Restaurant transitions: Revolution Restaurant to close; Casey’s Bar-B-Q on Cantrell to open soon; Main Street Food Truck Fridays resumes

Owners plan to keep Rev Room club open

Revolution Restaurant in Little Rock's River Market District is set to close, though the connected music hall will stay open.
Revolution Restaurant in Little Rock's River Market District is set to close, though the connected music hall will stay open.

Chris King has announced via Facebook that he and partner Suzon Awbrey are closing Revolution Restaurant, 300 President Clinton Ave. in Little Rock's River Market District, at the end of the month; they're still, as of our deadline, nailing down the exact date. The adjoining Revolution Room Music Venue will remain open. The post does not disclose the reason for the closure of the restaurant, which opened in May 2006, initially offering Mexican and Cuban cuisine. King and Awbrey also own and operate the nearby Stickyz Rock 'N' Roll Chicken Shack. The phone number is (501) 823-0090.

We actually got an answer at the phone number, (501) 615-8522, for Casey's Bar-B-Q, in the former Arkansas Burger Company building, 7410 Cantrell Road, Little Rock, and an employee told us they hope to open -- after several delays -- sometime this week. Fingers of fans from the couple of decades it operated on Reservoir Road, where it closed more than a dozen years ago, are crossed. Hours will be 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday.

More revelations in the heartbreaking saga of Morningside Bagels on the North Little Rock stretch of Maumelle Boulevard: Robert David Tackett remains in jail after a federal judge, citing that he may have "lost all reason," refused last week to release him. He's facing charges that he tried to burn down his house after taking an ax to the bakery's equipment and the dining space. Tackett, 63, is going through a divorce from Roxane Tackett, his wife of 36 years, with whom he co-owns the bakery. He was arrested April 5 on a warrant charging him with attempted arson of the couple's Maumelle house. A federal criminal complaint charging him with possession of an unregistered destructive device brings him under the jurisdiction of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which is why the case is in federal court. Meanwhile, Roxane Tackett, who had been seeking bids from potential buyers for the business, reports that while gathering bids on repairing the damaged equipment, she's received more than two dozen offers from interested parties, but cites the "uncertainty" of any sale because "this must be approved by both of us."

Daniel Bryant, who owns The Fountain in Hillcrest and the upcoming Sauce(d) restaurant, has confirmed he'll be developing the former Helmich's Auto Service, 2712 Kavanaugh Blvd. in Hillcrest, and the property behind it into a casual restaurant, apparently as yet unnamed, open for lunch and dinner, featuring burgers, a soda fountain and a full bar. The plans involve a controversial tear-down of the house behind the building and lot that will provide privately owned but public accessible park space that, River City Eats reports, will be enclosed so that it can be covered by the restaurant's liquor permit. Bryant says he hopes to open later this year. There's a precedent for serving burgers there: the Excaliburger food truck had for a while been setting up in the parking lot on Monday nights and opening up the garage doors to provide a seating area for patrons.

And while we're on the subject of food trucks:

• The Downtown Little Rock Partnership's Main Street Food Truck Fridays has resumed, 10:45 a.m.-1:30 p.m. each week through May 18, with three or four food trucks parked on the recently resurfaced Capitol Plaza, Main Street and Capitol Avenue, Little Rock. It's in advance of the eighth annual Main Street Food Truck Festival, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sept. 8, with more than 50 trucks and vendors along Main Street and Capitol Avenue. Find weekly updates on which trucks will be serving which Fridays at mainstreetfoodtrucks.com and at facebook.com/mainstreetfoodtruckfestival.

• Tickets are now on sale for the East Village Street Food Jam, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. June 16 on the lawns of the Clinton Presidential Center, 1200 President Clinton Ave, Little Rock. Presenter Riceland Foods will have its new food truck, the Riceland Mobile Cafe, on site; the list of participants also includes Almost Famous, Beaver Tails, Bryant's BBQ and Catering, Count Porkula, Kyleigh's Lemonade Stand, Loblolly Creamery, Say Cheese Handcrafted Sandwiches, Slader's Alaskan Dumpling Co., Sweet Tea Kitchen and Coffee Spot and Wok-n-roll. Live music from the Salty Dogs, the Going Jessies and Rodney Block/Black Superman will start at 3 p.m. Tickets are $5, free for children 5 and younger -- visit tinyurl.com/ycnubkjg; however, the Downtown Little Rock Partnership is offering an early-bird, buy-one-get-one-free promotion through May 4: tinyurl.com/ydcf7sss.

