Another Eureka Springs destination is set to make a dramatic change beginning mid-February.
If all goes as planned, the 40-plus acres of Pine Mountain – currently comprised of the successful Harley-Davidson store along with mostly-vacant Pine Mountain Village shops, the empty Pine Mountain Jamboree theater, a disused outdoor amphitheater, an iconic observation tower and the occasional car and craft show – will come to life in a big way.
With a projected timeline of less than a year and an infusion of some $10-plus million, Pine Mountain is slated to emerge by the end of 2020 as a dynamic destination resort catering to cyclists, mountain bikers, motorcycle enthusiasts, event planners, foodies and sightseers with two farm-to-table restaurants and a fast-casual café, 15-plus cabins, boutique shopping, a 200-person event center, an outdoor event space and mountain adventure center.
The entire project is the brainchild of chef-entrepreneur Marshall Johnson and his father, Paul Johnson and Paul’s wife, who own the property and co-own the Pig Trail Harley-Davidson dealerships in Rogers and Eureka Springs.
And it all started with food.
Marshall, a Le Cordon Bleu graduate, has been running the Rockin’ Pig Saloon, one of Eureka’s highest-grossing restaurants, for upwards of 10 years. His commitment to quality food, particularly the meats, have been part of that success. “I’ve always embraced the farm-to-table concept, and we have ground our own meat fresh from day one,” Marshall told the Independent.
It was Marshall’s interest in culinary arts and desire to create fabulous food in an expanded state-of-the-art kitchen that inspired discussions with family and spawned the concept of a new future for Pine Mountain.
So, it’s no surprise that Pine Mountain’s new life will soon begin with the construction of the Rockin’ Pig Woodfire Kitchen and ‘Lil Pig Café.
“The new family-friendly restaurant is a chef-inspired, casual, farm-to-table concept with daily chalkboard specials,” Marshall explained. “Wood fired smokers, pizza ovens and broilers will be used in our state-of-the-art show kitchen, which will be visible to the dining room and will have chef’s table seating up front. We’ll take the menu items that made us famous and make them better, as well as create new dishes. An expanded beverage and cocktail menu will still include local and regional craft beers such as we currently have, and the bar will be a showpiece as well,” Marshall added.
Adjacent to the new Rockin’ Pig and sharing a kitchen will be the Lil’ Pig Café; which Marshall calls the “little sister spin-off” of the Rockin’ Pig brand, but with a full coffee house featuring sandwiches, house-made gourmet pastries, fresh churned Italian gelato and wood-fired pizza. Service will be via walk up counter with an outside pickup window for easy To Go service.
At the top end of the dining experience will be Lyman’s Prime Steakhouse. “I came up with the name years back,” Marshall said. “I was joking with my grandfather, Alvin L. Johnson, about using his middle name someday for a restaurant. He laughed and said, ‘I hope one day that comes true and you get to do that!’
“Alvin was an early executive recruited by Sam Walton for Walmart in the seventies, and traveled the world with his career, experiencing many types of cuisine. He loved a great steak and would ship in high quality beef you couldn’t get in our area. He loved to dine out and he loved a nice cocktail, so I wanted to live up to the promise I had made and create something serious to remember him by. I named the steakhouse brand Lyman’s Prime and Lyman’s Butcher Counter.”
For chef Marshall, farm-to-table includes the beef. The Steakhouse will feature Ozark Mountain Wagyu from his own herd of 100 percent Japanese Black Wagyu cattle, which will also supply the other restaurants when available. Otherwise, Rockin’ Pig and ‘Lil Pig menus will feature 100 percent Heritage Angus cattle bred and raised by family farms in the Midwest.
“The Heritage Angus comes from a family company that traces its pure Black Angus genetics back,” Marshall said. “It isn’t a mass production commodity beef program. The process is controlled, and the end product is levels above the rest.”
Lyman’s Prime will also feature the only dry-aging facility in Northwest Arkansas, and it, too, will be visible from the dining room. At Lyman’s Butcher Counter those prime dry-aged cuts, along with Wagyu beef from Marshall’s own farm, will be available for guests to purchase for preparation at home.
The Steakhouse kitchen will do double duty for the multi-function Social House event venue. Containing the butcher processing area and the pastry chef baking program, this main production kitchen will be capable of supplying menu items for the other restaurants, as well as guest requirements at the event venue and other Pine Mountain festivals and events. The kitchen will be able to hold 200 filet mignons at the perfect temperature for a plated dinner, or roast a whole hog.
Phase One calls for the first restaurant to be open by mid-July with the remainder of the project slated for completion by the end of this fall.
“I’m just passionate about food and can’t wait to get started playing in these kitchens and creating menus,” Marshall commented.
“We hope to continue to grow the winter traffic in Eureka to where this town becomes year ‘round,” he added. “We envision this property as a destination hub for many events, including those that have history on this property, like the car shows and craft shows, as well as new ones we create. It will be an event hub like it once was, but at a much greater level with all the amenities we are adding.”