This time last year, Batulzii "Crystal" Bataa was celebrating the 12-month lease extension for her Igibon Japanese Food House, 11121 N. Rodney Parham Road, Little Rock, after intense 11th-hour negotiations with her shopping-center landlord. Alas, it appears to have only extended the life of the venerable west Little Rock Japanese restaurant for a single year. Sharp-eyed observers have reported that Dec. 31 was its last day. The restaurant opened in late August 1998. As of deadline, the phone number, (501) 217-8888, had not been disconnected but it delivers calls directly to a voice-mail box and nobody, so far, has returned our messages.
Scott Hamilton, one of two partners in The Food Truck Stop @ Station 801, says Jan. 19 will be the grand opening for the "first of its kind in Little Rock" combination food truck-food court in the former gas/service station at 801 S. Chester St., where Eighth and Chester streets meet Interstate 630. He expects seven or eight trucks to be parked on the lot, serving from 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. weekdays; you can grab an order to go or dine inside the former garage, which has been turned into a basic dining hall with tables, chairs, flat-screen TVs and free Wi-Fi. Eventually, Hamilton says, the setup might offer breakfast. Email lrstation801@gmail.com; there's a listed website, lrstation801.com, but it does not yet appear to be up and running.
Jan. 19 is also the target opening date for Little Rock's second Zoes Kitchen outlet, on the exterior of Park Plaza, 6000 W. Markham St. The website, zoeskitchen.com, still lists it as "coming soon" and as of deadline it did not yet have a listed phone number. Hours, as at the first outlet, which opened Oct. 27 at 12900 Chenal Parkway, will be 11 a.m.-9 p.m. daily.
Juice Leaf, billing itself as "the first locally owned juice bar in central Arkansas" (its two predecessors are chain/franchise operations), is apparently on the cusp of opening in the revolving-door storefront at 402 Louisiana St., Little Rock (most recently Pie Hole Pizza). They'll be serving juices, smoothies, smoothie bowls, breakfast and lunch. Hours will be 7 a.m.-4 p.m., probably just weekdays; we got no answer at the phone number, (501) 615-8322, listed on the establishment's website, juiceleaf.com.
Reports are coming in that Chinese-Vietnamese restaurant Taste of D-Light, 3200 N. Reynolds Road, Bryant, has either closed or is closing. Shelli Poole of MySaline.com says her sources say owners Jerry and Lee Jones are looking to retire; they may have "sold to someone who will make it a liquor store." Neither she, nor we, have been able to get anybody to answer the phone -- (501) 847-6267; we couldn't raise anybody even at peak lunch hours.
Flavours, serving lunch sandwiches and salads, has opened in the former Sassy Cake Lady storefront, 13120 Crystal Hill Road, North Little Rock, in a strip center that also houses outlets of Shipley's Donuts and Casa Mexicana. S.W. Chance Inc. posted the opening on its Facebook page, noting that "At Flavours We Proudly Hire People With Disabilities, 'Please Don't Diss My Abilities.'" Hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday. We don't yet have a listed phone number.
Flyway Brewing Company, which its co-owners, Jess McMullen and Matthew John Foster, describe as a "pico brewery," opened its taproom Dec. 19 at 314 Maple St., in North Little Rock's Argenta District. Right now, they're just serving beer (eight beers on tap, heading toward 11 by the end of the month, McMullen says -- four year-round brews with a rotation of seasonal and specialty beers), 4-9 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday, noon-9 p.m. (or possibly later) Friday-Saturday, noon-8 p.m. Sunday. McMullen says he's in the establishment's brand-new kitchen, working on a food concept that he expects will be in place in the next few weeks. McMullen recommends keeping up with his progress at the brewery's Facebook page; the phone number is (501) 350-8868, and you can check out the website, flywaybrewing.blogspot.com.
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Weekend on 01/07/2016