— It came as a surprise to us the other day that, as we passed the former convenience store at 1402 Rebsamen Park Road where it intersects with Cedar Hill Road in Little Rock's Riverdale neighborhood, that a Domino's Pizza is going in there. Another surprise: We found out Monday that, depending on several items that have to happen in just the right sequence, it could open as early as Friday. We don't have a phone number and as of deadline, it doesn't yet appear on the locator website, pizza.dominos.com/arkansas/little-rock.
— Bruno's Little Italy, 310 Main St., Little Rock, will close on Election Day, Nov. 6, "so all our employees will be able to get to the polls and vote." In posting this to Facebook, "We encourage other businesses that are able to forgo a day of income to do the same -- to encourage their employees to vote." (Business owners, let us know if you're planning to follow suit.)
— Contractor Flynco Inc. has obtained a building permit to begin $830,000 worth of work to, among other things, add Chick-fil-A and Burger King outlets, scheduled to open in January, to the passenger concourse at Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport/Adams Field. The new Chili's outlet on the concourse opened Wednesday. The restaurant work is part of a nearly $4 million project to upgrade the airport's food, beverage and retail offerings.
— MorningSide Bagels, 10848 Maumelle Blvd., North Little Rock, won't meet its Wednesday target reopening date. New owner Robyn Edwards, whose voice now appears on the message we got when we called the shop's phone number, (501) 753-6960, says going has been slower than expected and her new target -- "not in concrete either," she says -- is Nov. 12. Hours will be 6 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday-Saturday.
— Meanwhile, the next-door GiGi's Soul Food Cafe and Lounge, 10840 Maumelle Blvd., North Little Rock, is closed for a "complete remodeling," according to a recent Facebook post, which suggests folks "[s]tayed tuned for opening date." The phone number is (501) 771-1829.
— Kendo Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi is now open in what used to be Shashimi Japanese Steakhouse, 1900 Club Manor Drive, Maumelle. Hours are 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday-Friday, 5-9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 5-9:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, though it may eventually open for lunch Saturday-Sunday. The phone number is the same as Sashimi's: (501) 851-4700. There's also a Facebook page (facebook.com/kendo.maumelle.3).
And we've had an update on the neighboring in-progress doughnut shop, a couple of doors down in the same strip center, also 1900 Club Manor, in the space vacated by Hangers Cleaners. One of our eagle-eyed correspondents has spotted a sign that says 7 Day Donuts.
— And speaking of doughnuts, while we're waiting for the Oct. 27 official opening of of Donuts & Deli, 308 Main St., Little Rock, they've started their soft-opening service; by mid-morning Saturday, the unanticipated large rush of customers had already stripped them out of doughnuts. The place has a firefighter theme; the breakfast menu includes, in addition to the Firefighter Skillet, a 1st Responder Special, and the lunch menu has Hook and Ladder [chicken] Strips. Hours are 7 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday. The listed phone number is (501) 626-8083, which according to the voicemail message is a wireless number; the website is donutslr.com; and the Facebook page is facebook.com/donutslr.
— India Cafe, from the folks who formerly operated Desi Den, is now open in the former Home Plate Diner space, 2615 N. Prickett Road, Bryant. Hours are 11 a.m.-9 p.m. daily. The phone number is (501) 213-0429; the Facebook page (facebook.com/pg/DESI-DEN-is-Now-INDIA-CAFE-440952209319344/posts) announces they've started free delivery this week.
— The Conway building at 912 Front St. that was renovated for the former John Daly's Steakhouse, which closed in July after less than a year in business, is up for sale and the eatery's former CEO has filed for bankruptcy, reports our online ace Jaime Dunaway. Real estate developer Newmark Moses Tucker Partners listed the 10,000-square-foot property last week. Meanwhile, Arkansas Business reported that Sam McFadin of Conway, a co-owner, executive or LLC member at several companies, including John Daly's Steakhouse, the S.A.M. Group, which developed the restaurant, filed Sept. 14 for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Eastern District of Arkansas.
— Former Hot Springs resident Robin Hazard will display before-and-after Hurricane Harvey photographs of her home in Rockport, Texas, and paintings inspired during her evacuation in Johnson City, Texas, for The Avenue's monthly Art & Wine Dinner, 7 p.m. Sunday inside The Waters hotel, 340 Central Ave., Hot Springs. Executive chef Casey Copeland has put together a five-course dinner of Southern classics (including fried chicken, duck breast and poached pears) with wine pairings from the Jackson Family Estate winery. Cost is $85. For a complete menu and reservations, call (501) 625-3850
— And CareLink, central Arkansas' Area Agency on Aging, is reprising its pre-Thanksgiving Pie It Forward, its second annual sale of homemade pies to raise money for Meals on Wheels, with the nonprofit's development department baking and peddling 10-inch sweet potato and apple pies for $13. Deadline to order is Nov. 9; pies will be available for pickup "during select times" (to be announced) Nov. 16 and 21 at the Meals on Wheels kitchen at 2100 Pike Ave., North Little Rock. Order five pies or more and they'll deliver 'em for free. Call (501) 688-7469 or visit carelink.org/events, tinyurl.com/pieitforward or the Facebook events page, facebook.com/events/542510719547328. Meals on Wheels delivers more than 1,100 hot and frozen meals daily to older people in a six-county region in central Arkansas.
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 10/25/2018