The 2020 Arkansas Food Hall of Fame finalists were announced today (January 27) at the Division of Arkansas Heritage headquarters.

This year, the Hall of Fame’s fourth, over 1,450 nominations were received in the five categories.  (The previous years nominations were 300 (2017), 450 (2018), and over 600 (2019).) The nominations came from Arkansans in each of the state’s 75 counties.

As Secretary of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism Stacy Hurst noted, “The number of nominations confirms that people are indeed opinionated about their food.”  She continued, “Food is woven into our culture and our heritage.”

The 2020 Arkansas Food of the Year is Rice. Not only is it a staple in many restaurants throughout the state, it is also a major contributor to the state’s economy.

The finalists in four of the five categories were announced. The fifth, the People’s Choice Award, goes to the entity that received the most nomination submissions. It will be announced, along with the winners in the other categories, at the Arkansas Food Hall of Fame ceremony on Monday, February 24 at the CALS Ron Robinson Theater.

The finalists in the other four categories are:

Food Hall of Fame
AQ Chicken House (Springdale)
Bruno’s Little Italy (Little Rock)
Cattleman’s Steak House (Texarkana)
Ed Walker’s Drive-In & Restaurant (Fort Smith)
Feltner’s Whatta-Burger (Russellville)
Kream Kastle (Blytheville)
Murry’s Restaurant (Hazen)
Neal’s Cafe (Springdale)
The Ohio Club (Hot Springs)
Star of India (Little Rock)

Proprietor of the Year
Capi Peck, Little Rock (Trio’s)
Matt McClure, Bentonville (The Hive)
Peter Brave, Little Rock (Brave New Restaurant)
Sami Lal, Little Rock (Star of India)
Scott McGehee, Little Rock (Yellow Rocket Concepts restaurants)

Food Themed Event
Bradley County Pink Tomato Festival (Warren)
International Greek Food Festival (Little Rock)
Our Lady of the Lake Annual Church Spaghetti Dinner (Lake Village)
Tontitown Grape Festival (Tontitown)

Gone But Not Forgotten
Habib’s Cafe (Helena)
Mary Maestri’s Italiano Grillroom (Springdale)
Shaddon’s BBQ (Marvell)