Don Dugan, owner of Dugan’s Pub, located in the River Market District at the corner of Third and Rock Street, plans to open a convenience store in the space next door on Memorial Day weekend.

The convenience store, called Stratton’s Market at Dugan’s Pub, will be open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 7 a.m. until 9 p.m. on the weekends. The convenience store will stock milk, bread, eggs, toilet paper, paper towels and other necessities. Cold sandwiches will also be available.

Dugan also plans to sell beer and wine. Little Rock’s new conditional use ordinance will require a public hearing on the permit. Even if he fails to get a permit to sell alcohol, Dugan said there will still be a market. "There's still a need for that," he said.

The new space also includes a party room that Dugan plans to rent out. Marketing it for events and Dugan’s for catering are current focuses, he said.

John Beachboard and Scott McGehee are adding to their burgeoning mini-empire of restaurants in Central Arkansas. The pair behind ZaZa and Big Orange, will open a new concept, Local Lime, no later than Oct. 1 in The Promenade at Chenal. Beachboard and McGehee are equal partners in the new restaurant with Herren Hickingbotham — who's also a partner in Big Orange — and Ben Brainard, a chef who's worked with Beachboard and McGehee at Boulevard Bread Co. and at ZaZa for a number of years.

The working tagline for Local Lime is "tacos, tequila and margarita bar," according to Beachboard. The menu will be focused on dozens of taco options, Beachboard said, with plenty of meat and cheese options along with a number of options for vegetarians and vegans. Beachboard said a taco filled with potatoes and zucchini from a street vendor is the best taco he's ever eaten, and will find its way onto the menu.

The restaurant, to be located three doors down from Big Orange, near the Chenal 9 IMAX Theatre, is 3,200 square feet, which is slightly smaller than Big Orange, but a planned patio covered by a retractable ceiling and walls will allow Local Lime to seat 25 percent more diners than Big Orange.

Brainard will be the owner/operator managing Local Lime. "Having an owner operator on-site is about as valuable an asset as you can have in the restaurant business," said Beachboard. Expanding the restaurant group with longtime employees taking on leadership roles is Beachboard's vision for the future. He said he and his partners are actively looking for space elsewhere to continue expanding. Another Big Orange could be the next project.

• courtesy of Shellie Barnett

A new Tropical Smoothie in the downtown YMCA building at 524 Broadway is planning a grand opening this Wednesday, March 28 and a soft opening on Monday, March 26. There will be 99 cents Mango Magic Smoothies and $2.99 flatbread sandwiches all day, and as an added bonus, there's a fully restored courtyard patio to enjoy while you slurp.

The new Tropical Smoothie is owned by Brad Newcomb and Josh Imon, who also own the River Market shop. Hours will be 7 a.m to 6 p.m., but the patio closes at 5 p.m. Call 246-3145 for more info.

We've mentioned the historic YMCA building before. It's owned by Shellie and Brad Barnett, who rescued it from being razed into a parking lot. Tropical Smoothie is their second tenant. Since November, they've had Nationwide Insurance in the building. Other possible tenants include a photo studio and a spa.

A new Japanese restaurant is coming to west Little Rock's Pleasant Ridge Town Center, at 11525 Cantrell Road, in early April, but the owner's are a bit sketchy on the details. Construction has recently finished on Sky Modern Japanese, and according to Altan Gongor, one of three owners, the menu is still being worked out. There's no firm opening date yet.

There will be a hibachi bar, as well as sushi and hot entree options. Gongor said they will focus on fusion plates rather than traditional Japanese cuisine, and that the overall restaurant decor is contemporary and clean. Gongor and the other owners have worked as servers, cooks and managers in other Little Rock restaurants. None are Japanese, but Gongor said that many Japanese workers have been hired. Rey Antipolo, the head sushi chef, has 25 years of experience, including his most recent stint at Mt. Fuji restaurant on N. Rodney Parham.

Skye seats about 85, and will feature a patio, a full bar and specialty drinks. The hours will be flexible — from 11 a.m till late, "whenever people are ready to leave," said Gongor, on Mon. - Fri., and noon till late on Sat. and Sun.

• What's an egg cream again?

