Flavors of Northwest Arkansas

KYYA Chocolate- Rick Boosey

On this edition of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas podcast, we’re talking CHOCOLATE and all sorts of stories with KYYA Founder Rick Boosey, but first in Food News:
Zelli Pasta is now... a deli? Yes, hear about Zelli deli from one of the owners.
House 1830 is celebrating the Lunar New Year, and you can too.
Another longtime Fayetteville bar will be shutting its doors.
It’s Bentonville Restaurant Week!
Get your tickets now to the AACF Soup Sunday!
Rick Boosey started KYYA Chocolate after a trip to Uganda where he saw how underprivileged kids in an orphanage were living. He’s a serial entrepreneur and decided that was how he was going to help that orphanage.
Among other things, cacao (or cocoa beans) is a natural resource in Uganda, and that’s how KYYA Chocolate was born. But it wasn’t that simple- Rick had to learn to make chocolate and YouTube videos weren’t cutting it.
Speaking of KYYA Chocolate, how did they come up with that name?
After many tries, they started making good chocolate. Hear who bought Rick’s first order and for how much!
Rick has made several trips to source cacao straight from the farmers to cut out the middleman, and in doing so, has had some close calls and harrowing experiences in South America. He tells those stories.
KYYA went from making 25 chocolate bars in a week to having over 300 items and making 5,000 items in a day. Hear about that progression.
Rick talks about learning from missteps and even a funny story about buying barcodes from barcodes.com... or eBay (we think).
So much storytelling, and you’ll hear it on this episode of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas.

Stonebreaker Hotel- Chef Tyler Rogers

On this week’s edition of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas podcast, we’re at the soon-to-open Stonebreaker Hotel in Fayetteville where they have already opened for restaurant dinner service and we talk to Executive Chef Tyler Rogers. I had a GREAT interview with him and can’t wait for you to hear it!
In food news:
Café Rue Orleans celebrates 24 years. Co-owner Maudie Schmitt re-lives the final moments before they opened back then.
After soft opening for a week, TOCA held their grand opening in downtown Springdale yesterday.
Osaka House will soon be opening in Fayetteville, according to the Fayetteville Flyer.
Los Compas Margarita Town opens in Rogers.
A new pop-up is kicking off tonight at Arsaga’s Mill District from Rabbit Hole NWA.
Tyler Rogers is from south Arkansas, and it was a book that carved the course for his professional life... He was a fry cook in high school for gas-money and between then and now, he’s worked at a couple of 3-Michelin Star restaurants, and a single star Michelin restaurant where he became sous chef, and that helped define what he does today.
Tyler’s fried catfish, made edible balloons, had a night where each course was based on a Wes Anderson Movie and much more... He’s Big on creativity, and so is his menu.
Listen to Chef Tyler Rogers right here on the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas!

Ozark Culinary History- Chef Erin Rowe

On this week’s edition of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas Podcast, we have the definitive storyteller of Ozark Culinary History on with us, and she’s a very gifted storyteller at that, her name is Chef Erin Rowe.
But first in Food News, we talk about the soft opening of Toca in downtown Springdale. General Manager Samantha Chavez will give us the rundown of what kind of restaurant they are. We also have an update on former Proof restaurant Lasang Pinoy as they plan to open in their new place soon. Finally, congrats to the Botanical team, as they've added to their portfolio. We’ll explain.
They say that a cat lives 9 lives. Chef Erin Rowe is living all 9 right now once you see what she’s done and what she’s doing.
From teaching, to selling art, to culinary school, to singing, to giving food tours- we get to it all with a special focus on Ozark Culinary History, where she wrote what’s basically textbook for it, titled: An Ozark Culinary History: Northwest Arkansas Traditions from Corn Dodgers to Squirrel Meatloaf.
She tells us some of her favorite stories, interviews and recipes from the book- she’s such a great storyteller that I got lost on my questions a few times as I got completely sucked in. You will too, and we’ll hear from her next here on the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas...
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Sassafras Springs Vineyard & Winery - Co-owner Cheryl Long and General Manager Drew Gorton

