Restaurant news: Isabella Italian, Saffron Indian Cuisine, Simple + Sweet Creamery, and more

You guys look hungry for some restaurant news. We found a few nuggets for you.

Here’s what we know about some places that have opened, closed, or plan to open in Fayetteville.


Isabella Italian

Staff photo

A new Italian restaurant will soon open in Fayetteville.

Signs recently appeared for a restaurant called Isabella Italian at 908 E. Rolling Hills Dr. Ste. C, in the space formerly home to TJ’s Sandwich Shop.

According to filings with the Arkansas Secretary of State, it looks like the restaurant will be owned by the same folks as TJ’s. The Golden family, who also operate Mermaid’s Seafood Restaurant in Fayetteville, will run Isabella as well.

The restaurant is just a stone’s throw from where the Goldens operated another Italian restaurant years ago. They were also the folks behind Belvedere’s, an Italian joint that operated in Fiesta Square about 20 or so years ago.

Construction is underway on the space. We’ll keep you posted when we know more about an opening date.


Saffron Indian Cuisine

Staff photo

It appears as though an Indian restaurant in Fayetteville has closed its doors.

Signs, seating, and equipment have been removed from the building formerly home to Saffron Indian Cuisine, located at 401 W. Watson St. just off Dickson Street in the Legacy building.

According to their website, the restaurant has moved to 5212 W. Village Parkway in Rogers.

Saffron opened their Fayetteville location in late 2019. The restaurant still operates a location in Little Rock.


Simple + Sweet Creamery

There’s a new ice cream truck in town.

The new truck, called Simple + Sweet Creamery, specializes in creating small batch ice cream with locally-sourced ingredients.

According to co-founder Coleman Warren, the company also donates over 50% of its profits to local organizations that fight child hunger in Northwest Arkansas.

The truck is located at 529 N College Ave., and is open Tuesday through Saturday from 4-11 p.m., and on Saturday from noon until 7 p.m.


514 Filling Station

Courtesy, 514 Filling Station

A new food truck court is picking up steam in south Fayetteville.

514 Filling Station, located next to the blue former service station at 514 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. just off the Razorback Greenway, has a few new trucks open.

There’s Kelly’s Fantastic Foods, Soul Food Junkies, and Sweet Scoops Blender Bar.

Kelly’s Fantastic Foods offers an eclectic menu, with sandwiches, wings, burritos, egg rolls, and other items.

Soul Food Junkies menu includes catfish plates, fried chicken dinners, pork roast, and other items.

Sweet Scoops is a satellite location for the Farmington-based ice cream show of the same name. They offer several sweet treats, including some alcohol-infused ice cream drinks for adults.

The trucks are closed for part of this week, it looks like, due to some parking lot construction, but they’re set to return in time for Halloween weekend.


Farmers’ Table

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We typically only cover restaurant openings and closings in this column, but we thought it was worth mentioning that a well-loved local restaurant will soon be closed for a few months for remodeling, and that it’s only temporary so you guys don’t stop by and find it closed and freak out.

Farmers’ Table this week announced they’ll be expanding with additional seating, a bar, and a new waiting area.

They plan to close on Nov. 7 to start the project, and remodeling will continue through the winter months.

If all goes well, they’ll reopen in early February-ish. Don’t freak out.


Leverett Lounge

Also in non-restaurant opening and closing news, we thought we’d once again mention that Leverett Lounge is now under new management.

Leverett Lounge, the casual fine dining restaurant opened by entrepreneurs Hannah Withers and Ben Gitchel in 2017 in a former Pizza Hut building at 737 N. Leverett Ave., is now operated by fellow longtime restaurant vets, Reese Roberts and Corey Mccain. The couple officially took the helm last week week.

Roberts and Mccain, who both spent nearly a decade at Bordinos on Dickson Street, officially too the helm at the restaurant last week.

We spoke to them about the transition, and they answered the question pretty much on everyone’s mind.

“The KFC isn’t going anywhere,” Roberts said.

Read more about the couple’s plans for the restaurant in our story from last week.