Restaurant Transitions: Burger 21, Potbelly openings delayed; Loblolly, Nexus debut; Ninja Bar-Sushi-Grill coming soon

Ninja Bar-Sushi-Grill is close enough to opening in the former Osaka Japanese Restaurant storefront, 5501 Ranch Drive, Little Rock, to have a logo (designed by Yunru Shen).
Ninja Bar-Sushi-Grill is close enough to opening in the former Osaka Japanese Restaurant storefront, 5501 Ranch Drive, Little Rock, to have a logo (designed by Yunru Shen).

The target opening date has been pushed back a week, to July 31, for the first central Arkansas outlet of Burger 21 in the shopping center at 12319 Chenal Parkway, Little Rock. The hours, tentatively, will be 10:45 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 10:45 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday. The phone number is (501) 916-2520; the website is burger21.com/locations/littlerock (which, by the way, still only lists it as "coming soon"); and the Facebook page is facebook.com/Burger21Arkansas.

Also now pushed back: the opening of the downtown Potbelly Sandwich Shop, in the Lyon Building, 401 W. Capitol Ave., Little Rock, now set for Aug. 8 (with an Aug. 7, so-called Oven Warming event to benefit a nonprofit). The restaurant phone number is (501) 747-1297.

Zin West, the second location for Zin Wine Bar, is scheduled to open today in the former Igibon space in the Market Place Shopping Center, 11121 N. Rodney Parham Road, Little Rock. A grand opening celebration, 6-9 p.m. July 28, will benefit the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Arkansas. Hours will be the same as those at the original downtown location, 300 River Market Ave. -- 4-10 p.m. Monday-Wednesday, 4-11 p.m. Thursday, 4 p.m.-midnight Friday-Saturday, 5-10 p.m. Sunday. The phone number is listed as (501) 904-6988. The downtown phone number is (501) 246-4876.

Loblolly Creamery opened Sunday in its new, own space, 1423 Main St., Little Rock. Hours are 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday-Monday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. The phone number is (501) 396-9609.

Nexus Coffee and Creative is now open at 301B President Clinton Ave., Little Rock, in the River Market District. Owner Amy Moorehead has said 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 breakfast items, pastries, sandwiches and specialty cheese boards, plus a selection of craft beer and wine. Hours are 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday-Saturday. The coffee shop said it plans to stay open later Friday and Saturday. The phone number is (501) 295-7515.

And speaking of Little Rock coffee/pastry shops, Cafe Brunelle, in the Promenade at Chenal, 17819 Chenal Parkway, has tweeted and posted on its Facebook page that it is closing for a three-week "restructure" and will reopen, "better than ever," on Aug. 7. The phone number: (501) 448-2687.

And speaking of the Promenade at Chenal, pan-Asian restaurant A.W. Lin's, 17717 Chenal Parkway, Little Rock, has a target date of Dec. 1 to open a downtown location, 305 Main St., next door to the pending Ira's. The original restaurant's phone number is (501) 821-5398.

And speaking of Asian restaurants, look now for a Sept. 18 opening for Three Fold Noodles and Dumpling Co. in its new location, 615 Main St., Little Rock. In addition to the authentic Chinese noodles, dumplings and buns, plus a few side items, that it has been vending at 215 Center St. since December 2014, owner Lisa Zhang has said the move will let them add table service, which, in turn, will let the kitchen prepare dishes to order, in woks and served hot (instead of staff members scooping pre-made stuff out of a steam table). Three Fold has remained open during the construction phase, although Zhang says there is a possibility it may have to close for a week to complete the transition.

And still speaking of Asian restaurants, we don't have details on an opening date for Ninja Bar-Sushi-Grill in the former Osaka Japanese Restaurant storefront, 5501 Ranch Drive, Little Rock, but it's near enough so the restaurant's Facebook page -- facebook.com/search/top/?q=ninja bar-sushi-grill -- shows a logo (for which it credits Yunru Shen for the design), a phone number -- (501) 367-8659 -- that nobody is answering at the moment, and a menu that looks very much like the one at Wasabi Sushi, Bar & Grill, 101 Main St., Little Rock. That tends to confirm reports that this is the second location Wasabi is planning to open out west on Cantrell. So far, the URL, ninjasushilittlerock.com, also listed on the Facebook page, is just a holding place for a website and not actually connected to anything.

Whole Hog Cafe is taking over the recently vacated Main Cheese space at 14524 Cantrell Road, Little Rock, with plans to open in mid-August. Details are still developing.