For all those (like me) who grew up watching Sesame Street and wondering what the hell could be in those egg creams sold at the soda fountain in Hooper's Store, the suspense is almost over. The Green Corner Store at the corner of 15th and Main will debut their new vintage-style soda fountain at noon on Saturday, April 7. Festivities will include live music and free mini-cones.

According to a press release, the new soda fountain at The Green Corner Store will feature small-batch "artisan" ice creams by Little Rock's Loblolly Creamery (which we wrote about previously here), scratch-made waffle cones, sodas, shakes, sundaes, egg creams(!), floats, herbal sodas and other sweet-tooth fare, all made with "local, fair trade and organic ingredients." The decor will reportedly feature old fashioned soda fountain flair, including a marble-topped bar, wood backbar and large mirror. It's actually a return to form for the building, which housed the C.H. Dawson Drugstore and Soda Fountain from 1905 to 1967.

The soda fountain at The Green Corner Store, which bills itself as "Arkansas's First Eco-Lifestyle Store" will encourage diners to eat from washable utensils and plates, and will have recycled and/or compostable containers for takeout.

• via Cinco Entrees Facebook page
• The future home of Cinco Entrees, in the southwest corner of Ottenheimer Hall

A new Southern-themed vendor called Cinco Entrees is scheduled to open in the River Market’s Ottenheimer Hall on Feb. 1. Self-proclaimed "redneck chef" Travis Meyer ("if Kenny Chesney could cook, that would be me") said he plans to keep his menu simple.

He'll have five entree and five side options every day. Entrees will be dishes like smoked beef brisket, pan-seared pork medallions and grilled tilapia. All come with a cornbread muffin, bread 'n' butter pickle potato chips and a choice of a side from the likes of Cajun-sausage baked beans and pan-fried sweet potatoes tossed with turnips and purple onions. For dessert look for pan-fried Honey Buns. A flavored sweet-tea bar is also planned.

Meyer, originally from Carlisle, is a graduate of Pulaski Technical College Arkansas Culinary School. His restaurant experience spans from cooking at the Chenal Country Club to waiting tables to tending bar. More recently, Meyer has been self-employed, working as a real estate broker and operating a landscaping business, but since May 2011, he's been catering and tweaking the menu for Cinco Entrees. He joked that he gained 10 pounds to the mission of creating the perfect fried chicken recipe.

• Future home of the Packet House Grill

Remodeling work has begun at the historic Packet House on Cantrell Road for the Packet House Grill, building owner Betty Richards said Monday, and work is scheduled to be complete by late May or early June.

The bottom floor of the home, which was built after the Civil War and in later incarnations served as apartments, a restaurant and a private business, will be used as the dining area. The second floor will be a private party area available for such things as weddings, Richards, CEO of Rich Logistics trucking firm, said.

Chef and manager will be Wesley Ellis, inventor of Wesley’s Mojo Barbecue Sauce. We've got a call into him; will update when we hear back.

A little history on the builder of the house, Sen. Alexander McDonald, from the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program:

Alexander McDonald was a decidedly undistinguished one-term senator from Arkansas whom the Arkansas Gazette described as “utterly unqualified for the high position of United States Senate.”
A former member of McDonald, Fuller and Sells, Indian contractors, the former senator, a Pennsylvania native, had settled in Arkansas in 1863, became president of the Merchant’s National Bank of Little Rock (later the First National Bank) and “was considered the richest man in the state.”
He built the McDonald-Wait-Newton House, now known as the Packet House, on Cantrell Road, in 1870-71 and had sold it by the mid-1870s. He died in 1903 in Long Beach, New Jersey.

The Packet House name refers to the pacquet boats that once moved up and down the Arkansas River.

UPDATE: I just talked to chef Ellis. A minor correction: He says work will begin Monday. He plans to serve a menu of Southern fusion, with different spins on shrimp and grits and fried chicken and chicken and dumplings, etc. and he'll use local food suppliers. He praised the Root Cafe for its emphasis on buying local, saying "It's amazing how Little Rock and North Little Rock really can jump on board with local products."

The restaurant will seat 100, and will include a patio out back. He looks forward to the day when the city extends the River Trail along his property, a day that won't be soon, but is nice to contemplate.

Ellis' background includes culinary school in Baton Rouge, a stint as chef at Trio's downtown, and as a personal chef. He's catered for family friend Betty Richards' business, Rich Logistics, for eight years.