By now you’ve heard about the sale of the Town Pump in Little Rock to the Barnaby Group, the hospitality group that operates the restaurant George’s Little Rock (the former Cafe Prego) in Little Rock’s Heights neighborhood.
Well, we can advance the story a bit. “The Barnaby Group plans to expand its presence in Arkansas, with its upcoming projects to be announced at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts Tabriz Gala on April 5.” That’s the word from a Barnaby Group spokeswoman, Mary Mickel, managing partner and co-founder of the AM Group, a public relations firm based in Fayetteville.
“Soft opening previews at two new projects will be auctioned off at the Gala’s live auction,” Mickel tells your Whispers staff.
The Barnaby Group is owned by John Stephens and his wife, Mary Olive. John Stephens and his brother, Miles, in January were named co-CEOs of Stephens Inc. of Little Rock on the retirement of their father, Warren.
Other partners in the Barnaby Group are David Hesselbein, director of beverage operations; Greg Baber, director of front-of-house operations; and Wes Mickel, culinary director/operations (and Mary Mickel’s husband).
The Town Pump, at 1321 Rebsamen Park Road in Riverdale and previously owned by Shea Bryant Davis, closed down March 1. The readers of AY Magazine last year named it the best “dive bar” in Arkansas, and concerns were voiced on social media that it might be ripe for gentrification.
But Mary Mickel noted that the Town Pump “is beloved and considered iconic in Little Rock, especially by the team at Barnaby Group. For that reason, the space will undergo minimal updates, focused primarily on bringing the restrooms and kitchen up to current standards for functionality, while keeping the atmosphere and spirit of the bar unchanged.”
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