Donnie Ferneau Jr. is closing his Good Food by Ferneau, 521 Main St., North Little Rock, which will hold its last meal service Jan. 30, to become the executive chef at the new 1836 Club, which, as you recall, is the private supper club going into the former Packet House, 1406 Cantrell Road, Little Rock. “I cannot thank my customers and the Argenta community enough for their support of Good Food,” Ferneau says in a news release. “While I’m sad to leave, the opportunity … was an offer I simply couldn’t refuse.” And this posting on the Good Food by Ferneau Facebook page: “Although this transition will be bittersweet, Chef Ferneau is very excited for the future. Until then, he will still be able to do private events, catering, and can even rent out party rooms and spaces at the new location once it is open. If you have any remaining Gift Cards, please use them before Jan. 30. … [If] there is any furniture that you may like, feel free to contact us via Facebook for more information.” Target opening is sometime this spring, but the deadline to submit applications to become a charter member is March 1; visit the1836club.com. Charter members won’t have to pay an application fee; individual dues will be $250 monthly.
Meanwhile, a couple of blocks south in Argenta, Skinny J’s, 314 Main St., North Little Rock, is open for Sunday brunch, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., with $3 house Bloody Marys and mimosas and some adult coffees; foodwise, they’re offering four different versions of eggs Benedict, omelets, sandwiches and a banana-pecan French toast. The restaurant will also remain open Sundays until 10 p.m. The phone number is (501) 916-2645.
After considerable delay, construction began earlier this week on Bruno’s Deli, to offer Italian sandwiches meat, cheese, pasta, sauces, olives and other items, with a some limited stool seating for eat-in and a walk-up window, in the former Dundee’s men’s wear space, 308 Main St., Little Rock, the grab-and-go lunch extension of Bruno’s Little Italy at 310 Main. Owner Gio Bruno says he’s looking at a spring target opening. “And for those who remember Papa Gio’s downtown on Capitol Avenue back in the 1980s, we will be resurrecting our popular pasta salad from that former Bruno’s satellite.”
Grady’s Pizza & Subs General Manager Pablo Chichoni confirms that a second location for the pizza and sandwich restaurant is going into the recently vacated Ponchitos Mexican Grill in the Kmart parking lot, 10901 N. Rodney Parham Road, Little Rock, with a rough opening target of mid-March. The menu will be ramped up with more Italian food, including a few otherwise scarce-in-thisarea Neapolitan items like spiedini, a stuffed veal dish, and a burger patty made from ground beef and ground pork. Whereas the original location at 6801 W. 12th St., Little Rock, has been selling wine and beer, Chichoni is applying for a full liquor license. The extensive remodeling of what had been a chain steakhouse by the owners of Ponchitos means he’ll have to do relatively little interior remodeling — he’s looking to add some windows and a drive-through. He’s anticipating that the hours will be 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, later on Friday and Saturday depending on the volume of business. The phone number for the original restaurant, which he expects will continue as it has been, is (501) 663-1918.
The long-vacant former Casa Viva space, in the Village Shopping Center, 3901 S. University Ave. at Asher Avenue, has turned into a major construction zone, with the exterior partially demolished, the front doors replaced by two large boards and part of the parking lot fenced off and chopped up. Brooke Miller of Flake & Kelley, which manages that center, says she is not yet at liberty to reveal what’s going into the 15,000-square-foot space, but that it is (a) not going to be a restaurant, and (b) it’s going to be something really major.
In that same shopping center is a new (opened Dec. 8) Mexican restaurant: Playa Azul Mexican Grill, a branch of a restaurant of the same name at 500 Amity Road, Conway. Owner Gino Rangel says both restaurants are using the same menu. Hours are 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. daily. The phone number is (501) 569-9300. The phone number in Conway: (501) 205-0435.
Bray Gourmet Deli & Catering, 323 Center St., Little Rock, has opened a branch office at the new CARTI Center, 8901 CARTI Way (off John Barrow Road), Little Rock. The menu is pretty much the same, with a couple of variations (including the CARTI Club sandwich); hours are 7:30-10 a.m. weekdays for breakfast, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Friday for lunch. The phone number is (501) 660-7699.
And this update on the target date for the brick-andmortar opening of the Benton-based food truck BASH Burger Co. at 315 N. Bowman Road (for 21 years Bruno’s Little Italy and subsequently Dona’s Little Italy and Bruno’s Italian Bistro), a recent posting on their Facebook page: “We are shooting for first week of February.”
A recent remodeling of the Bonefish Grill in the Pleasant Ridge Town Center, 11525 Cantrell Road, Little Rock, involves the addition of an “extraordinary bonefish sculpture made of stainless steel and sequined scales,” along with “a contemporary blend of warm earthy tones, golden hardwood accents, natural materials and metallically embellished wood flooring,” according to a recent news release. Restaurant hours remain the same: 4-10:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 4-11:30 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m.-11:30 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday. Call (501) 228-0356 or visit bonefishgrill.com/little-rock.
Cafe Alexander opened last week in the former Crispino’s Pizza Co. space, 2608 Albert Pike Road, Hot Springs, offering a mostly Greek menu plus steaks, ribs, seafood and a couple of Italian items; the restaurant serves beer and wine. Hours are 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday. The phone number: (501) 767-0700.
And in case you’ve been wondering what will become of Kelli Marks after the Jan. 13 closure of her Sweet Love Bakes, she has been hired by artisan sweets startup Treatsie as their head of digital content. “Treatsie helps consumers discover amazing artisan sweets from all over the country through a monthly subscription box and an online marketplace,” according to a news release, quoting Treatsie CEO and co-founder Keith Hoelzeman: “We are beyond thrilled to be adding Kelli to the Treatsie team. We see a lot of sweets from around the country and she is one of the most creative confectioners we have ever seen. That coupled with her background at a creative agency make her a perfect fit to lead our digital content.” Marks has a master of business administration degree as well as an undergraduate degree in advertising from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Before launching Sweet Love Bakes in 2012, she worked as a copywriter at the advertising firm of Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods.
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