Restaurant Transitions: David's Burgers River Market opening delayed; Your Pie coming to Arkansas

Customers go down a line and choose their toppings for 10-inch, thin-crust pizzas at Your Pie, an Athens, Ga.-based chain operation planning to open at least three outlets in central Arkansas.
Customers go down a line and choose their toppings for 10-inch, thin-crust pizzas at Your Pie, an Athens, Ga.-based chain operation planning to open at least three outlets in central Arkansas.

The best laid plans of mice, men and restaurateurs gang aft agley. Case in point: the passing of a once-planned Oct. 1 opening for the long-delayed David's Burgers outlet in the eastern end cap of the River Market's Ottenheimer Market Hall, 400 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock. The folks at the Maumelle headquarters aren't commenting on a new target opening date, but Diana Long, director of River Market operations for the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau, says it's going to be somewhere in the vicinity of Thanksgiving.

Monday is the target opening day for the Green Leaf Grill Express in the former Quizno's space, Fourth and Center streets, Little Rock. The secondary location for the Green Leaf Grill, in the Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield headquarters building, 601 S. Gaines St., will be primarily a salad/deli grab-and-go operation, with its offerings consistent with the big restaurant's "Simply 600" nutritional criteria -- 600 or fewer calories, 600 or fewer milligrams of sodium, 20 grams or less of fat, 5 grams or less of saturated fat -- with minimal seating. Hours are 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday-Friday. The phone number, though we couldn't get anybody to answer it by deadline, is (501) 378-3642.

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Your Pie, billed as "the world's originator of the down-the-line, quick-serve, brick-oven, customized personal pizza," has announced plans for at least three outlets in and/or around Little Rock, its first in Arkansas. Ken Caldwell, vice president of development for the Athens, Ga.-based fast-casual chain, says the company, which operates nationwide but focuses on the Southeast, decided on central Arkansas after a market search. "We've looked at Little Rock and seen it's a three- to five-store market, and we're looking for the right match of franchisees," he adds.

"We'd love to have something inked within the next six months," Caldwell says. Ideally they'd be working with a single franchisee for all, but "Your Pie embraces single-unit operators as well," he says. "It's simpler to have one franchisee with three to five units, but we're willing to talk to [single] owner-operators as well, since sometimes they are the best representatives for the brand." Locations could extend as far as Conway and Benton.

Once a franchise deal exists, it takes an average of 6-9 months to get a restaurant open, so, Caldwell says, "ultimately we'd like to be open in Little Rock by next fall." Your Pie currently has 35 outlets, with development agreements for 45 more. Franchise information is available at franchise.yourpie.com.

And what about the pizza and the concept? Customers travel along an assembly line and pick out toppings, etc. ("You go down the line and choose what you want and how much of it, and it's all one price," Caldwell says. "Think Chipotle.") for an individual-size, 10-inch pizza with a thin, hand-tossed, Neapolitan-style crust. It then goes into a brick oven and hits your table in about four minutes. The menu (yourpie.com) also includes salads, panini sandwiches and gelato. The chain also focuses on local craft beers.

And speaking of pizza chains, after our report last week that the Pizza Hut at 1801 T.P. White Drive, Jacksonville, had apparently closed without residual signs, lights or employees, a sharp-eyed observer called to report that the restaurant has actually moved across the street. Sure enough, a quick web check finds a Pizza Hut at 2126 N. First St., Jacksonville. The listed phone number, (501) 982-6731, continues to reach an automated ordering system.

And still speaking of pizza chains, Old Chicago Pizza & Taproom has signed a franchise agreement with the Nursariwala Group to expand its presence in Arkansas (starting with a Rogers location sometime in 2017), Oklahoma, Missouri and Mississippi. Existing Arkansas outlets: 4305 Warden Road, North Little Rock, and 1010 Main St., Conway.

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The west Little Rock Pei Wei outlet did, in fact, open Monday as scheduled in the Promenade at Chenal, 17701 block of Chenal Parkway. Hours, according to the young woman who answered the phone -- (501) 821-8720 -- are 10 a.m.-9 p.m. daily.

Specialty baker Natalie Madison's Artisan Cakes has opened at 3025 W. Dixon Road, Little Rock. It's not a retail bakery, according to the website (nmartisancakes.com), so no baked goods in display cases; hours are by appointment, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 9 a.m.-noon Saturday. The phone number is (501) 240-6102; email natalievmadison@gmail.com.

Caroline Randall Williams, co-author of the award-winning cookbook/memoir Soul Food Love, will prepare recipes from the book for a Lunch 'n Learn event, noon Oct. 28 at the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, 501 W. Ninth St., Little Rock. It's in partnership with the Arkansas Cornbread Festival and the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service. Admission is free; provide your own lunch and the center will provide soft drinks and water. Call (501) 683-3593 or visit mosaictemplarscenter.com.

"All you can eat" catfish, chicken, fries, hush puppies, coleslaw and baked beans are on the menu for the Friendly Chapel Church of the Nazarene's 30th annual Fish & Fowl Dinner, 5-8 p.m. Friday at North Little Rock's Verizon Arena. Tickets are $15, $6 for children 5-12, $120 for a book of 10; all proceeds benefit Brother Paul's Soup Kitchen and Shelter on Pine Street in North Little Rock. Call (501) 371-0912.

Pinnacle Valley Restaurant, 8501 Pinnacle Valley Road, Little Rock, will host a Dance for the Cure Danceathon, 5-9 p.m. Saturday to benefit the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Area instructors will lead group dancing. Admission is free; donations will be accepted. Call (501) 673-3900.

Craft beer from Arkansas breweries and wines from Arkansas wineries, a catfish cook-off, musicians, and even a Zombie Run are on tap, so to speak, for the second annual Arktoberfest and Caddo Valley Catfish Cook-Off, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday in a 12-block area of downtown Arkadelphia centered on South Seventh and Clinton streets. Admission is free; tickets for craft beer sampling and catfish dinner are $30, $25 for craft beer only, $12 for catfish only. That includes 15 drink tokens, each good for a 3-ounce beer sample (4 tokens for a full 12-ounce pour), a 1.5-oz wine sample or a quarter-ounce spirits sample. Some higher-alcohol-percentage and specialty items may cost additional tokens (available for 50 cents each). Food trucks will be vending solid comestibles. Visit Arktoberfest.org.

And the James Beard Foundation has issued a call for entries for its 2017 awards, including a new journalism honor -- the Local Impact Award ("recognizing the work of an individual who displays enterprise and excellence in ongoing local food coverage, with an emphasis on community engagement and news gathering"). The foundation is also seeking nominees in the Book, Restaurant and Chef, Restaurant Design and Special Achievement categories. Details, deadlines and criteria are available online at jamesbeard.org/awards.

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 10/20/2016

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