Saturday was the last day of business for the venerable Shogun Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Bar, 2815 Cantrell Road, Little Rock. Manager Michael Choi says the entire staff is shifting to Kanpai Japanese Steak & Sushi, 4120 E. McCain Blvd., North Little Rock, also owned by entrepreneur Steve Im. Choi says he has no idea what, if anything, will become of the Riverdale building, which Shogun took over in 1982, and which had housed a Sambo's prior to that. The phone number, (501) 666-7070, had not yet been disconnected as of Tuesday's deadline, but all calls were being routed to voice mail.
Petit & Keet Bar & Grill, 1620 Market St., Little Rock, the joint project of entrepreneur/restaurateur Jim Keet and Little Rock culinary legend Louis Petit, has announced its grand opening for May 18 in the pretty-much-rebuilt-from-the-ground up former 1620 Savoy space. Keet, who also owns and operates (under franchise) several Arkansas Taziki's Mediterranean Cafes and (with sons Tommy and Jake) Paninis and Co., says the restaurant will have a "chef-driven menu, original signature cocktails and an expansive wine list with affordable prices to the west Little Rock area." The website, PetitandKeet.com, lists Mateo Vannucci as executive chef. Vannucci, originally from the Benton/Bryant area, trained at the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts in Austin, Texas; was briefly executive chef at Garbo's in that town; and has most recently been the executive sous chef at Bravo Cucina Italiana restaurant. Hours, according to the website, are 4-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 4-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday. You can also follow progress at the Facebook page, facebook.com/PetitandKeet.
Jeffrey Greer of Mama Bea's Big Burgers called us right after we reported last week on the uncertain status of Mama B's Take Out, 1200 W. Daisy Gatson Bates Drive (at Cross Street), Little Rock, to tell us that the restaurant will reopen in June -- possibly as early as June 1 -- at its original location, 4724 Asher Ave., Little Rock. One edition of the restaurant operated for a pretty long while at Kanis and Shackleford roads, until they were ousted by a Dunkin' Donuts. The listed phone number, (501) 777-1126, is still active, Greer says; the reason we couldn't get anybody to answer, he explains, is because nobody realized it wasn't transferring properly until we noted it in the paper. He recommends keeping track of progress via the Facebook page, facebook.com/mamabeasbigburgers.
Zeteo Coffee, a Little Rock scion of the Conway-based coffee shop, opens Saturday on the ground floor of the building at 610 President Clinton Ave., that also houses Rock Dental Brands and affiliated company AXPM, and which used to be the Clinton Museum Store. Opening-day hours are 8 a.m.-7 p.m.; thereafter they'll open 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Saturday, serving a seasonal menu with gluten-free options, and also beer and wine. A portion of Zeteo's profits go to Living Water International, a nonprofit with the mission of providing clean water to places around the world. Various internet sources list a phone number, (501) 386-3227, but we couldn't reach anybody there. The number for the Conway shop is (501) 358-6285.
And speaking of downtown coffee shops, the Arkansas Online staff reported last week on the planned opening of Nexus Coffee and Creative this summer, also on President Clinton Avenue in Little Rock's River Market District, between the recently vacated Ten Thousand Villages space and Ernie Biggs. Nexus owner Amy Moorehead says she is working with Giovanni Leiva of Leiva's Coffee to cultivate a "crop to cup" campaign that will tell the story of the coffee's origin. The shop will also partner with Honey Pies, Cocoa Belle Chocolates and Raimondo Winery for menu items -- breakfast items, pastries, sandwiches and specialty cheese boards, plus craft beer and wine. Tentative hours are 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Thursday, possibly staying open later Friday and Saturday.
And speaking of Raimondo Winery, it reportedly last week bought Kent Walker Artisan Cheese, 323 Cross St., Little Rock, the retail portion of which has been closed for several weeks and which winery owner Margie Raimondo now expects to reopen, with a different name, in May. Raimondo has been looking for a space somewhere in downtown Little Rock for some time; a plan to open a shop and trattoria in the original Arkansas Democrat building in the 600 block of Main Street fell through last year. (Three Fold Noodles and Dumpling Co., currently at 215 Center St., will be moving in there in August.) Meanwhile, the wholesale side of the cheese-making company has continued to operate; we're told Dalton Hughes, who has been making most of the cheese under Walker's eye, will remain with the business.
The Arkansas Online staff also has been busily keeping track of these recent developments:
• Hooters of Arkansas has applied for an alcohol permit for a Little Rock location, 6 Bass Pro Drive, near Bass Pro Shops and Outlets of Little Rock, just off Interstate 30 and 430. Hooters' previous Little Rock outlet, in the Galleria shopping center, 9700 N. Rodney Parham Road, closed in 1994 after being flagged for selling alcohol to minors (one of whom died in a subsequent car crash). Other Arkansas Hooters locations: 4110 Landers Road, North Little Rock, near the confluence of McCain Boulevard and U.S. 67/167, and 6323 Rogers Ave., Fort Smith.
• And Conway-based fast-casual mini-chain Tacos 4 Life is about to get less "mini," announcing plans to open a location, its first franchise (with restaurateur Robin Nix), at 3113 Race St., Searcy. It'll be the sixth Arkansas location (two in Conway, one each in Little Rock, Benton and Fayetteville), with franchise opportunities in Oklahoma, Texas, Tennessee and Alabama.
And from one of our eagle-eyed Conway correspondents, these recent developments there:
• The Dive is apparently pending in the former Sai Gon Cuisine space, 305 E Oak St., just a few doors down from the defunct Dunkin' Donuts/Baskin Robbins. The Facebook page, facebook.com/thediveconway, touts "Chef-style Southern comfort food! In house smoked meats! Local drafts from around the state! Family, friends, and fine foods!" The phone number listed on the page, (501) 328-3483, produces a "disconnected" message; thediveconway.com is apparently a legitimate domain name, but not yet an actual website.
• Tour of India opened April 15 at 2750 Prince St., former site of Los Amigos. Hours are 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. for buffet lunch, 5-10 p.m. for dinner daily. The phone number is (501) 499-8625. You can get a peek at the menu on the Facebook page, facebook.com/TOUROFINDIACONWAY.
A Spa City correspondent provides this clarification regarding the Wacky Wiener, pending at the former Gino's Pizzeria & Philly Steaks location, 1301 Albert Pike, Hot Springs: The reference we turned up for a business of that name at 3205 Albert Pike turns out to be a former location, now the site of a doughnut shop called Golden Raised. A call to the listed number for Wacky Weiner, (501) 520-1166, still produces a recorded message that the voice-mail box has not yet been set up.
And Mark Abernathy of Loca Luna and Red Door reports back from the April 1 Taste of the South event in Washington, a formal fundraiser hosted by the congressional delegations from several Southern states: "The event was a much bigger deal than I thought -- 2,500 tickets sold out in 45 seconds, with a waiting list of over 1,000 people. ... We definitely improved [the Arkansas] booth's showing, but it still needs a lot of work. Now that I know what to expect, we'll do a much better job next year." He says a young professional on the Arkansas booth committee suggests for subsequent years making Arkansas look progressive to the media and to the young people who are in Washington today but will, in future, become influential chief executive officers, politicians and business leaders and make decisions about where to open new offices and visit for conventions. Those people, she says, should see Arkansas, not as backward and out-of-touch, but as a current and vibrant state with something to offer. "When guests leave here we want them talking about the good food and cool stuff at the Arkansas booth."
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 04/27/2017