Food truck turned brick and mortar restaurant, The Southern Gourmasian, is arguably this year’s most anticipated opening so far. Â Announced in July, the new restaurant at 219 W. Capitol hopes to be open to the public next week.
The dining room carries much of the modern styling used in the truck, using clean lines and modern lighting mixed with reclaimed wood. The menu is a mix of food truck favorites and dishes from previous dinner specials.
“The extra kitchen space allows us a lot of flexibility to expand the menu,” chef and co-owner Justin Patterson tells us. “Most of the dishes not from the truck come from the beer dinners we have held over the past couple of years. The dinners gave us a lot of experience refining these additional dishes.”
In addition to food, they will also feature beer, wine and sake, including food and flavor pairings for each. Local beer will be a big focus on the restaurant’s alcohol menu.
“We want to key in on local beer. We have six taps which we hope to do a rotation of beer brewed in the Little Rock area,” Co-Owner Pat Beaird tells us. “In addition to the local taps we will keep a rotation of local and regional cans and bottles available.”
In addition to the expected opening next week, The Southern Gourmasian hopes to add a special Valentine’s Day menu for a reservation only event.