We reported a few weeks ago that there was a "closed for maintenance" sign on the door of J. Gumbo's, in the Centre at Ten center, 12911 Cantrell Road, Little Rock. An eagle-eyed colleague reports there is no longer a notice on the door, but the doors were locked during business hours; tables and chairs are still set up inside, "though they've been numbered (as if perhaps they've been doing inventory)" and there are heating trays stacked up on tables. Those at neighboring businesses Tropical Smoothie and Larry's Pizza say it has been shuttered for about a month or two. A follow-up call to the listed phone number, (501) 916-9635, which had at the time returned a rapid busy signal, now returns a message that it's out of service.
The Grind Coffee Bistro has opened next to Belk in the Pleasant Ridge Town Center, 11525 Cantrell Road, Little Rock. Menu includes appetizers (dips, wings, garlic shrimp), soups of the day, sandwiches and paninis, salads and a few entrees (stuffed chicken, baked fish, a chicken-and-broccoli baked potato and homemade meat loaf), with vegan and gluten-free options. Hours are 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. The phone number is (501) 516-6165.
J Town's Grill, 2610 E. Johnson Ave., Jonesboro, owned by Lee County soybean producer Jeffrey Higgins, is the May Kitchen/Fields Table Tour partner with the Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board, seeking to educate Arkansans on where their food originates. Executive Chef Lisa Godsey has created a Greek-marinated chicken dish with a chipotle feta spread -- Kalamata olives, marinated artichokes, tomato, lettuce, drizzled with tzatziki sauce and served on toasted lavash bread. The restaurant phone number is (870) 275-6514; for more details on the Kitchen/Fields Table Tour, visit TheMiracleBean.com.
Little Rock brewpub Lost Forty Brewing, 501 Byrd St., won two bronze medals -- "on opposite ends of the style spectrum," says founder John Beachboard -- this past weekend at the 2018 World Beer cup competition at the Craft Brewers Conference & BrewExpo America at Music City Center in Nashville, Tenn. The honors came in the "Experimental Beer-Style" category for its Wild Barrels Project No. 5 and in the "German-Style Doppelbock or Eisbock" category, for master brewer Omar Castrellon's Double Love Honey Doppelbock, "a bold, imperial version of the brewery's flagship lager Love Honey Bock." An elite panel of 295 judges from 33 countries evaluated 8,234 beers during six sessions over three days.