If you want to feel like you are on vacation while driving only about ten minutes from Eureka Springs, you might enjoy visiting the Side Bar at Beaver, in the former General Store. The outdoor deck has views of Table Rock Lake, steep cliffs, the 72-year-old suspension and the Castle Rogue’s Manor. Sunsets and full moons with reflections in the water are particularly stunning.
Miah Vazquez and Stephanie Davenport, co-owners of the Side Bar and HotBoxx Pizza, had been in business for 10 months when the pandemic hit in March 2020. Then work repainting and replacing the decks on the Beaver Bridge kept it closed for extended periods. Despite those challenges, they have forged ahead with a business popular with tourists and locals.
“Last year threw a lot of stuff at us, but we were able to get through it and succeed despite the hiccups,” Miah said. “We’re grateful for being here and look forward to keeping it going. We lucked out during the whole pandemic because we have primarily outdoor dining and are right next to Beaver Park with lots of room to spread out. People can listen to live music and not be too close to other folks. We get a lot of tourists coming through, vacationers, boaters, motorcyclists. But what we have focused on is locals, people from Holiday Island and Eureka Springs, and even people from Rogers.”
May 22 will be the second anniversary with the Side Bar and July 4 the third anniversary of the HotBoxx Woodfired Pizza business.
“I go in every day, and make the pizza dough and toppings from scratch,” Miah said. “The wood fire aspect of it is a big part of what makes it different from a lot of other things you can get in town. To me, it is important to have consistency and repetition. It’s just me cooking, the same person making it the same way every single day. We are consistent.
“We joke about it all the time that we pretty much just live here at this point, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But it is much harder than you think when you start. There are fires to put out and weekly hurdles, but generally it all works out.”
In addition to owning a business they can be proud of, the couple enjoy being part of the community, visiting with customers and building a business that will someday pay for their two daughters, now 6 and 8, to go to college.
Their most popular pizza, especially for tourists, is the deluxe, a standard supreme with lots of toppings. A lot of locals like their pie of the week. Some people call and say, “I don’t care what it is. I just want to try something different.”
Other offerings include a Greek salad with a house dressing, yeasty rolls, and smoked chicken wings.
“They have been really popular,” Miah said. “A lot of people go after the wings and don’t even get the pizza. We added a hummus platter to the menu recently. We wanted something quick away from the oven with a lot of fresh veggies and taste, too.”
They are finding the music really draws a crowd. They have a weekly open jam on the patio Wednesdays called the Beaver Town Breakdown starting at 6 p.m., with rotating hosts. Different music styles are welcome, and this draws a number local of talented local musicians.
“We have a bunch of great monthly hosts lined up for the summer,” Miah said. “It has been one of our best days of the week. Currently we have different local musicians on Sundays from 2-5 p.m. but we will move that to later in the afternoon when it gets hot. We also have Sangria Sundays offering a cool and refreshing wine-based sangria that my wife makes. Last Sunday she made a cucumber, jalapeño, strawberry sangria that had a little spice and was super refreshing.”
In addition to wine, they offer a selection of Arkansas craft beers. Black Apple Crossing cider is one of their most popular.
They are in the process of expanding their indoor Beaver Town Lounge, an air-conditioned space with comfortable seats and bar games, and planning to add a TV for sporting events and retro video games for kids.
“This will give people a comfortable place to get out of the sun and heat where they can hang out a little bit, and then get back on their boats or motorcycles and keep on with their vacation,” Miah said.
The Side Bar during the season is open weekdays Tuesday-Thursday from 4 to 8 p.m., and weekends from noon to 9 p.m. They provide delivery to Holiday Island. (479) 244-6941.