by Julia Malinowski, ARWB friend and Director, Helena Advertising & Promotion Commission

I live in Helena, Arkansas – population 12,000. I moved to Helena for a job and stayed because of the community I found. I didn’t realize it before I moved here, but in every place I’ve lived I’m been searching for a sense of connection and family, and this is where I’ve found it. Helena is the kind of place where people actually do bring you homemade soup when you’re sick or chocolate pie if you’ve had a nasty break-up.

As a southern town, most of life’s critical moments are marked with the cooking and sharing of food. The Delta region in which Helena is located is particularly known for its soul stirring, make you want to slap yo’ mama, good food: charred and chopped BBQ, fried chicken, turnip greens, sweet potatoes shiny with sugar, fried catfish, and the list goes on. There are plenty of small locally owned storefronts where all this good food and more can be purchased from someone’s granny, auntie or cousin. I love this food. I love it probably more than I should given the increasing rates of type 2 diabetes.

However I have a confession to make…any time I go out of town I seek out a different type of restaurant. I crave an atmosphere more appropriate for a date night with my husband. I crave a greater variety of dishes: Indian, Thai, Italian. I crave fresh salads, menus described as “New American”, more complex pairings, and sometimes even a more restrained use of sugar, salt and vinegar. And the thing is, I’m not alone. According to an ESRI data report from 2010, a retail gap of approximately $4.6 million exists in the sector of Food Services and Drinking Places. At the same time, Clarksdale, MS has a surplus of $7.2 million and Southaven, MS has a surplus of $49.6 million. I may not be a data analyst, but the numbers seem to clearly show that not only is Helena’s local demand for dining and drinking experiences not being met, clearly our population is going other places in the region to get what they’re looking for.

The hard thing is that facts don’t always sway decision makers as decisively as emotional reactions and qualitative observations. After seeing this data, I had conversations with chefs and restaurateurs about the opportunity that exists in Helena and it became clear that doubt exists that a rural community could support a “nicer” restaurant. Doubt exists that rural folks actually care about things like presentation, atmosphere and culinary experimentation.

Not willing to take no for an answer, we started talking with chefs about pop-ups, with the idea that if we can’t get a chef to open up a full-time restaurant, at the very least we should be able to get a chef to open up a one day or two day pop-up. I’m excited to share that this coming Saturday, May 10^th, we’re partnering with Shane Henderson (Executive Chef with Ben E. Keith but most known for starting Argenta Market with Jody Hardin) and Jason Godwin (Executive Chef for Eurest at Acxiom but most known for starting Dogtown Coffee and Cookery) to launch our first one-day pop-up restaurant in an empty storefront in historic downtown Helena.

Entitled Interstate Grocery, after the company that initially sponsored the world famous King Biscuit Time radio show, the pop-up’s menu will highlight the products and flavors of the Arkansas Delta, in coordination with this year’s Arkansas Heritage Month theme, “Come to the Table.” The menu features items such as “Duck Bacon, Ancho Sorghum, and Pickled Vegetable” and “Strawberry shortcake with angel biscuit and basil syrup.” The four course prix fixe menu will be offered at $30 per person, with adult beverages available for purchase. We’re excited that Four Roses Bourbon has come on as a sponsor, with well-known Memphis bartender Chris Ferri crafting a couple signature cocktails. All proceeds from the event will benefit the historic downtown through our partnership with the Main Street Helena program.

This pop-up is part of an effort to demonstrate a real demand for dynamic food in the Helena and the Arkansas Delta region. While we love the homey cooking we’re known for, our local community and our burgeoning influx of tourists are looking for a range of dining experiences from down home to date night. This is an effort to show that rural foodies do exist and we’re ready to support a chef or restaurant adventurous enough to give us shot. If the May 10^th pop-up is successful, we hope to develop it into a series of pop-up restaurant events.