Conway landmark Stoby's Restaurant, 805 Donaghey Ave., Conway, coming all the way back from a devastating March 19, 2016, fire, is planning its grand reopening, though co-owner Patti Stobaugh says she can't yet fix an exact date. In advance of that, it'll be conducting a friends-and-family soft opening and the public can get a first peek at a 5-8 p.m. Aug. 12 preview benefiting Haven House, a Conway shelter for girls, that will feature the full menu and bottomless cheese dip. There will be six seatings, 40 people per; tickets are $100, with all proceeds going to the nonprofit. Visit tinyurl.com/stobyshaven. Hours once it reopens: 6 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Saturday; the phone number will once again be (501) 327-5447.
GiGi's Soul Cafe & Lounge opened on schedule Friday in the former Nashville Bar and Grill, 10840 Maumelle Blvd., North Little Rock. The limited opening menu, available via the Facebook page (facebook.com/GigisSoulCafe), includes burgers, catfish, a catfish burger, fried chicken, ribs, meatloaf and pork chop and beef brisket platters. Later in the evening, the Blue Candle Lounge will feature soul and jazz acts with an occasional "spoken word" night. Hours are 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Tuesday-Wednesday, 11 a.m.-1 a.m. Thursday and Saturday, 11 a.m.-2 a.m. Friday. The phone number is (501) 771-1829.
Heights Taco & Tamale, 5805 Kavanaugh Blvd., Little Rock, inaugurated its "Ark-Mex Brunch" Sunday, with a menu that includes a Churros Waffle, Delta Chicken N' Biscuit, Breakfast Nachos, Sunday Biscuits & Gravy, All-Day Breakfast Tacos (already part of their regular menu) and Veggie Brunch Tacos, plus a handful of brunch cocktails. They've expanded Sunday hours -- brunch is available 10 a.m.-2 p.m. The restaurant's regular hours are 11 a.m.-10 p.m. daily. The phone number is (501) 313-4848.
When Three Fold Noodles and Dumpling Co. opens in September in its new location, in the Fulk Building, 615 Main St., Little Rock, it'll also start serving breakfast at 7 a.m., including baozi, similar to the the bun they currently serve: a steamed, yeast-based roll, but with a filling (three varieties: pork, egg and a sweet version that they're still testing). They'll serve drip coffee and will be brewing their own soy milk. And you can walk up, order and pick food up from the new breakfast window, or consume it in the lobby or on the new patio. Three Fold's phone number, which will presumably transfer with the restaurant from its current 215 Center St. location, is (501) 372-1739.
A sign in the window indicates a "planned commercial development" change for The Hillcrest Fountain, 2809 Kavanaugh Blvd., Little Rock. The neighborhood bar and pool hall has posted on its Facebook page that the change involves what is "gonna be the most awesome outdoor room/deck in the history of Little Rock." Donna James, subdivision administrator of the Little Rock Department of Planning and Development, explains that plan is to replace the existing deck, enclose a portion and put a roof over the rest. And because the property is part of the Hillcrest Design Overlay District, and because it has no on-site parking, the project requires a "planned commercial development" revision. The Fountain's hours are 4 p.m.-1 a.m. Sunday-Wednesday, 4 p.m-2 a.m. Thursday-Saturday. We were unable to contact anybody at the establishment -- calls to the listed number, (501) 614-9818, returned a nonworking number recording.
Waitr, a restaurant delivery service based in Lake Charles, La., serving 110 cities in four Gulf Coast states (Texas, Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi), starts serving Little Rock and Northwest Arkansas today through a downloadable application (available for Apple and Android devices) that provides restaurant connections, menus and photos. Approximately 40 establishments in each market are already on board, says Sonny Mayugba, the company's chief marketing officer, who adds they're expecting to include somewhere between 200 and 250 restaurants, typical for each of its current markets, within six to 12 months. The app will show full color photographs of all menu items, monitor delivery in real time and, through either in-app chat or via an 800 number, customers can connect to a "live" person to resolve problems and complaints. (Mayugba says each market has a locally based city manager.) There's a flat $5 delivery charge regardless of the size of the order -- "no percentage charge, no mileage charge, no minimums or maximums," Mayugba says. "We keep it clean." They're in the process of hiring up to 200 drivers (apply at waitrapp.com/become-a-driver). Visit waitrapp.com. Waitr is hosting a launch party at 5 p.m. today at Bar Louie, 11525 Cantrell Road, Little Rock. It's free; attendees can expect tasty appetizers and cool "swag" items to take home with them.
