By: Kristin Kite
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (UATV) – The Department of Arkansas Heritage has announced the finalists for the 2023 Arkansas Food Hall of Fame.
Arkansas Food Hall of Fame
The program originally started in 2016. This marks the seventh year in a row that Arkansas has been able to recognize Arkansas restaurants, proprietors, food-themed events, and influential locations in the state.
Paul Austin, a committee member of the Arkansas Food Hall of Fame, said he was not sure what to expect when the organization first started its voting process. Austin said announcing the winners for the different categories brought people from all over to Little Rock, Arkansas where the official induction ceremony takes place.
“They brought their families, people were cheering, and it really was like the Oscars,” Austin said.
Nominations are open to the public each fall starting Oct. 1 through Oct. 31. Finalists and winners out of the categories are decided by a panel of judges based off those nominations.
Categories
- Arkansas Food Hall of Fame – recognizing long-standing restaurants that help create our food culture.
- Proprietor of the Year – honoring a chef, cook and/or restaurant owner with significant impact on our local food tastes and preferences.
- Food-Themed Event – honoring a community food-themed event or festival that preserves a community’s unique food history.
- Gone But Not Forgotten – remembering past establishments that set the table for our food tastes and preferences today.
- People’s Choice – restaurants or food trucks, new or old, that keep our palettes whetted for more Arkansas flavors.
Austin said there are a lot of challenges that we can struggle with as a state, but around the table those issues are not as important.
“There are no boundaries whether it’s or race religion or diet or politics or whatever it is that’s the one place we can all agree on that we’re having a good time,” Austin said.
Hugo’s
Hugo’s located in Fayetteville was the only restaurant in Northwest Arkansas to make the list of finalists this year.
Ethan Doss, has been a manager at Hugo’s for approximately five years. Doss now gets to see Hugo’s receive a moment of fame for being one of twelve finalists in the Arkansas Food Hall of Fame.
“It’s quite an honor,” Doss said.
Hugo’s does not advertise where they are or where to find them. You have to look out for the neon signs and downward pointing arrow that leads to their basement ambiance. Hugo’s has been in business since 1977 and holds a lot of history. The business was originally started from Lamar Anderson and his wife Elizabeth Page.
Doss said he has heard countless stories about what the restaurant might have been before that from older generations. Doss said he does know a few things for sure, and that is what is all around him every day including a portrait on Lamar Anderson found by the piano to the left when a guest comes down stairs.
“Essentially, everything you see on the walls for the most part was all kind of just thrown together whenever they first opened.” Doss said. “They went around all the thrift shops around town from what I understand and grabbed all the interesting pieces they could find and threw them up on the walls and what seems like just kind of chaos, but it all works really well together.”
Everything down to the exposed boiler pipes that help heat the basement in the winter, to the glowing red typewriter sign that indicates the space was once a typewriter store the restaurant holds true to its roots.
2,000 nominations flooded the Arkansas Food Hall of Fame stemming from 75 different counties. This was a chance for people to let their voices be heard.
According to the Arkansas Heritage website, for the Arkansas Food Hall of Fame category, restaurants must be owned and operated in Arkansas and have been in business for at least 25 years.
Doss said he feels the reason Hugo’s stands out is their efficient system to all work toward one common goal to keep the restaurant going.
“I think a big part of it is reputation,” Doss said, “just the fact that we’ve been here so long. We have a standard to uphold, an outward image, that’s kind of put upon us that we have to make sure that we uphold.”
Signs are posted clearly around the restaurant for staff to not be on their cellphones while they are on the clock. The time capsule of a restaurant aims to preserve that special time period right where it is.
2023 Arkansas Food Hall of Fame Finalists
Arkansas Food Hall of Fame
Betty’s Old Fashion – El Dorado
Big Banjo Pizza – Pine Bluff
Black Angus – Little Rock
Bulldog Restaurant – Bald Knob
Daisy Queen – Marshall
DeVito’s Restaurant – Harrison
Hugo’s – Fayetteville
Kream Kastle – Blytheville
Meacham’s Family Restaurant – Ash Flat
Ozark Cafe – Jasper
Skyline Cafe – Mena
The Ohio Club – Hot Springs
Proprietor of the Year
Chuck Taylor, Taylor’s Steakhouse – Dumas
Chester and Laura Huntsman, Beech Street Bistro – Crossett
David Stobaugh, Stoby’s Restaurant – Conway
James Woods, Woods Place – Camden
Jamie McAfee, Pine Bluff Country Club – Pine Bluff
Jim Keet, JTJ Restaurants – Little Rock
Food-Themed Events
Slovak Oyster Supper – Prairie County
Magnolia Blossom Festival and World Championship Steak Cook-Off – Columbia County
Mayhaw Festival – Union County
Gone But Not Forgotten
4-Dice Restaurant – Dallas County
Bohemia Restaurant – Garland County
Chip’s Barbeque – Pulaski County
Sir Loin’s Inn – Pulaski County
The 2023 winners will be announced on Monday, March 6 at a hybrid ceremony at Central Arkansas Library System’s Ron Robinson Theater in Little Rock. The public is invited to attend virtually or in person. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased online.