Wednesday, July 28, 2010
It's an end of an era: Browning's is closed
Posted by Lindsey Millar on Wed, Jul 28, 2010 at 12:18 PM
"We closed because we were operating with significant losses," said David Ashmore, who purchased the restaurant from the Phelan family in 2007 with partners Richard Harrison and Wally Roland (Harrison left the partnership after the first year). "We're trying to regroup."
Which includes courting potential partners and buyers, Ashmore said.
Opened for more than 60 years, Browning's was one of the city's oldest restaurants and the first to bring Tex-Mex to Little Rock. Even as tastes evolved, the restaurant's menu barely changed, which earned Browning's a rabid following that seemed to be deeply informed by nostalgia. If you grew up eating Browning's, you probably adored it. If you were one of us who didn't, the appeal was mystifying.
Katherine Wyrick explored "The Browning's paradox" in the Times back in 2008.
If nostalgia was the fuel that powered Browning's — that's my theory — then it had to run empty at some point, right?
- Kat Robinson
- Kat Robinson
PS — Extended discussion on Browning's also on Arkansas Blog.
Comments (46)
Showing 1-46 of 46
I'll tell you what killed Brownings. The new owners changed the menu and not for the better! Even the "old stuff" was altered until it no longer resembled the "original."
How stupid do you have to be to alter a menu that had been packing the people in for over 50 years?
"Golden Goose Killer" should be the caption under this guy's mug shot. Five generations of my family ate there - until about a year or so ago. There's a special place in Hell for people who screw up this badly.
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One of my fondest memories will be dinner at Brownings with my mother, sister and greandmother. We had to wait until my grandfather was out of town to go because he thought the whole place smelled like onions. What would childhood in 07 be without Browning's red punch?!
I'm crushed. Best salsa in Little Rock. My favorite was the Nooner Special. Friendly, stable, appreciative staff. Lots of memories all the way back to teenage days of roaming the Heights on Saturdays and the old Heights Theatre. And Moses Melody Shop. Feels like a best friend just left town without even saying goodbye. Damn.
No offense to the Browning's fans, but I won't weep at this news. Two of the worst restaurant meals I've had in my life were the two times I ate at Browning's. There are too many good places to get Mexican/Tex-Mex in LR, and thanks to The Times there's now a handy guide to the taco trucks and (I suspect) even more authentic food.
Where can you get Tex-Mex these days? I'm not a fan of authentic Mexican and I seem to be running out of Tex-mex options
I've got to say, I've been going there for 40 years and it is not the same place. It has turned into a neighborhood dive as a neighbor said to me. The food has changed, the wait staff is very nice but look as though they have been out all night and were very unprofessional. The management stood at the front door with the door wide open for over 4 minutes talking to someone with the AC flying out the door and the hot coming in while we were waiting on a table. Management stands at the bar talking to patrons in the front room as though no one else was there. Chips stale. Did any management realize we weren't there to eat at their idea of a great place to go get a beer? We were going to our Brownings. The place had a smell to it that Brownings never had. It was run as though a teenager was running it and had better things to do.
I enjoyed the changes...and look forward to the ones to come..it was dog food from the get go. The best thing that happened to that roach infested hell hole were the new owners. Im afraid that dog was never meant to hunt for as long as it did.. Hats off to Ashmore for giving it a shot...most of you naysayers don't realize it would have been shut down years ago if these "boys" hadn't believed and revived it.. It was operating at a loss long before all of you felt so inclined to pass judgement and point the finger.. maybe the heights will get another bank! I never hear any of you pissing and moaning when everything we grew up with turns into a motor bank. maybe because most of you have financial interests in one or all of them.. well last time I checked mexican food and beer doesn't generate the revenues banks do...So hats off to you guys and thanks for prolonging the inevitable.
to bad so sad...get over it.
