Permits are in and soft opens are underway at the new Ceci’s Chicken and Waffles location at 6606 Colonel Glenn Rd. in Little Rock. Owner Ciceley McDowell is sticking to her June 11 grand opening, but the restaurant does appear to be holding soft openings for lunch this week. When it officially opens, Ceci’s will be open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and close a bit earlier on Sundays. Ceci’s Chicken and Waffles originally started in North Little Rock and immediately gained a cult following to its 13th Street location. McDowell relocated the business to Conway after being open for just a year. She spent almost two years there before bringing the restaurant back to her hometown this month.
It’s been almost a week now that the new Taste of Jamaica opened its doors on Rodney Parham Road, and the response appears to be overwhelming. The restaurant has seen long wait times and high demand for its dishes, which include some firsts for the Little Rock area. Menu items like ackee and saltfish, hard dough bread, and curry and jerk chicken are new additions to the city’s food scene. Taste of Jamaica is open Monday through Saturday for lunch and dinner with a break in between shifts; on Friday and Saturday, the restaurant stays open until midnight. It’s located at 10014 Rodney Parham, just a block east of Terri-Lynn’s BBQ and Deli.
This came out just over a week ago, but Little Rock’s own Ben Bell has accepted a new job as Director of Content for the Sake Brewers Association of North America. Bell spent a couple of years in Japan training to brew sake and had been looking for a location to build his own sake brewery here in Central Arkansas. For now, he will still work out of Little Rock, though he anticipates relocating at some point in 2019. The Sake Brewers Association of North America works to advance sake through educating consumers and promoting sake brewers on this side of the Pacific Ocean.
Heifer International is holding a three-day celebration of farmers in Arkansas and of its own 75th birthday this weekend. On Thursday, Heifer is hosting the third annual Urban Farm Fest from 7 p.m. until 10 p.m. at Heifer International headquarters. Food trucks, beverages and plenty of lawn games are on the agenda. Then on Friday, Heifer is hosting its annual Feast in the Field tradition, which is sold out. And Saturday morning features a goat yoga session, which is also sold out. There are still tickets available for Urban Farm Fest. Heifer says it will move the party indoors all three days if rain becomes a problem.
Atlas Bar in SoMa is becoming a hot spot for live Jazz music. In addition to their weekly Tuesday night Jazz series, they also announced this week that they will be the host venue for the Arkansas Jazz Heritage Foundation’s annual fundraiser on June 17th. The event is billed as an “intimate jazz concert with special sit-ins”. Headlining the event is Grammy-nominated vocalist Roseanna Vitro and will feature several additional Jazz artists. Tickets are $20.
If you haven’t tried it yet, you owe it to yourself to pay a visit to WunderHaus Restaurant in Conway. Check out our story of this amazing little eatery and its fierce devotion to supporting local farmers.
And Buffalo Brewing Company is relocating its brewery operations. Take a look at their plans and the rest of the week’s beer news in this week’s edition of Growlers.
RIP Damgoode Pies
November 20, 2023
