Flavors of Northwest Arkansas

John talks about how you can win tickets to BITE NWA. Also, BITE NWA announced their lineup last week of who all will be participating, we talk about some of them, and that includes some that haven’t opened yet! You’ll be able to try them out before they even open their doors. Also, you’ll find out where to park this year, where to go, and of course, where the party is.
We talk with Tatum Murray of BITE NWA next on this bonus edition of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas podcast!

On this week’s edition of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas podcast, we have a story of perseverance as we interview Junto Executive Chef, Donovan Johnson. That’s a man who’s been through a lot, but before we get to him?!?!
FOOD NEWS!!
Botanical Live in Fayetteville has now turned into two different spots that have two different themes. We’ll hear from one of the others, @fnoway
The Barber opens Friday!
The Fox Trail Distillery is transitioning their tasting room. We’ll tell you what they’ll be doing
You can now take Stoic Brews home!
Greenhouse Aleworks has their new home in downtown Rogers.
Speaking of downtown Rogers, happy anniversary to Tusk & Trotter’s second location!
The doors are open at Blue Ember Smokehouse in Rogers! We’ll hear from GM Chance Sneathern.
Keep your eyes out- WE HAVE BITE NWA tickets! We’ll be telling you how to win them this week!
The Collective in Fayetteville soft opens with entrée’s tonight.
Los Compas Margaritatown is selling their food truck.
KDK’s Chicken and Waffles are moving into a brick and mortar.
Folklore Ice Cream grand opened in the Fayetteville Square.
Junto Sushi opened in the Motto Hotel in Bentonville a year ago, almost to the day. Chef Donovan Johnson has been there from the start, and it was a hard road for him to get there. VERY hard. It was a road paved with addiction, rehab, relapses, and cooking around northwest Arkansas... One of his earliest jobs in his teens in Mountain Home might have been his most important. It helped shape his professional cooking preference and through it all, he never lost sight of it or let it go. That’s one of the many things that helped get him to where he is today.
He talks about it in detail, and the scare that sparked his turnaround. How did a guy from Mountain Home who had always cooked in Fayetteville gain the favor of a James Beard Award winning chef that has worked in a Michelin-star restaurant? We hear from Junto Executive Chef Donovan Johnson next, here on the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas.

In this week’s edition of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas podcast, we’re talking with Chef William Mauk of Bienvenue in downtown Springdale which will flip into a new restaurant VERY soon, but before we do?!?!
FOOD NEWS!!
We hear about the new champagne bar @Muselet.nwa in Bentonville from its owner
Time’s running out to try your hand at the Miracle League burger competition. You could get a golden ticket to the World Food Championships!
Top Chef NWA will be at the Walmart AMP!
Arsaga’s Mill District has sold. We’ll tell you what’s coming.
An update from Wrights BBQ about their Johnson location.
Folklore Ice Cream opens on the Fayetteville Square soon!
An update on Confident Coffee’s soon-to-be Fayetteville location.
Bienvenue has been in operation in downtown Springdale for almost 2 years now, and in less than a month, will be something else as Owner & Executive Chef Will Mauk will be flipping the format, and he’ll explain why and what it’s going to be... Also. He’s involved in a few other things, like the launch of Goat Lab Red at the former Renzo’s in Fayetteville on Garland, and he’s one of the esteemed chefs for the Cobblestone Farms 2025 Cultivating Community Fundraiser dinner... He’ll tell us all about it next, here, on the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas.

