Restaurant/Bar Entrepreneur- Nick Ferguson

Vagabond Coffee Bar – J.W. Gericke

In this week’s edition of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas podcast, we’re at the Vagabond Coffee Bar in Bella Vista talking with co-owner/operator J.W. Gerike and his awesome story, but before we talk to him?!? FOOD NEWS!! * We’re heading into the final weekend of Fayetteville Restaurant Week * Art of Wine is this Friday and bigger than ever! * The Muse is a new cocktail bar in downtown Fayetteville. * If you’re a good salsa-maker, do I have a competition for you at Brewski’s! * Longtime Herman’s Ribhouse stalwart has opened Possum Creek Bistro food truck * There’s a new restaurant at Prairie Creek Marina. We’ll tell you about Yaya’s Waterside! * Bella Vista has a new bottle shop! We’ll hear from the owner of the Little Bear Café. * Dum & Grill is up and rolling in Bentonville. * There will be 2 new restaurants in the new Visionaries building in Rogers. * Bites & Bowls is downsizing in Springdale. * Los Compas Margaritatown is going back to their roots... soon. * Kung Fu Tea’s location in Rogers is for sale. * A pizza place on Dickson Street has shut down. * Happy anniversary to La Favorita in Siloam, The Blind Bear in downtown Springdale, and Pizzeria Ruby in Johnson! * Speaking of Pizzeria Ruby, in this week’s Flavors Flashback, we go back to our podcast with them last October where they talked about getting the doors open 5 years ago. Sidenote for you, there’s some salty language in this Flashback, so earmuffs for the kids!!!. Speaking of Covid, that changed the career trajectory for JW Gerike. By trade, he was a physical therapist in Ft. Worth, but Covid hit, and his hours weren’t conducive to family life. Hear him talk about why he picked coffee. What were his first steps? Have you seen his 1979 Peugeot Coffee Van? Funny story about how he acquired that. At least he can laugh about it now. Speaking of, once getting established, he got some pretty cool gigs in Texas, including supplying coffee on a movie set. You won’t believe which one. And then, the move to Bella Vista. How did they find it, and why did they make the move? And finally, after a very popular trailer at Tanyard Creek, they open a storefront. Some great stories coming your way in this edition of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas podcast!

***Special Edition*** Art of Wine- Whitlee Douthitt

In this Special Edition of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas podcast, we’re at the Walton Arts Center with Events Manager Whitlee Douthitt talking Art of Wine! There are some new elements to this year’s event, which is happening THIS Friday from 7-9:30. We kick it off with the record number of vendors this year- you won’t BELIEVE the number! There are retail opportunities that include getting a flash tattoo, take a tintype photo and more. Plus, if you’re like me, you didn’t get close to seeing the whole event last year. You can download the new Art of Wine app, and you’ll be able to see where you are, what what’s available, because let’s be honest, the Walton Arts Center is huge, and you can get lost easily. You can also win during the event! You can get the app here: https://art-of-wine.vercel.app/.  [https://art-of-wine.vercel.app/] Finally, Whitlee tells you where to get your tickets, and what the cost of the tickets goes to. It’s all on this Special Edition of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas podcast.

***Special Edition*** Fayetteville Restaurant Week- Brannon Pack

In this Special Edition of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas, we sit with Experience Fayetteville's VP of Marketing & Communications, Brannon Pack. We talk all things Fayetteville Restaurant Week, including those offering prix fixe menu's, who's offering half-off, who's being creative and some of our favorite offerings (and more).  To see who's participating, and what they're offering, go here: https://www.experiencefayetteville.com/restaurant-week [https://www.experiencefayetteville.com/restaurant-week]

Stoic Brews Alternative- Rebecca & Jay Davitt

In this week’s edition of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas podcast, we’re in Bentonville talking to Rebecca & Jay Davitt, the owners of Stoic Brews Alternative, but before we hear from them?! FOOD NEWS!! * We hear from Mallory Files, who sold Ozark Charcuterie & Wine Bar in Fayetteville and grand opened Ozark Charcuterie in Rogers in back-to-back days. * Pearlsnap Picnic grand opened in the Jones Center. * Vagabond Coffee grand opened at the Sugar Creek Shopping Center in Bella Vista. We’ll hear from owner J.W. Gericke! * HTeaO is open in Lowell! * Jack in the Box is coming to Rogers (somewhere at some time?)? * McAlister’s is coming to Farmington. * Saltine Bakery & Kitchen will open in South Fayetteville SOON. * Happy 2-year anniversary to Butter & Bloom Cake Shop! Their anniversary menu-WOW. * Happy 28 years to Iron Horse Coffee Company!! * In today’s Flavors Flashback, Mallory Files tells us what it was like to go viral back in 2024! Rebecca and Jay Davitt started Stoic Brews Alternative back in March of 2025. For those that don’t know, Stoic brews gluten-free beer, and all their food is gluten-free as well. Rebecca has been on a gluten-free diet for a decade and Jay wanted to brew beer. Rebecca didn’t want to do it until she found out that she could do it gluten-free, and with her food science background, a monster was created! Speaking of which, Rebecca struggled with imposter syndrome. She’ll tell you why. Also, how did they find such a great spot? It’s the old Pedaler’s Pub, and they’ll tell you that story. Finally, you don’t know what you don’t know. They’ll talk about being ill-prepared to go through the emotions of seeing people have their first beer in over a decade because of gluten allergies and tear up. They go over that and so much more, on this edition of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas podcast.

Kou'Sins Social Lounge- Kentedra "Keke" Kentrice

I usually forget to do this here but wanted to make sure to ask you to subscribe to the podcast and rate it. I know that some watch on YopuTube and some listen. Every subscription and like helps. We appreciate it very much. In this week’s edition, we talk to Kentedra Kentrice, also known as Keke. She owns and operates Kou’Sins Social Lounge in Bentonville, where we’ll talk all things hanging, food and bev, but first?? FOOD NEWS!! * We have 3 grand openings this week! * Ozark Charcuterie grand opens their Rogers location on Thursday. We’ll tell you what time! * Big Biscuit grand opens their Rogers location. * Pearlsnap Picnic brings a coffee shop to the Jones Center. You’ll hear from the owners. * Bauhaus Biergarten reopens! * AQ Chicken House is fully open! * Isabella’s Bakery opens in Lowell- we’ll tell you about the spot * Playa Bowls is coming to Rogers. We’ll tell you where! * This year’s Art of Wine is going to be HUGE! We’ll tell you how to get tickets. * Fayetteville Restaurant Week is just around the corner. * Get the 127th Tontitown Grape Festival on your calendar! * Happy 11th anniversary to MJ’s Pizzeria! * Speaking of MJ’s, in today’s Flavors Flashback, we go back to June of last year to our interview with Chef Miles James. He talks about an article that changed his life. Kentedra Kentrice, or Keke, moved to Northwest Arkansas to work for Walmart after working for them in the Atlanta area. Once here, she realized that Bentonville was missing something. A place where you can go out, not have to pay an arm and a leg, and just hang with some good food and drink. She talks about her professional past, her FIRST profession (you’ll never guess), and what happened in the week leading up to opening Kou’Sins. There was some panic involved and she’ll talk about how she got the doors open, and that’s on this edition of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas podcast.