Thursday, July 5, 2012
LITTLE ROCK — Good news for all you fans of
The Box
who have been on the edge of your collective seats since the place closed down, almost exactly two years ago, to make room for a new USA Drug store at 17th and Main streets. The burger mecca was supposed to reopen within a couple of months in the former Wooley Electric Supply Inc. space, 1023 W. Seventh St., Little Rock (between Chester and Ringo streets).
Well, it took a couple of years, but owner Kelly Joiner says he’s opening his doors this week. He ran a friends-and-family test run Monday night and a soft opening on Tuesday, with full customer service shortly thereafter and a grand opening a couple of weeks down the line. (History lesson: The Box was established as the Band Box in 1948 and subsequently the Burger Box.)
Fans will also rejoice that Joiner has brought over the original grill from 17th Street, and that although the Seventh Streetstorefront still retains an odor of fresh paint and new furniture, Joiner has nonetheless also retained some elements of the former restaurant’s decor, including a part of the famous bumper-sticker collection. Hours are 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday-Friday. The telephone number is (501) 372-8735, which happens to be the number the restaurant had when it closed.
The
El Chico
restaurant, 1315 Breckenridge Drive at North Rodney Parham Road, Little Rock, has closed. The phone number, (501) 224-2550, has not yet been disconnected but there’s no answer. And no, we don’t know why. The 8409 Interstate 30 location, at Geyer Springs Road, remains open, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday; the telephone number is (501)562-3762.
In the Broadmoor Shopping Center space at 28th Street and University Avenue, Little Rock, that was most recently Simply Najiyyah’s Fishboat (and beforethat Aisha’s Fish, Chicken and BBQ , on back to an early life as a TCBY outlet), brown paper covers all the windows and the street-side sign now proclaims a pending
Shipley’s Donuts
- No word yet on whether it’s a new franchise or an existing one moving to that location. We’ll keep you posted.
Scott McGehee confirms that he and restaurant partner John Beachboard are looking to open a second
Big Orange
location, presumably somewhere in Midtown, possibly near the big, newish Target. “The people of Midtown have been harassing us about opening a Big Orange closer to their rooftops,” he says; “We’re kind of open to anything - Hillcrest, Heights, Midtown - we’re just looking for the best opportunity rightnow.” However, he says, his first priority is getting
Local Lime
open in the Promenade at Chenal, 17815 Chenal Parkway, Little Rock, a couple of doors down from the original Big Orange; construction has begun (sure enough, the paperrecently carried a notice on a $255,000 building permit); target date for that is now Oct. 10, “give or take a month,” McGehee says.
And speaking of the Promenade at Chenal,
Ya Ya’s Euro Bistro, which closed June 27 after a fire started in a cooking vent exhaust system and then spread to the roof, reopened Monday with a limited menu while repairs continue to the roof and ventilation system. Damage estimates range between $5,000 and $10,000. The phone number is (501) 821-1144; the restaurant’s Facebook page: facebook.com/ pages/Ya-Yas-Euro-Bistro/ 111655944517?ref=ts.
Last Friday was the last Friday for
Main Street Food Truck Fridays, a project of the Downtown Little Rock Partnership; it’ll be taking a break until sometime in September, just ahead of the second Main Street Food Truck Festival, Oct. 6.
Carson Runnells, formerly of
Early Bird, 5923 Kavanaugh Blvd., Little Rock, now
The Heights Cafe, called in last week to insist thathe wasn’t, after all, fired, but left with other members of the staff after owner Dong Ryeol Lee returned from a vacation and told them he was planning to close the place down. Runnells says he had spent a lot of time and effort cleaning the place up after Seoul closed and worked for several months for free, especially since he had trouble hiring a daytime cook. He says he pressured Lee to issue final checks to him, his co-employee girlfriend and several other staff members, whereupon they packed up (including the hand-painted Early Bird sign), dumped anything he had already prepared from the kitchen and departed the premises.
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, 121 E. Capitol Ave., Little Rock, Ark. 72201. Send e-mail to:
Weekend, Pages 30 on 07/05/2012