Happy New Year!!! Welcome to 2025, and thanks for listening to our first podcast of the year, we appreciate you being here!
I know that there are folks out there that are kicking off the year with a dry January, and we wish you all the success... However, here at the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas, we toast to the New Year with Sassafras Springs Vineyard and Winery... we’ll talk with them in a minute.
But first- Food News!
Wanted to start with the Yankabilly Smokehouse- the former food truck at the Boardwalk in Springdale is now open inside Mothership on Emma. They’ve been up and going for 3 weeks and co-owner Aaron Kemper told me that they have some big plans for the spring, and it might involve their outdoor stage.
2025 will also be bringing some new restaurants and concepts to our area, and there are plenty that we’re excited about:
We kick it off with the Handshake coming to South College in Fayetteville. It’s one of the 2 concepts coming from the Conifer team this year.. Former Conifer GM Hope Ray is a Fayetteville native and will be at the helm for this one. Just like Conifer, the menu will be gluten-free and have a heavy emphasis on being locally sourced. It will also have a market with locally sourced meat, veggies and more. The building is taking on a significant remodel, so it will take some time.
The other concept from Conifer was announced a month ago, RYN. It’ll be in Bentonville, and will be a farm-to-table tasting menu restaurant in a renovated farmhouse right next to their farm. They also plan to have events on their surrounding land.
Yeyo’s Executive Chef and Owner Rafael Rios got busier in 2024 as he became part-owner in downtown Springdale’s Bauhaus Biergarten... He’ll get even busier this year, as he’ll be opening Casa Magnolia directly across Allen Street from Bauhaus. According to their website, outside of the café, they’ll have a Two Friends Community Book kiosk, art, coffee, clubs, ice cream and more... We’ll let you know when we hear about a grand opening date.
Bentonville Chinese Restaurant Wu Zhao is projected to open later this month. It’ll be owned by Blu Fresh Fish Marketplace’s Barry Furuseth, Vincent Yao Lim, who’s executive chef and known as the Wolf of WOK Street in Australia with millions of social media followers, and former champion of Netflix’s Zumbo’s Just Desserts, Catherine Zhang. We talked with them on November 13th, if you want to hear that episode. They’ll be opening next door to Mezzaluna in downtown Bentonville.
Sadly, yesterday was the final day of service for Mermaids in their current location in Fayetteville. I did receive confirmation yesterday that they’re still targeting April for their opening date at their new location... still no confirmation yet on the location but will let you know once it’s set.
Sassafras Springs Vineyard and Winery is many things... a winery, a wedding venue, a retail space, a restaurant, a place to stay and more, but it certainly didn’t start out that way.
Co-owner Cheryl Long and GM Drew Gorton detail for us the journey to what it is today. They’re mother and son of a family-run business, and that cast continues to grow.
They have some wines that have won impressive awards in some of the biggest competitions in the US. How did they learn to make wine? You’ll hear that story.
Equally as important, how do they bottle it? They started off bottling by hand. It’s been an evolution for sure, and they recently made a huge investment in it.
Finally, we ask all of our guests what their last 24 hours was like- they had a great, albeit frazzling story!
Listen wherever you listen to podcasts!

2024 Year-End Edition; My Favorite Segments

What a year 2024 was! In this edition of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas podcast, we check out my favorite segments of 2024. As you might imagine, we couldn’t fit to all the stories and episodes, as we had over 40 interviews this year!
That said, you’ll hear from chefs, bakers, brewers and owners as they talk about building out their dreams, and the roads taken to get there.
If you’re into giving Christmas presents this year, you don’t even have to wrap mine- just like and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.
Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you all. See you in 2025!

Smokin' Oak Wood-Fired Pizza and Taproom- Ben Roberts

On this week’s edition of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas podcast, we’re in Uptown Fayetteville at Smokin Oak Pizza interviewing the proprietor Ben Roberts as we were surrounded by the self-pour tap-wall there... we’ll get into it in a sec, but first, food news!!
The folks that own and operate Tusk & Trotter and Brother’s Meethouse are hosting their 14th annual Christmas Eve free community brunch. Of course, it’s happening on December 24th from 10am to 2pm at Tusk and Trotter in downtown Rogers and at Brother’s Meethouse in Bentonville.
Some big news for Grow NWA recently. Microgreen Queen Katie Helams of Grow NWA now offers a monthly microgreen subscription for only $20. You can see all about it at their beautiful new website, grow-dash-nwa.com. They’re also always stocked at Bentonville Provisions and at the Turnbuckle Farmstand in Bentonville.
A few new winter/holiday cocktail menus are out. Mezzaluna Pasteria in downtown Bentonville is one of them, and I’m eyeing the Boozy Hot Chocolate- it has Callebaut whole bean roasted Belgian dark chocolate, Grand Marnier, and Averna cinnamon whipped cream (yum). It comes garnished with Markham & Fitz artisanal chocolate shavings and a vanilla toasted marshmallow.
Black Apple in Springdale also has one, and I’m looking at a drink called Reindeer Games- it has gin, licor 43, orange, and cranberry juniper cider. Also eyeing that Irish coffee.
And finally, Episode 3 of Bien the Know came out Sunday and comes out every month on the 15th. If you’re not familiar with it, Bienvenue Owner and Executive Chef William Mauk and I interview someone on a topic and Chef Will also answers recipe questions from you. You can email him at chef@bienvenuerestaurant.com. This month, we talked with Chef Carrie Burse from Bentonville Provisions about kitchen items that actually work and make great holiday gifts. You have 2 chefs giving you their 2 cents on this! Check out Bien the Know, available wherever you get podcasts...
And now to Smokin Oak Pizza. Owner Ben Roberts has had several businesses over the years and also works in the marketing and tech sectors, but as a kid, he started in the restaurant business and did it into college.
When looking for a new venture, he went back to his roots and got back into the restaurant business and he’ll tell us why, and why he picked pizza.
They opened after covid and felt the effects of it while working to get the restaurant built out. There was some quick pivoting that had to be done.
And they’re Arkansas’ first legal self-pour tap wall. In fact, they helped get a bill passed so that they could be Arkansas’ first self-pour tap wall after a mix-up with the powers-that-be. It’s quite the story, check it out!

Rein Sushi & Hibachi- Reiner Wibowo, Averie Mattix, and Bari Abe

On this week’s edition of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas podcast, we’re in Springdale where we interviewed the 3 owners of Rein Sushi & Hibachi. We’ll talk to Raynor, Bari and Avery shortly, but first...
Food News!!
Some big food news came down yesterday. James Beard nominated Chef Matthew Cooper and the folks at Conifer announced a new endeavor on Monday night- It’s called RYN! It will be a farm-to-table tasting menu restaurant, and like Conifer, it’ll be gluten-free. Also like Conifer, they’ll support local farmers and purveyors, providing fresh, and sustainable ingredients.
If you listened to Conifer’s podcast with us in March, you heard Chef Cooper break the news that they’d have their own farm soon. Well, that farm will be right outside the back door, and they’ll be growing much of their own food right on the farm. They also hope to provide community events and much more.
It’s set to open next year. We’ll have more info as it becomes available and catch up with Chef Cooper next year.
The Ozark Beer Company’s release of its heralded Bourbon Double Cream Stout, or BDCS, went live Monday, and as of last night, they were still selling it on their website. It’s a smaller run this year, so it won’t last long. You can pick up your orders in their taproom starting December 28th.
There are few things I like more than fun food & Bev promotions, and one smacked me RIGHT across the face the other day on Instagram. Black Apple Hard Cider is having a Short Girl Appreciation night, where they’ll short your tab 10% if you’re a female under 5-foot-2... it runs from 5-10pm on Tuesday December 21st... don’t forget, they have a full cocktail program now to go along with some of the country’s best cider.
Speaking of cocktails, if you’re in the Siloam area, Park House Kitchen & Bar has come out with their holiday cocktail menu! That Peppermint Mocha White Russian and Smores Old Fashioned have my attention. Check it out on their social media...
Now to Rein Sushi & Hibachi... to be so young, what a past these folks have. There are 3 owners, Reiner Wibowo, Averie Mattix and Bari Abe, and they’re super-tight.
Reiner and Bari are both originally from Indonesia but met in Harrison, Arkansas, where they both met Averie and started a popular business there that they’ll talk about.
Later, they got the itch to open in an area where they liked to go on their off days, Northwest Arkansas.
This is their 2nd business here, but the first one was purposefully short-lived, while they were looking for a place to set up their dream business...
By the way, there are some unique menu items that we get to the bottom of!
Check out Reiner, Averie and Bari on this edition of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas!