It's sad to see Brownings go but I'm not at all surprised. Management was obnoxious. Plain and simple. Yelling "Hi Hon" to every woman who walked in the door and loudly (very loudly) talking about changing the recipes to customers was off putting even in a casual atmosphere. Oh how I missed that vinegary quacamole salad with the Deluxe or Summer Plate. The cheese dip and hot sauce (calling it salsa is a sin) was total comfort. For some reason new chefs/owners always change the recipe (Remember the guy who bought El Cena Casa's dip, hot sauce and punch recipe? Yes he's gone too. It was never the same) and I guess that's life. There's going to be change. In the end though I stopped going there because of the Owner/Management.
El Cena Casa. Lawd, that's a name I haven't heard in a while. I remember going as a kid and listening to that piped in dreary 50s music punctuated with Doris Day and Gene Autry. If I close my eyes I can still hear the rattle of the AC and the scent of the cheese dip and chips.
Now that Browning's is finally kaput and Casa Bonita's long gone, where d'yall consider to be our Ark-Mex favorite? I'm kinda curious about this.
Kat, did you know that Mrs. King, owner of El Cena Casa, worked at Brownings for years before she opened El Cena? The recipes and menu were very much the same....
KAT: I was not aware of that, though it makes a lot of sense.
Let me start by saying, Brownings... VOM.
My mother LOVED Brownings and used to talk about how it was the Mexican food she grew up with in Little Rock. And then I would remind her that this was a time where there were NO Mexicans in Little Rock. Calling it Mexican food was an insult to Mexicans, calling it Southern food is an insult I take personally. Some may say it was Tex-Mex, but not even a Texan deserves that low blow.
I think it the new owners gave it a valiant effort, but frankly I have no idea how that restaurant was able to survive more than a year, much less 60. Again, a resounding VOM from me. I'm hoping this is the last time I'll have to be reminded of the few disgusting meals I was forced to eat there.
Since we are going down memory lane, does anyone else remember going to "Brownings El Patio" on University? Ah, the wishing well just inside the front door, the mounted marlin on the back wall and the warm tomato juice cocktail in that dark hushed atmosphere will forever hold loving memories. Okay, where DO I get Ark-Mex now?
wow, kick them when they are down! we are talking about people being out of business, about people being out of jobs, and a lifelong fixture to little rock being brought down... I personally know they ashmores, and half the wait staff and I am sorry for them. Perhaps the haters would like to see another bank go up on kavanaugh..........
We used to eat at El Patio all the time when I was a kid. We also ate at Casa Bonita after Sunday night youth group. I don't remember much about the food at either place. But I remember Casa Bonita had a guy in leiderhosen wander around the joint playing an accordion which I considered seriously weird even as a young person. He eventually became a lawyer here in town. Really.
Now, here's a place I really miss...Poncho's Villa. That lovely pepto-dysmal pink palace on Broadway in Rose City. Their chili rellenos are the best I've ever tasted, and they also did a stuffed fried jalapeno pepper dealie that would make you stand up and take notice. The salsa and cheese dip were pretty standard fare. The cook weighed about 80 pounds and would come out on breaks and smoke in the dining room. She certainly added to the atmosphere.
Kat, I'm trying to think of the best Tex-Mex left these days. Mexico Chiquito comes to mind, but I'm not very fond of the whole "Brown Glop, Cheese on Top" routine anymore. It seems like the real Mexican places still have the old standbys for those with less than adventurous tastes.
"CLOSED - I have been deported - Don Pablo"
Says a lot about owner/management to me. Not funny, cute or cool.
I for one am sorry to see Browning's close. For around 60 years, it had been my favorite Tex-Mex restaurant although we had not eaten there much recently because of menu changes and all the noisy TV screens. While the Heights shopping district looks nicer than ever with all the trees, it's gradually losing its local flavor. Besides Browning's, I especially miss Bud Hewitt's Heights Variety store and the Heights Theater. I guess the Browning's site would be ideal for yet another branch bank.