Katmandu MoMo owners Saroja Shrestha and Kyler Nordeck are adding a second, full-service brick-and-mortar spot, 1018 Oak St., Conway, to their food truck and their kiosk in the River Market Ottenheimer Market Hall, 400 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock. Nordeck says he's shooting to open sometime next week. The Nepalese menu from the food truck has included steamed pork, chicken and vegetarian momo dumplings and sides of spring rolls, spicy potatoes and fried rice; the kiosk menu has added a "chow mein" noodle dish. A vastly expanded Conway menu will feature pan-seared, deep-fried, chili momo and soup; a range of appetizers, including spicy marinated peanuts, chili chicken, samosas and a Nepali-style cucumber salad; noodle soups, including chicken, pork and vegetarian thukpa; and chatamari, a rice crepe filled with ground meat or vegetables, eggs, red onions and cilantro. Nordeck says they'll be applying for an alcoholic beverage permit sometime after June so they can serve beer, wine and mixed drinks. The phone number of the current operation is (501) 351-4169.

• Food From the Heart, Arkansas Heart Hospital's full-time food truck debuts 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday at the Food Truck Stop, 801 S. Chester St., Little Rock. Coby Smith will serve ramen, which has been drawing hundreds three days a week to the hospital chef's eponymous restaurant, Coby's, 1701 S. Shackleford Road, Little Rock. Casey Atwood, the hospital's directory of culinary services, says the truck will have a limited menu of "healthy options [that] include assorted entrees, salads, sandwiches and desserts" -- and ramen. Its next scheduled appearance is May 15 in Little Rock's East Village; after that, it will pop up around and outside central Arkansas, "allowing us to reach our friends outside of the metro in communities where our clinics are located," Atwood says, and, "when disaster strikes, it will also be utilized to help feed affected areas." Follow it via the hospital website (arheart.com/culinary), the hospital's Facebook page and the food truck's Instagram account (foodfromtheheartAHH).

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The Root, 1500 Main St, Little Rock, is hosting the fourth annual Traditional Pie Bake-off and Recipe Swap, 4-7 p.m. Sunday. Bakers will bring pies and copies of their recipes to swap with others; a panel of judges will award five red ribbons, five blue ribbons and one Best-in-Show award. It's advisable but not necessary to register in advance -- email theroot@therootcafe.com for more information. It's officially an event of the Arkansas Literary Festival. Call (501) 414-0423 or visit therootcafe.com.

The Avenue -- Art & Wine Dinner, 7 p.m. Sunday at The Avenue, inside, 340 Central Ave., Hot Springs, will focus on the paintings of Katherine Strause, alongside a five-course dinner (menu still in development) with wine pairings from Executive Chef Casey Copeland. Strause, the chairman of the art department at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, will attend to discuss her work and inspiration. Cost is $80. Call (501) 625-3850 for reservations and more information.

Rain, or more exactly, the threat of rain, on Sunday caused Zaza Fine Salad + Wood-Oven Pizza Co., 5600 Kavanaugh Blvd, Little Rock, to postpone 10th Birthday Backyard Bash to noon-4 p.m. May 13. Which, by the way, is also Mother's Day. They'll turn their patio and parking lot into a backyard party centering on food, farms, and music. The event will feature performances by Bonnie Montgomery; a chance to meet the farmers from Rattle's Garden "that supply so much of our spring and summer produce," according to a Facebook post; to pick up seedlings from farmers for a pizza garden; an outdoor beverage garden; pizzas baked in an outdoor wood-burning oven; baby goats from Heifer Village and Urban Farm; and information about the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance, to which you can donate kitchen items for Arkansans in need. Call (501) 661-9292 (ZAZA) or visit zazapizzaandsalad.com or the Facebook event page, tinyurl.com/zazabash10.

And speaking of Mother's Day, just about everybody and his mother will be headed somewhere for Sunday brunch on May 13, and we advise making reservations at places that take reservations immediately if not sooner. Meanwhile, if your restaurant is offering something special for Mother's Day -- opening when you're usually closed, additional hours, menu or drink specials, etc. -- give us a shout-out by May 4 and we'll endeavor to list it in the May 10 edition.

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 04/26/2018

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