Owner Margie Raimondo says she's "very close" to opening Southern Table, formerly Kent's Artisan Cheese, 323 S. Cross St., Little Rock, pending the end of the permitting process and trade people finishing up the premises. The target is in the vicinity of July 27-Aug. 1. Raimondo, also owner of Raimondo Winery in Mountain Home, is planning a tapas-style "boards and bites" menu of "food meant to be shared," according to the establishment's Facebook page -- primarily charcuterie boards featuring seasonal cheeses and cured meats, local beers and Raimondo wines. An outdoor bistro area will complement indoor seating. The phone number is listed as (501) 366-9817, the same as Raimondo's Mountain Home establishment.

Just for the record: H.B.'s Bar-B-Q, 6010 Lancaster Road, Little Rock, isn't for sale or going out of business. Longtime employee Virginia Wright, who says she has been keeping the business going while owner Bruce Slaughter (her brother in law) has been battling cancer and undergoing chemotherapy, says she has been queried by a number of concerned patrons who claim to have seen a report to that effect in this column. (And, just for the record, we have not only not reported any such thing, but an intense search of the paper's electronic archive reveals that the venerable establishment hasn't even been mentioned in our restaurant coverage since at least 1990.) The restaurant phone number is (501) 565-1930.

Agave Grill opened Monday at 17324 Interstate 30, Benton, in front of the Tinseltown movie theater, just off the I-30 service road. The building previously housed Sabores Mexican Cuisine, Patron Mexican Grill and Cafe Santa Fe (not necessarily in that order). Scott Hanayik, co-owner with Ryan Brown, also co-owners of the Tavern Sports Grill in the Promenade on Chenal, describes the menu as "Mexican-American fusion," with fajitas, quesadillas and nachos on the one side and rib-eye, New York strip filets and seafood items on the other. Hours will be 11 a.m.-1 a.m. Monday-Saturday (with a limited menu after 10), and on Sunday a 10 a.m.-2 p.m. buffet brunch, then serving the regular menu until midnight. The phone number is (501) 316-4227; the yet-unfinished website is agavegrillbenton.com.

Also in Benton, The Main St. Station, 303 N. Main St., Benton, a gathering place for area food trucks opened last week. Mary Robin Harriell, representing the property owners, says the Koffee With a Kause truck will be open there 7 a.m.-4 p.m. (and truck owner Jarrod Voth will manage the operation); two or three other trucks will rotate in and out for lunch, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., and they're hoping in time to add more and possibly expand into dinner hours. The phone number is (501) 777-5758; the website, themainststation.com; and the Facebook page, where you can find weekly schedules, is facebook.com/The-Main-St-Station-262126760935548.

And still in Benton, Texas Roadhouse opened an outlet Monday in the new Shoppes of Benton center, 20280 Interstate 30 North, just south of the Alcoa Road exit. Hours are 4-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 4-11 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday. The phone number is (501) 794-5814.

The permits are in place, the staff is in training and the people who run Argentinian Coffee & Wine Bar, 328 Central Ave., Hot Springs, on Bathhouse Row (opposite the Superior Bathhouse), expect to be up and running on or about Aug. 1. Tentative hours: 8 a.m.-10 p.m. daily, possibly staying open later on weekends. The phone number is (501) 623-2777.

And Jessie Core, the namesake of Springdale-based Core Brewing Co., confirms he's opening a Core Public House at 833 Central Ave., Hot Springs, the former home of Banjo Dan's Vintage Guitars. "I spend time in Hot Springs and I found a spot that would fit our culture well," Core says. The establishment will feature "live music, good food, good beer and games for the adults to have some fun." He signed a lease last week and estimates, based on past experience, approximately 90 days thereafter to get a place up and running, "so end of October" will be the target opening. The menu will be distinct from the one at the Core Public House, 411 Main St., in North Little Rock's Argenta District; Core says they try to localize the menu for each location (Core also operates brewpubs in Fayetteville, Rogers and Fort Smith and a separate pub and taproom in Springdale) but it will still feature seasonally rotating dishes and rely where possible on local sourcing.

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

photo

Democrat-Gazette file photo

Reports that H.B.’s Bar-B-Q on Lancaster Road in southwest Little Rock is closing or up for sale are untrue and unfounded, says Virginia Wright, shown serving side dishes in 2005.

Weekend on 07/20/2017

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