Donnie Ferneau
Good Food by Ferneau will close on Jan. 30 and Donnie Ferneau, its executive chef, will join The 1836 Club as its executive chef.
The 1836 Club is a private club restaurant led by Jeremy Hutchinson, a state senator and attorney, and investment bankers Mark Camp and Rod Damon. The trio plan to purchase the 12,000-SF Little Rock property, which was most recently home to The Packet House restaurant, for $1.3 million. They hope to close the sale in mid-February after finalizing necessary permits.
The club is scheduled to open in the spring.
“The 1836 Club is thrilled to have Donnie Ferneau and his team come on board,” Camp said in a news release. “We look forward to opening our doors and providing a much-needed space in Little Rock for business professionals to enjoy good company, food and drinks.”
The 1836 Club is billed as “an exclusive club for business professionals,” offering private dining rooms and bar areas “to ensure a fine dining experience for its members’ business dinners and social occasions.”
The club would be located in the McDonald-Wait-Newton House at 1404 Cantrell Road in Little Rock. Owners plan to renovate the space to include a new kitchen, private dining rooms, bars, a humidor room and a lounge. Spaces downstairs will be available for event rentals and wedding receptions, the owners said.
Good Food by Ferneau opened in the Argenta district of North Little Rock in 2014. Ferneau posted about his new job on the restaurant’s Facebook page Monday.
“I wanted to take a moment, and personally thank each of our customers, and following, for a memorable (almost) two years,” he wrote. “I hope I was able to provide you with great quality food, at fair prices, good times, and knowledge about the importance of cooking anti-biotic, hormone, and process free foods. It’s been fun, I appreciate all of you.”
The 1836 Club is accepting charter member applications. With a 300-member cap, all applications must be submitted by March 1. There will be no application fee for charter members, and individual dues will be $250 per month.
The Arkansas Times on Monday posted documents about the restaurant on file with the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Division, including renovations plans, an early members list and menu details.
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