July 11 is the target date for the reopening of the McDonald's at 4008 McCain Blvd. at U.S. 67-167, North Little Rock, which has been rebuilt from the ground up in the past few months. Owner-operator Nicole DiMichele, who with father Dean runs DiMichele Enterprise, owner/operator of the McCain Boulevard outlet and five other McDonald's restaurants in Little Rock, North Little Rock and Sherwood, says the new structure replaces one that was built in 1975. It will be the largest in central Arkansas, seating more than 120, and will feature "the latest and greatest that McDonald's has to offer." That includes a dual-lane drive-through (open 24/7) with a total of three windows, "compared to the old building that only had one," she says; digital menu boards; and TVs and interactive games in the dining room. It will not feature automated ordering kiosks -- they'll continue to use human beings, many of whom were previously employed there and who temporarily transferred to one of their other locations. To fill remaining slots, they're hiring, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. today at the 7101 John F. Kennedy Blvd., North Little Rock, location; visit mylocalmcds.com/mccain-north-little/employment. Dining room hours will be 5 a.m.-11 p.m. They're keeping the same phone number: (501) 758-0400.
Mylo Coffee Co., 2715 Kavanaugh Blvd., Little Rock, is expanding into part of the next-door former Afterthought Bar and Bistro space, and turning the rest of it into a performance venue and a restaurant-bar with a wood-burning brick oven. The landmark building has more or less continually been a restaurant since 1977, when John Smithers opened a medium- to high-end French place called That Little Restaurant and subsequently added the bar, named The Afterthought. (Italian restaurant La Scala succeeded That Little Restaurant in 1984, closing in 2003; since then it has been a trio of eclectic-menu eateries -- Beechwood Grill, Vieux Carre and, most recently, the ownership extending the Afterthought name across both parts of the business. The re-creation of the space will occur in stages, we're told, starting with the removal of the wall separating Mylo from the Afterthought (which will require Mylo to shut down for a brief period at the end of the summer) and extending seating and kitchen into what had been the Afterthought's party room. Extensive renovations to the rest of the space will continue into next year.
Asia Buffet Sushi, Grill, BBQ is going into four storefronts -- suites 26B-29B -- in the eastern half of the Market Place Shopping Center, 11121 N. Rodney Parham Road, Little Rock, with an end-of-June target opening date. Owner Bill Gu, who also has the Hibachi Sushi Buffet, 4334 Central Ave., in Hot Springs, says the place will primarily offer gourmet Chinese food (menu and buffet), a Mongolian grill, Chinese-style barbecue and sushi. Leasing agent Rick Freeling, who handles the shopping center for Rector Phillips Morse, says the approximately 6,000 square feet and the substantial amount of available parking made the location a particularly good fit.
A recent flooding rain on top of planning and construction delays held things up for months, but co-owner Gio Bruno says that assuming it passes inspections and all goes according to plan (always a big if in the restaurant business, of course), he's looking at finally opening sometime in the next couple of weeks Bruno's Deli, a grab-and-go lunch expansion of Bruno's Little Italy in the former Dundee's men's wear space, 308 Main St., Little Rock. Meanwhile, "end of June" is the best estimate we've been able to squeak out regarding the opening, next door to the north, of the first Little Rock outlet of Memphis-based, three-restaurant mini-chain Soul Fish Cafe; co-owner Raymond Williams did not return our phone calls by deadline.
You will recall we reported last summer that Lacy Pynes Galligan, the area franchisee for Another Broken Egg Cafe, had announced that she was "aggressively scouting Midtown and west Little Rock locations" with an eye toward opening the first cafe this spring or summer, with a second to follow by the end of 2016. We reported last fall that Galligan had some health issues and had put the project on hold. Partially in response to a continuing string of reader queries, we have been trying to get in touch with Galligan, who continues to not return phone and email queries. The website for the Destin, Fla.-based chain, anotherbrokenegg.com -- as it did last summer when the news first broke -- still lists Little Rock as "Coming Soon." Soon as we "break" any additional details, please rest assured we will post them.
Brick City Pizza, an offshoot of a pizzeria of the same name in Malvern, has opened at 765 Park Ave., Hot Springs, offering delivery, carry-out and an all-you-can-eat buffet and salad bar. Hours are 10 a.m.-11 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-1 a.m. Friday-Sunday. The phone number: (501) 762-8844; the website: brickcitypizza.com/park-ave. The original Malvern location is at 908 Dyer St., Malvern -- (501) 337-4000.
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The Ozark Folk Center State Park, 1302 Park Ave., Mountain View, will host Farm to Table workshops in the park's Craft Village June 17-18 with topics including how to add value to farm products for year-round sales, using goats to reclaim land, and hot peppers and cool mint. The $12 Craft Village admission fee covers all workshops. You don't have to register in advance. In conjunction with the Farm to Table weekend, the center will also offer a Farmstead Cheesemaking class, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. June 16. Cost is $30; register by Tuesday by calling (870) 269-3851 or visit OzarkFolkCenter.com.
And we finally have details on the James Beard Foundation's planned Culinary Lab and Issue Summit, a "Regional Food Salon and Whole Beef Butchery Workshop," 9:30 a.m.--4:15 p.m. June 23 in Bentonville, in collaboration with the two-day BITE Northwest Arkansas food festival. Area chefs, farmers, policy makers, corporations, processors and distributors can attend by invitation only; email Ashley Kosiak at akosiak@jamesbeard.org. More information on JBF Impact Programs is available at jamesbeard.org/impact.
That food festival, by the way, "newly re-branded and expanded ... celebrating the region's best cuisines, ingredients, restaurants and chefs," and part of NWA Championship Week, takes place at the Walmart AMP, 5079 W. Northgate Road, Rogers. It includes the June 23 Taste of Northwest Arkansas -- "mingle and sample menu items from the best restaurants and chefs from across the region" -- and the June 24 Northwest Arkansas Beer & Burger Fest, featuring regional craft beers "and sample signature burgers from the best burger restaurants in the area." Tickets to each event, $30 per person, $50 per couple, and more information are available at nwachampionship.com/bite-nw-arkansas.
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 06/09/2016