I totally agree with Rackensacker who I quoted below. They messed it up. We happen to eat there last night, unaware of the problems. When my husband ordered a beer he was told they could not sell alcohol anymore. Service was awful and food was not great. We had taken our granddaughers, but it just was not the same. Too Sad. I still miss the OLD BROWNINGS. Hope some good restaurant comes in. It is a good location.
I'll tell you what killed Brownings. The new owners changed the menu and not for the better! Even the "old stuff" was altered until it no longer resembled the "original."
How stupid do you have to be to alter a menu that had been packing the people in for over 50 years?
"Golden Goose Killer" should be the caption under this guy's mug shot. Five generations of my family ate there - until about a year or so ago. There's a special place in Hell for people who screw up this badly.
As someone who lives in the neighborhood, I'm scratching my head over some of these comments! For a couple of years before the current owners bought the place, Brownings was like a ghost town. You would go in there and nobody would be there. I don't know where all of you faithful regulars were then, but you were not eating there. I thought the place was much cleaner and livelier with the new ownership. It turned into a family friendly neighborhood pub. The food, well it was what it was. But it was not winning awards before it changed hands. Breakfast was pretty good. I liked the owners and appreciated that they gave it a shot. For the rest of you scathing critics, I hope it turns into a bank or antique store! So there!
When all is said and done, for me, remembrances of eating there in the 50's, begging Dad for a taste of the salsa (whew! Loved it from then on), Mr. and Mrs. Browning, "Mexican Bud" who used to throw us Friday nights after we got kicked out of the theater, routinely ordered a paper cup of "hot sauce" with three "soft tortillas" for 10 cents. Loitering out front. Being startled when Pulaski Heights guys would drive by throwing insults at us.
The then "old Heights" - yes, the variety store, Corder's Model Market, Joe's Hobby Shop, etc, etc. Guess more than anything it's the memories and good ones at that.
Browning's wasn't Mexican food. In fact, it was its own category, so comparisons with other Mexican restaurants are meaningless. I grew up with it and I love it. (I use the present tense because I have one last Saltillo Plate in my fridge, scored yesterday when I heard they were closing.) So, you either think I'm tasteless...or you're jealous. I don't care which. R.I.P. Brownings...
Remember Island X! So long ago Shakeys... Long live the legend of Brownings! Raw onion lives on!
By the way: What'll ya take for that cold Satillio Plate? Small quacolmole and cheese dip with it?
I didn't grow up in LR, so my only memory of Browning's is from last year. Reminds me of Pancho's in West Memphis (which, for some reason was always TONS better than the one in Jonesboro). Not exactly the same, but similar. Was it the best, most authentic food I've ever eaten? No, neither was Pancho's. But there was something about both that was quite satisfying in a way that "authentic" places can't fill.
Sorry to see you go Browning's.
To those who feel the need to take a dig at the food, Browning's was authentically its own. Maybe it was not your particulary brand of good, but get over yourselves with the insults. For many of us, Browning's represented something that is almost gone. A place that was unique, local and multigenerational. We never went to Browning's because it was the finest in 5-star dining. We went because the third table on the right in the left hand back room was ours. It was the place where we sat as a family. It was the place where lots of good memories were generated in a time when there were not a lot of those to be had. There is value in sentimental attachment that cannot be undone by "inauthentic mexican food" or bad management. Browning's is the last anchor in the old Heights of many of our childhoods. Given what the Heights is becoming, that is the real tragedy.
Like the food or not, nobody wants to see a business fail. Particularly one that has been around for generations. Whether it's because of the food, the management, the owners, the economy, or any number of reasons that a restaurant can go belly up, I am truly sorry.
Old Browning's was in a class of it's own, built on a seriously long, stable tradition. My own part of that tradition started when my wife and I first lived in LR back in the 70s. She usually had the Saltillo plate and I the two burritos, but I explored the menu from time to time. **Sure, there are now more authentic Mexican and Tex-Mex menus out there now, but it used to be either Brownings or Casa Bonita (or one fo the El Carne Gato places that may still be around in one form or another).** After we moved away from LR, our occasional visit back usually included a return to Browning's. It was dependable, nostalgic, and the little ladies remembered us.....for years and years. We moved back to LR in 2008 and it wasn't the same as our previous visit. I won't miss the new Browning's but the real Browning's will forever be on a pedestal in the Hall of Fond Memories, like rotary phones and 8-track tapes.