Bark Bar opened Tuesday in a long-vacant church at 1201 S. Spring St., Little Rock. While primarily a place for dogs -- canine memberships are available on a single-day, monthly or annual basis -- amenities are available for humans, including a menu that includes 100 percent Angus beef hot dogs (with a vegetarian option), a full bar with cold beers on draft and specialty cocktails, beverages including cold brew coffee and a variety of soft drinks and free Wi-Fi. Hours are 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday. The phone number is (501) 295-3989; visit BarkBar.com. The owners are also planning a "VIP Grand Opening Pawty," Aug. 26 -- National Dog Day -- with entertainment, live puppy portraits, food and drink specials and a photo booth. Tickets are $20.
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Little Rock Restaurant Month, a project of the Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau to promote the city's local restaurants and neighborhoods, is underway. The promotion focuses each week on a Little Rock district, during which participating neighborhood restaurants will offer breakfast, lunch and/or dinner discounts or promotions.
• Through Sunday : Downtown -- east of Woodrow Street, north of Roosevelt Road, including River Market District (but not the River Market's Ottenheimer Market Hall -- see below), Main Street Creative Corridor, South Main and East Village neighborhoods.
• Aug. 7-13: West, west of Interstate 430, north of Lawson Road.
• Aug. 14-20: Midtown, Woodrow Street west to I-430 and north of Colonel Glenn and Roosevelt roads, includes Riverdale, Heights, Hillcrest and the North University corridor
• Aug. 21-27: Airport and Southwest districts, the former east of Shall Avenue, the latter south of Colonel Glenn, Roosevelt and Lawson roads.
• Aug. 28-Sept. 2: Ottenheimer Market Hall.
A list of participating restaurants each week and their specials is available online at DineLR.com..
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The owners of Country Village Oven Bakery, a two-decades-old, family owned bakery in Star City, will open Cinnamon Creme Bakery, a 1,770-square-foot spinoff shop, in mid-September at the Centre at Chenal shopping center, 17200 Chenal Parkway, Little Rock. Truman Cooper and his wife, Crystal, say they're still working on the menu, but they plan to offer some of the same made-from-scratch breads, pies and cakes (highlights in Star City include a cinnamon raisin pull-apart bread with icing, a white-chocolate-caramel pie and an assortment of fried pies) as the pioneer location. That's been operating for 21 years, more or less out of sight on a Lincoln County back road. The owners tell Arkansas Online, which reported the planned opening last week, that they had also been considering sites in Sheridan, Benton and Bryant.
And Josh Doering, a veteran of a number of central Arkansas kitchens (he's currently working at Lost 40 -- their brownies are his recipe) will be Arkansas' representative at FlavoredNation.com's "A Taste of Every State," Oct. 27-29 in St Louis. He expects to be frying up catfish for about 800 people a day from a recipe he's still working on; he says Lost 40 is sending with him a large quantity of its brews and swag for the attendees. A single-day ticket, $55 ($45 if you buy it before Aug. 28), entitles you to 10 tastings; the $125 VIP ducat includes early access, 20 tastings, best-of-house seating for the three stages of continuous entertainment and access to a VIP lounge. Visit flavorednation.com. Doering, who among other credits was at one time responsible for the weekly brunch menu at Pizza d'Action, is in the process of setting up a breakfast-vending food truck that he's planning to call Grandma Josh's.
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 08/03/2017