National magazine highlights Bentonville venue among South’s best new bars

If you’re a fan of The Holler in Bentonville, then you’ve got a good reason to pick up the latest issue of Garden & Gun magazine.

The Holler, which opened in July and is operated by the Walton-backed firm Ropeswing Hospitality Group (also behind The Preacher’s Son and Pressroom), is a 10,000-square-foot space to work, eat a meal, meet friends or listen to live music.

It’s included in a feature of the February/March issue of Garden & Gun highlighting “The South’s Best New Bars.” The magazine is a Charleston, S.C.-based bimonthly publication with roughly 400,000 print subscribers.

Garden & Gun contributor and drink aficionado Wayne Curtis, who is based in New Orleans, rounded up a list of the best “new bars” (25 total) in 12 states and 19 cities, considering only ones that have been open two years or less.

“You have bills you should deal with,” the magazine reads in a brief overview of the business. “But you’d really like to go out for a drink. Problem solved! The Holler is Bentonville’s version of a social hub/coffee shop/bar mash-up.

“Bring your laptop and type while you tipple, then take a break at the shuffleboard courts, which fit right in with the Holler’s fresh, midcentury sensibility. Drinks on tap include a Moscow Mule and a margarita, as well as a straight-up shot of Old Grand-Dad from the spigot — comfort food for the parched.”

The Holler’s inclusion on the list stands out among other establishments found in much larger cities like Atlanta, Houston, New Orleans and Charlotte, N.C.

“That was kind of what we loved about it,” said Dave Mezz, a deputy editor of Garden & Gun who worked on the story package. “If you look at the whole list, you’ll see the bigger city hot spots represented. But we didn’t want to overlook the smaller places, either. That’s part of what we found in doing the research on this. It isn’t just the big cities anymore where you can find really good drinks and really good bars and good communities. We wanted to make sure that was represented.

“And it’s not the first time we’ve written about Bentonville. That’s been a place that’s been on our radar, for sure, overall.”

Click here for a PDF of the feature as it appears in the magazine.