Hungry? Head to the Farmhouse

My Farmhouse Café & Bakery at 5 Woodsdale Dr. off Hwy. 187 is a welcome choice for those who have lacked dining choices on that part of the island in recent years.

The café is in the building that formerly housed the Back Porch restaurant, which closed in 2015 leaving the building vacant until it was purchased by Jerry Van Cleave, his wife, Tana, and their daughter, Walker. The business opened in June for breakfast and lunch, and now serves dinner, also.

The Van Cleaves got married in Eureka Springs 25 years ago, visited frequently over the years, and bought a house in Holiday Island in 2018. They split their time between Holiday Island and Tulsa, where they have a business.

“My father ran restaurants in Oklahoma, and I have worked in the service industry since I was 17, hosting, serving and bartending,” Walker said. “I’ve been doing it for six years. I had the background on the service side of it. Because my family spent so much time over here and enjoyed it so much, we wanted to invest in Holiday Island including buying some housing for a retirement investment.”

When the building came up for sale, they saw it as a good opportunity. Jerry has a lot of experience in construction, and they were able to do a lot of the remodeling themselves. Walker particularly enjoyed getting to build some walls and the bar where they will serve liquor once that license is approved.

Opening during the pandemic was challenging.

“We have a concern for the community’s health, as well as our own,” Walker said. “We care about families, but we also felt Holiday Island deserves a nice place to meet and a community hub. Our goal is to do more than serve meals. We are working on finding our balance. We have aspirations to be a big part of the community. We are open to different ideas and connections to solidify that community connection.”

A deck dining area has been added to the north end of the building.

“People enjoy the ambiance of being out on the deck,” Walker said. “They just like to be outside if it is a nice day. We hope to have live music and really create a fun space. We also have people who prefer to eat outdoors because of Covid.”

Walker said they are receiving a positive response from Holiday Island, while also attracting people from Eureka Springs because it is only about a ten-minute drive away.

“We have a lot of regulars who live just down the street,” she said. “We are still learning and growing every day and trying to do everything we can to keep people happy and coming back. People are enjoying the atmosphere, the service and food.”

The menu includes standard fare and daily specials

One recent visitor said it was worth coming back just for the bakery, which offers cookies, muffins, scones, cinnamon rolls, tarts, pies and cakes. They also take special orders.

“We have seen a lot of interest in the bakery,” Walker said. “People like to grab something to take home. We also serve Blue Bell Ice Cream, which has been quite the hit, as well.”

Walker said they are fortunate to have good day line cooks, evening line cooks and prep cooks, as well as servers. They have four people in their kitchen and are always looking for new hires. Walker works the front of the house, and she and her dad “fill in the cracks to do whatever we need to do to keep customers happy and satisfied.”

Holiday Island has been seeing residential and retail growth during the past year. There are few homes for sale, and new retail offerings. Walker is optimistic about the future of Holiday Island.

“I’m curious to see what happens in our future,” she said. “We are still very fresh and new. I’m really looking forward to the future and watching our community continue to grow.”

Call (479) 363-6116 for specials and reservations requests. They are open Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sundays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.