Folks who live in the northwest corridor of the state will soon be able to enjoy the same signature farm-to-table fresh salads, burgers, shakes and craft tacos that central Arkansans have been lining up to get for for years.
Yellow Rocket Concepts has two Big Orange restaurants in Little Rock and will open its third in the Pinnacle Hills Promenade in Rogers this October. They plan to open a Local Lime, the restaurant’s second location, in Rogers next year, in the former Texas Land & Cattle Steak House building at the Pinnacle Hills Promenade.
It’s been a long time coming.
“We have enjoyed an incredible five years of creating delicious burgers, salads, shakes and cocktails for Arkansans,” says Amber Brewer, Yellow Rocket’s creative director, who says patrons have asked for Yellow Rocket restaurants in Arkansas’ northwest corner.
“Creating great food for Arkansas is our passion, so we began exploring the idea several years ago.”
There is no such thing cookie cutter when it comes to Yellow Rocket, made up of principal partners Scott McGehee, John Beachboard, Russ McDonough and Ben Brainard.
Each restaurant is a bit unique, adapted to fit different building footprints, include local vendors and customize offerings to patrons. The Rogers Big Orange will have less outdoor space than the Little Rock locations, but it will have a more open floor plan and more seating options, affording additional opportunities to accommodate large parties, flexible banquettes and expanded bar seating.
Along with the expanded bar seating will come an expanded happy hour appetizer menu. There will also be a monthly burger feature.
“Our executive chef Scott McGehee uses our monthly features to flex our team’s culinary creativity muscle and to highlight local produce or proteins, Arkansas-made or Arkansas-grown products,” says Brewer. “Since we will be working with a few new farmers and vendors that are hyperlocal to Northwest Arkansas these features will sometimes offer something slightly different than our Little Rock locations.”
Brewer, who designs all the Yellow Rocket stores, says Big Orange’s “midcentury modern meets rustic Americana” style will carry on in the Rogers location.
“Almost all of our furniture is designed and built in Arkansas and much of our materials are reclaimed,” she says.
Wood harvested from a soon-to-be-remodeled building, for example, is to be used making a 12-top table and four smaller tables for the dining room. And 5,000 pounds of reclaimed antique heart of pine, cedar and oak, as well as a thousand feet of reclaimed wooden gymnasium floors, are being used to frame out the walls.
The crew leaders of Big Orange in Rogers will be managed by the Little Rock-based regional team. They moved from Northwest Arkansas to Little Rock a year ago to work with Yellow Rocket restaurants, learning the ropes of operation and developing relationships before going back to select their staff.
Yellow Rocket’s founders and cross-concept team will remain in Little Rock but will be on-site in Rogers monthly.
Patrons craving updates on the progress at the Rogers Big Orange can follow the restaurant on Facebook, or check it out on Instagram @BigO_Rogers. Check out photos of the restaurant’s construction below.
Photography courtesy of Yellow Rocket Concepts
1 comment
I’m so excited that these two great restaurants are coming to NWA!!! Please please please consider putting a Zaza’s up here in Fayetteville or Rogers. I miss it so much and while we have many pizza establishments, trust me they do not come close to Zaza’s.