I never experienced the "new" Browning's as I was not a fan of the food at all, but I'm sad to hear of it closing. My brother was a bus boy there in the 80's and our family had many a Sunday after-church meal there. It was a real treat to get a praline! I have nostalgia for the old, but can't say I'm surprised they have been operating at a loss. Hope a new restaurant opens as it is a great spot.
I was Browning’s very last customer (to leave) on their very last night. My mom and dad went on dates there in the 40’s. It was the first place I was taken, when I was only 3 weeks old. My best friend and I went every week without parents when we were in middle school and junior high to learn how to be “adults”. We learned so much: how to order, how to tip, manners. And I’ve been going ever since. There’s no telling how many times I’ve been there in 40 years. That’s where everyone knew my name. Literally. It was like coming home every time I walked in the door. I took pictures of all the staff that was there and got so many hugs that night. It was a sad time.
Meh! Nothing lasts forever folks. Brownings had a good run. It probably should have bowed out years ago.
My sentiments exactly Presrevrob. RIP Brownings, Freddies, Heights Theatre, Heights Variety Store, Halls Drug, The Carousel , Fin and Feather, Corder's Grocery. Great memories from the '60's and '70's. Time to move on.
Best Colonoscopy in town. Now you have to pay 5k for it. I will miss it. Bet some one picks it up.How bout you,Chip. Daddy J
I'll echo presrevrob and say that my 42 years of eating experience at Brownings was about more than eating TexMex.It was a place to feel at home with your kids, and friends and family. We celebrated birthdays there, and took our kids for their first restaurant outings there, because the waitresses didn't mind kids and messes. Alice gave my kids pennies for the gum machine until they were too old to ask for them. Greg and Don and Jim played jokes on the kids and always made us feel welcome. RIP Brownings, we'll miss you!
Yea! Let's put a BANK there! Or a Chik-Fill-Hey! Or a Starborcks! Or a bank that gives out free caffeinated chicken sandwiches with each loan! (Will someone investigate why all the good real estate goes to banks? Is it because they are the ones granting mortgages? To themselves? When regular folks have a hard time obtaining one?)
Banks are the one of the few businesses where people beg to pay for their services. Look at all the tall buildings downtown - guess whom owns them. People need to get off the credit! BTW- Never had a good meal at Brownings but I do understand the feelings of losing a friend.
I consider Las Palmas tex mex. The one on E McCain is my favorite. I tried the one on JFK and wanted a refund. The tacos didn't taste like anything. Waste of time and money.
A friend and I went down the list today and the only things we can recall from childhood that are still going in the Heights are the Heights Toy Shop, Mr. Wicks, Smith's Country Club drugstore and Terry's (btw thanks to the Goldens for preserving Terry's charm while still bringing a nice new flair to the neighborhood). Ozark Outdoor was a late arrival for most, but a welcome local merchant in a place where those are far too rare. I know it is easy to hate on 07 and some of that is well deserved. All the points about the banks are well taken. That is just what we need in the Heights! That is if they can find one that does not already have a branch wedged in up there. One last thought, does anyone remember going to the last movie on the last night at the old Heights Theater?
this place was awful. Went there three times, only because my aunt loved it. probably the three worst dining experiences I've ever had.
I remember a huge "Rocky Horror Picture Show" costume party as the last of, or close to the last of, the Heights Theater
Hello...they probably closed because they were behind in paying Sales Tax. That's why they couldn't sell alcohol. You can't renew your permits unless you're paid in full on taxes. I never liked the food, but still hate to see any business close.
DFA tagged Vintage Eateries with a tax lien the week before they closed the doors. The public record can be an interesting source of information.
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