In this week’s edition of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas podcast, we’re at Casa Alejo in downtown Rogers, where we hear great stories from the Mayorga family, but first!?!
FOOD NEWS!!
There’s a new date and new location for this year’s Top Chef NWA, benefitting the Rogers Public Library Foundation.
Chuo Izakaya will be opening soon in Rogers. It’s owned by Meiji’s Darwin Beyer, who will tell us when he plans to open it!
Cura Culinary will finally be back soon! We’ll tell you where and hear from them!
Bienvenue will be flipping formats. We’ll tell you what’s coming in its place!
Wildberry Smoothie Company opened Monday in Fayetteville.
There’s a new Asian buffet at the old Eat My Catfish spot in Fayetteville. We’ll tell you about Osaka House!
Savory Hibachi will open soon on MLK in Fayetteville!
The work is done at the Springdale Pool Lounge. Owner Ross Jackson will tell us when it opens!
Thai Cuisine in Bentonville looks to have closed.
Remember, if you have a food news tip, just shoot it to me at the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas social media, or at FlavorsOfNWA@gmail.com!!
Casa Alejo is a family restaurant run by brothers that grew up in the family business. Originally from San Luis Potosi in Mexico, the family emigrated to Searcy to work in the restaurant business.
Brothers Said and Luis Mayorga had their first restaurant together in their adopted hometown of Searcy, and let’s just say that it didn’t go as planned, you’ll hear why. Of course, with age comes wisdom and the brothers will tell you their path to opening the first Casa Alejo in downtown Springdale and then Rogers. It’s quite the ride, including the torn-up road on Emma RIGHT when they opened!!
Also, they’ll talk about family recipes and what the elders thought about birria, and Said’s fascination with finding places on and off-menu for waffle fries. It’s a funny story, but there’s also a good reason behind it.
Finally- are they done, or are there more Casa Alejo’s on the horizon?
We’ll talk with Said, Luis and Kacey Mayorga next, here on the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas.

Bentonville Restaurant Week officially starts on Sunday. We caught up with Visit Bentonville’s Natalie Stika to find out more on this bonus edition of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas.
Learn how you can win free gift cards to some of Bentonville’s favorite restaurants and we highlight some of the deals that are going on for the week! Natalie’s got the deets.
Also? John shares his favorite deal, and it’s the most GenX thing ever! Be sure to check out VisitBentonville.com to see the latest list of offers and get out and support local! As always, Tip you servers!!!

In this week’s edition of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas podcast, we interview at the oldest restaurant in Benton County, Wesner’s Grill, where talked to owners Jack Debner and Brandy Moreland, but before we hear from them?!?!
FOOD NEWS!!
If you can make a burger, you have a chance to compete with it at the World Food Championships!
UnDeuxTrois has opened in Rogers!
There’s a new buffet serving all-you-can-eat sushi. They’re also serving all-you-can-eat freshly shucked oysters, crab legs and mussels on the weekends!
Great Harvest NWA is now open in Bentonville.
Happy 9th anniversary to Bucks Emma Tap. The party is ON this weekend!
Wesner’s Grill is indeed the oldest restaurant in Benton County, as they celebrate 70 years this year. Harry Wesner founded it on Walnut Street in 1955, and it’s had many ownership changes as well as a location change since. That said, it’s always been in downtown Rogers and maintained its charm and strong reputation. We’ll talk about its history and the history of its current location, as well as the menu – classic American diner food. That’s in this week’s edition of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas.

On this week’s Flavors of Northwest Arkansas podcast, we sit down with Onyx Co-Owner Andrea Allen at the new Onyx in downtown Springdale, but first?!?
FOOD NEWS!!
It’s Tontitown Grape Festival Week! We’ll tell you when you can get those famous spaghetti dinners!
An update about Wright’s Barbecue’s Johnson location from Jordan Wright himself!
We have a BIG update on the Fermentary Public House in Lowell!
A popular cafein Devil’s Den is temporarily closed.
It’s finally that time for Nomad’s Southtown.
Great Harvest is about to open in Bentonville.
The Barber Bar in Bentonville is making big progress and might open this month!
Coffee has been a passion for Onyx owners Jon and Andrea Allen for a long time. They worked together at Arsaga’s in Fayetteville not even having an inkling of what they would build together. Andrea would eventually manage a few Arsaga’s coffee shops, where she would learn the business side of the trade, and then she and Jon would get an offer that they just couldn’t refuse.
That’s when Onyx was born. Speaking of Onyx, Andrea will tell us about the name and why it fit what they were building. Also, you’ll hear her talk about their growth through the years and what’s coming. She’ll also tell the story of why their cafe Hail Fellow Well Met has such a special place in her heart. It’s a great story. Also a great story? How hospitality runs deep in her family. She’s got a few stories about that, and you’ll hear them here, on the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas.  

In this bonus edition of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas Podcast, we talk with the 126th Tontitown Grape Festival Chair Clint Engle as he and his team are ramping up this year’s edition that kicks off tomorrow (Tuesday, August 5, 2025).
He’ll go over some of the highlights, like live entertainment (which includes the Bellamy Brothers and Walker Montgomery) and food (the famous spaghetti dinners, grape ice cream, and more).
You can also win a Ford Bronco Sport- Clint has all the details on this special edition of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas podcast.

In this week’s edition of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas podcast, we talk to Elliot Hunt, co-owner and executive chef of Atlas the Restaurant in Fayetteville. We’ll talk to chef Elliot in a second but first?!?!
FOOD NEWS!
We have a LOADED Food News segment today, so pack a lunch because here we go!
The Ropeswing Hospitality Group announces three food and beverage programs for the Compton Hotel in downtown Bentonville.
We find out how much spaghetti is made for the Tontitown Grape Festival.
Great Harvest Bakery & Café opens soon in Bentonville.
Onyx Coffee lab opens a new location in Fayetteville.
A new coffee shop is about to open in Highfill. We’ll tell you about Kaleidoscope Café.
The Johnson location of Wright’s BBQ is having construction delays. We’ll tell you when they’re aiming to re-open.
Smith & Betts BBQ is opening a second location. We’ll tell you where!
Sugar Llamas is closed in Springdale, but they’re about to open at a new location.
Pizzeria Ruby is holding delicious fundraiser next month and we’ll tell you all about it.
Speaking of Pizzeria Ruby, they’re opening a new location in Bentonville called Pizza Lottie.
A Parisian-inspired café will open soon in Rogers. You’ll hear about Un Deux Trois Café
Fayetteville’s Wildberry Smoothie Co. opens soon, and they do more than smoothies!
Fuego Tortilla Grill is coming to Fayetteville.
If you have any food news or want us to check into something, just shoot us a note on Instagram or Facebook at Flavors of Northwest Arkansas or email us at FlavorsofNWA@Gmail.com.
Elliot Hunt got into cooking by accident, and it’s taken him all over the country and globe. From working in kitchens in France, Ecuador, Australia and Chicago (and that’s just for starters), the Fayetteville-raised chef never stops learning and never stops travelling.
In this episode, we hear stories from both long and short kitchen tenures both stateside and abroad. What was it like working for a Michelin star chef in France as an 18-year-old? What was it that kept him in Chicago so long? And why did he decide to come back home to Fayetteville? We talk to Elliot Hunt of Atlas the Restaurant on this edition of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas.

In this week’s edition of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas podcast, we’re up in Rogers at the Uptown Kitchen and Taphouse talking with Co-owner/Operator Seth McDaniel... but before we hear from him?!?!
FOOD NEWS!!
72 restaurants are participating in Fayetteville Restaurant Week.
We’ll tell you how Black Apple Hard Cider is celebrating their 10th birthday on Sunday.
The Fayetteville Farmer’s Market will have a Watermelon Fest soon.
Happy first year anniversary to the Leroy! We’ll tell you how and when they’ll be celebrating it.
Nomad’s Southtown will be open a bit longer.
The newest Slim Chickens has opened at their first location. We’ll explain.
Someone tried to make Richard’s Country Meat Market a drive-thru this weekend.
Seth McDaniel was an information systems consultant for Hitachi for years. It kept him on the road constantly, and he got tired watching his kids grow up on a webcam, so he got out. What led him to wanting to open a kitchen and taphouse? It’s an interesting story and has everything to do with his travels.
Seth had zero restaurant or bar experience, other than sitting on the other side of it, so he bought into a chain that was different. VERY different. In fact, it was only an unproven concept at the time. It included 100 beers on tap, and he ended up being one of the flagships for the chain, until he broke away from that chain. He’ll talk about that process and how he was able to do it.
That’s how Uptown Kitchen and Taphouse was born. Seth will talk about its growth, and HIS growth in the restaurant business. In many cases, he had to learn the hard way and he talks about it next, here on the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas.