Welcome to your new source of restaurant news in Northwest Arkansas. Every Friday, we'll highlight what's new, what's gone and what's good in the region's rising food scene.
This week, we cover a few recent developments at Bentonville's 8th Street Market, the popular cluster of restaurants and shops near the Momentary.
Sandi Sue's Gluten Free Bakery
Many people learned how to bake during 2020. Sandi Macklom started a bakery.
"When I had to go gluten free eight years ago, I was really dissatisfied by the quality of the options available," she says.
Having grown up baking with her grandmother, Macklom decided she could do better, eventually selling baked goods to friends and family during the covid-19 pandemic.
Now, Sandi Sue's Gluten Free Bakery has a home at 8th Street Market.
The bakery opened Wednesday inside the district's South Market, offering bread, pastries, pies, cinnamon rolls, pizza dough and custom orders.
It's open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
Macklom, a Bentonville resident and student in Brightwater's baking and pastry program, says she was grateful that the first day was "far beyond what I had hoped for."
Outdoor Drinking
Residents and visitors in Bentonville can now walk around 8th Street Market with their alcoholic beverages, rather than keeping them in assigned areas of restaurants and bars.
The food hub has officially become the 8th Street Market Outdoor Social District after the City Council approved an entertainment district at the location in late August.
The ordinance requires that drinks be purchased and consumed within the district boundaries between 11 a.m. and 11 p.m.
Roll & Fold
After two years of serving noodles, dumplings and milk tea inside 8th Street Market, Dough Zone has rebranded as Roll & Fold.
"Same food, same family, new name," the Asian fusion kiosk posted on social media in August. "After getting countless calls from confused, out-of-state customers looking for their city's 'Dough Zone,' we have decided to change our name to 'Roll & Fold' -- as in rolling the dough and folding the dumpling."
Roll & Fold is open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays.
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Has a restaurant recently opened or closed near you? Does your favorite spot have a new menu? Let us know. Email gmoore@nwaonline.com.