Lady Slipper- Arturo Solis

Hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving.... and welcome to the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas podcast. I’m John Engleman, thanks for listening.
Today, we’re up in Bentonville at Lady Slipper talking to Chef Arturo Solis. But before we get to that? Food news!
We’re starting to see some winter menus pop up around NWA. Case-in-point, House 1830 in Rogers came out with theirs yesterday. Check out their social media to see a new menu item- curry lobster stir-fry! If you have a place with a new menu coming out, shoot me a note on social media or email. Would love to see it.
Speaking of new menus, Con Pilas Coffeehaus in Springdale has one, that’s for sure. They started their cocktail program this week. We’ll hear about it from co-owner Juan Dove.
Park House Kitchen & Bar in Siloam will now be closed on the first Monday of every month for maintenance. Plan accordingly!
The Lady Slipper in downtown Bentonville opened in late October of 2022, and chef Arturo Solis has been involved since the beginning.
He’s originally from Miami and was in the family business before he decided that he would end up cooking for a living. He’ll tell you what that business was, and I certainly wasn’t expecting it!
And what was it that made him decide for a life in the culinary world? Probably not what you’d think.
We talk menu at the Lady Slipper and how his influences cover a sizeable spectrum with limited kitchen space and a small menu.
Please like and subscribe if you like what you hear!

The Feral Pig- Julie Sill

Happy Thanksgiving and welcome to another edition of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas podcast. Appreciate you being here.
Today, we catch up with Julie Sill. You know her from owning and operating a few legendary Dickson Street spots from back in the day, Common Grounds and the Hog Haus Brewery in Fayetteville.
She’s back and opening a new spot. More on that in a second.
A few quick things first.
If you’re in need of a free Thanksgiving meal on Thursday, I’ve posted a list of places that are serving them on Instagram and Facebook. Just look for the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas.
Secondly, some very important dates were announced yesterday (Tuesday, November 26th) for any and all beer nerds out there. The good folks at the Ozark Beer Company announced that they’ll be releasing their vaunted BDCS during the last week of the year!
For those that don’t know, that is the Bourbon Double Cream Stout. People come in from out of state for this release. It’s been rated World Class by Beer Advocate, it’s and it’s right here in our own back yard! We’ll get a history lesson on it from Lacie Bray and Marty Shutter of Ozark Beer Company. Hear what you’ll be able to get and when!
By the way, if you want to hear the Ozark Beer podcast, scroll back to April 17th. It has some great stories! Also, head to Ozark Beer Company’s social media to see the message from owners Lacie and Andy about the release.
Now. Back to the Feral Pig... Julie Sill came to the UofA on a soccer scholarship. A knee injury ended her soccer career, and she needed to figure out what to do next. While she was doing that, she waited tables. She worked her way up. She found a correlation between the restaurant business and soccer, and that’s what sucked her in. She’ll tell you what that is.
She worked her way into management and was soon running a restaurant for someone else. It didn’t take long before she had her own restaurant at the age of 21! She’ll tell that story and how she got Common Grounds off the ground.
Later, she’d own and run the Hog Haus Brewery and wait until you hear the sweetheart deal that she got! Health would force her to get out of the business and head home to Maryland, but Fayetteville pulled her back, and now she’s launching a new spot.
Sidenote- there are a few spots in here where adult language is used, so beware!
We’ll hear from Julie Sill, next here on the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas.    

Theo's (Fayetteville & Rogers), East Side Grill, Southern Food Co., and Tusker's Tavern- Todd & Marti Martin

On this week’s edition of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas podcast, we talk with Todd and Marti Martin. They own Theo’s in Fayetteville and Rogers, the East Side Grill, Tuskers Tavern and the Southern Food Company, which was their first restaurant.
Before that interview, we hear from Odd Soul owner Jeffro Brown about something that they have going on this week. On Thursday, they’ll be starting campaigns to pre-buy pizzas for those in the area that aren’t as fortunate. They’ll also be hosting a fundraiser to help erase one school’s lunch debt.  Again, it happens tomorrow, Thursday November 21st from 5 to 9 at the Odd Soul in downtown Springdale.
And there’s something going on tonight (if you’re listening to this on Wednesday, November 20th)! Callisto in Bentonville is having their grand opening from 4 to 11pm. 10% of all proceeds will go to Gather to Scatter- a non-profit committed to gathering community resources and extending them to those in need. Would absolutely recommend getting reservations as it’s already a very popular place!
Now back to Marti and Todd Martin. They’re retirees, but they’re not old. In fact, they might be busier now than they were before retiring.
They met at the UofA, got married and had 3 girls. They’ll talk about their professional careers and how they ended up back in Fayetteville.
And why the restaurant business? The answer may not be what you think.
As their first restaurant, how did they get the Southern Food Company off the ground with no restaurant experience? They’ll talk about that.
Todd and Marti bought both Theo’s locations and the East Side Grill during Covid. How and why?? There’s a pretty good answer.
Finally, why did they open Tuskers Tavern right behind East Side Grill?
Some fun stories with Todd and Marti Martin, next, here on the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas!