Arkansas Food Hall of Fame finalists named

Finalists have been announced for the 2020 class of the Arkansas Food Hall of Fame, a program launched in 2016 by the Department of Arkansas Heritage. The hall of fame recognizes Arkansas’ legendary restaurants, proprietors and food-themed events across the state.

“We are so pleased to be leading this discussion about food as a special part of Arkansas’s heritage and culture,” said Stacy Hurst, secretary of the Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism.

This year, the department said there were more than 1,450 submissions from all 75 counties in Arkansas. This year’s finalists include:

Arkansas Food Hall of Fame
AQ Chicken House of Springdale (Washington County)
Bruno’s Little Italy of Little Rock (Pulaski County)
Cattleman’s Steak House of Texarkana (Miller County)
Ed Walker’s Drive-In & Restaurant of Fort Smith (Sebastian County)
Feltner’s Whatta-Burger of Russellville (Pope County)
Kream Kastle of Blytheville (Mississippi County)
Murry’s Restaurant of Hazen (Prairie County)
Neal’s Café of Springdale (Washington County)
The Ohio Club of Hot Springs (Garland County)
Star of India of Little Rock (Pulaski County)

Proprietor of the Year
Capi Peck of Little Rock (Pulaski County)
Matt McClure of Bentonville (Benton County)
Peter Brave of Little Rock (Pulaski County)
Sami Lal of Little Rock (Pulaski County)
Scott McGehee of Little Rock (Pulaski County)

Food-Themed Events
Bradley County Pink Tomato Festival (Bradley County)
International Greek Food Festival (Pulaski County)
Our Lady of the Lake Church’s Annual Spaghetti Dinner (Chicot County)
Tontitown Grape Festival (Washington County)

Gone But Not Forgotten
Habib’s Café (Phillips County)
Mary Maestri’s (Washington County)
Shadden’s BBQ (Phillips County)

Winners will be announced at a reception and induction ceremony on Monday, Feb. 24 at the Ron Robinson Theater in Little Rock. The business casual reception will start at 5:00 p.m., followed by the induction ceremony at 6:15 p.m.

The People’s Choice Award has been chosen solely based on the number of nominations for a particular restaurant, so there are no finalists and the winner will be announced at the induction ceremony.

The 2020 Arkansas Food of the Year was also announced as rice.