Whispers has an update on City Silo Table + Pantry, the Memphis-based mini-chain restaurant that’s opening its first out-of-state location in Little Rock, at the Promenade at Chenal.
Scott Tashie, who with his wife, Rebekah Tashie, founded and co-owns City Silo, tells us he expects to open the restaurant by the end of this summer, “before September.” He said, “We’re getting really close.”
But wait! There’s more!
City Silo, which has two locations in Memphis, has shifted its focus, Tashie said. Although a third location in Memphis is still planned, Tashie said, “We’re shifting our focus toward Arkansas and growing in Arkansas.”
“We have an outstanding partner there, Matt Runnells,” Tashie said. “He’s a part-owner as well as our operator. Our goal is to open stores throughout Arkansas,” including, at some point, a second Little Rock location.
Runnells, a Little Rock native, has experience in operations at central Arkansas’ Mugs Cafe and Mylo Coffee Co.
City Silo is part of the Fresh Hospitality restaurant group, based in Nashville, Tennessee, and chaired by Michael Bodnar. Some of Fresh Hospitality’s other restaurant brands include Taziki’s Mediterranean Cafe, Waldo’s Chicken & Beer and Count Porkula. Regular readers will recall that Bodnar also is a longtime associate of the Keet family of Little Rock, the family behind JTJ Restaurants, operator of Cypress Social and a number of Taziki’s and Waldo’s restaurants.
Keet O’Gary Construction of North Little Rock is the contractor for the Little Rock City Silo project.
City Silo, at 17701 Chenal Parkway in the former Pei Wei restaurant, will seat about 90 inside and about 24 on a patio outside. The 3,700-SF space will employ between 20 and 30 workers, and Tashie said the Little Rock location will start hiring within the next month.
The restaurant will feature a full bar and a menu similar to the Memphis locations, which focus on healthy eating. “Our goal is to serve re-imagined comfort food, created with wholesome, clean ingredients,” City Silo declares on its website.
Hours will be 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday.
“We’re very excited about this,” Tashie said. “I can’t even explain how excited we all are,” adding that he and Rebekah have been “spending so much time there [Little Rock]. We love it there. It’s such a great city.”