (its two predecessors are chain/franchise operations), will have a soft opening in the next couple of weeks, shifting its target opening to sometime in the first week of March. It will be serving juices, smoothies, smoothie bowls, breakfast and lunch, 7 a.m.-5 p.m. (closing time based on volume of business) weekdays. The phone number is (501) 615-8322; the website, juiceleaf.com.
We’ve been attempting to verify for some time that the Shipley’s Donuts outlet at 2127 Main St., North Little Rock, next to North Little Rock High School, has closed. Driving by there over the weekend, we noticed that the parking lot entrances have been roped off, and a doughnut shop that is not selling doughnuts after church on Sunday is probably not a going concern. However, it appears that the shop has not closed for good; there’s evidence that some interior renovation is taking place, and the phone number, (501) 753-9526, has not been disconnected.
Ground clearing has begun on Little Rock's second Pei Wei Asian Diner, going into a 3,000-square-foot space in the Promenade at Chenal, 17701 Chenal Parkway, Little Rock. Target opening is mid- to late summer. Pei Wei's first Little Rock outlet opened in October 2006 in Midtowne Little Rock, West Markham Street and University Avenue; there's also one in Rogers.
The Benton-based food truck BASH Burger Co. does not appear to have met its original first-week-of-February target date for opening its brick-and-mortar space at 315 N. Bowman Road (for 21 years Bruno's Little Italy and subsequently Dona's Little Italy and Bruno's Italian Bistro), but its Facebook page does now list a phone number -- (501) 313-5848, which we were unable to get anybody to answer by deadline.
And speaking of burgers, in case you missed the flash last week, Burger King has announced it'll be adding grilled hot dogs to its menus in all 7,100 of its U.S. restaurants on Tuesday. They'll come in two varieties: "classic," topped with ketchup, mustard, chopped onions and relish (suggested retail price, $1.99, and presumably, if you can get a Whopper "your way," they can adjust the hot-dog toppings) and "chili-cheese" (suggested price of $2.39).
Around the state:
From Benton to Bentonville: If you’ve been wondering what has become of Travis McConnell, formerly of Butcher & Public, he has signed on with Bentonville Butcher and Deli, 1201 S. Walton Blvd., Bentonville. You will recall McConnell, a former Capital Bar and Grill sous chef, had teamed up with Donnie Ferneau Jr., occupying joint space with the now-defunct Good Food by Ferneau at 521 Main St., North Little Rock; a parting of the ways led him to pair up for a while with Arkansas Fresh Cafe in Benton. Bentonville Butcher and Deli’s phone number is (479) 464-9933.
Sam’s Southern Eatery and Seafood has opened at 1906 Central Ave., Hot Springs, in what had been a Mexican restaurant called El Parian. We couldn’t get anybody on the phone — the number is (501) 701-4646 — long enough to give us their hours (we mostly got a busy signal; the one time somebody answered, we sat on hold for seven-plus minutes and finally gave up). It’s part of a chain/franchise operation with 42 independently owned locations in nine states; the other Arkansas locations are at 6205 Baseline Road, Little Rock; 900 Hickory St., Texarkana; 1704 E. Harding Ave., Pine Bluff; and 811 S. Caraway St., Jonesboro.
And speaking of Mooyah and Hot Springs, the outlet at 3954 Central Ave. has also closed and the phone number, (501) 520-5000, has been disconnected. One of our sharp-eyed Spa City observers reports a sign out front says “Watch for new restaurant coming soon.”
Jason’s Burgers N More, 148 Amity Road, Hot Springs, has also closed. That phone number, (501) 525-0919, has also been disconnected.
The target is now on or around March 1 for the opening of the Shucked Surf & Turf Shack, 2480 Sanders Road, Conway, in the space that once housed Russo’s Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen. Owner/ operator Michael Rice says the slight delay is mostly the result of paperwork and sign issues. The establishment will have Conway’s first oyster bar, plus a range of seafood, steaks and burgers, with a private club license so it can sell alcohol in dry Faulkner County. Hours will be 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday. Exceptions to those hours may be made during football season for night games. The phone number is (501) 319-4002.
And espresso bar and restaurant The Common Grounds, 412 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville, will close for good at 5 p.m. Sunday after 18 years in business. Owner Kari Larson posted on Facebook that she’s changing professions, and she’ll be focusing on a new business venture called Simply Meticulous Mowing. The building has been sold to as-yet-unidentified owners who will, according to the post, “[have] a very successful business they will be bringing to Dickson Street.” The restaurant phone number: (479) 442-3515.
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 02/18/2016