It may not look famous, but it is. It’s a fixture so ingrained in Eureka Springs, like many of our long-standing restaurants, hotels and bars, that it’s often used as a landmark. Bubba’s Barbecue reopened this year with new owner Doug “Riverman” Allen. You might recognize Allen’s nickname as author of Riverman’s Guide to the Kings River, or of his owning Jose’s Bar & Grill in Tontitown.
A graduate of Eureka Springs High School, Bubba’s sparked Allen’s return to Eureka Springs, and upon purchasing the restaurant, he determined to keep Bubba’s, Bubba’s. “Not Jose’s. Not Doug’s. Bob’s. Bubba’s,” he said. And that is exactly what you get walking into the restaurant that opened for the season in early March. The walls are still decorated with hundreds of photos, news clippings, and pig themed memorabilia. Every item on the wall has a story. And then it’s the same vibe, same great menu of southern pit BBQ.
Allen referenced the restaurant as “legendary” and reiterated his wish to keep the restaurant’s identity at its core going into its 46th year of operation. He explained that the original Bubba, Bob Wilson, had helped with recipes while Allen had worked to bring back previous staff saying they had been “instrumental” in the restaurant’s success.
Unsurprisingly, pulled pork sandwiches are the best seller, but the menu isn’t just old, time-tested items. An “Other surprise was the banana pudding” Allen said. “It’s funny, I chose to add it last minute we have trouble keeping it in stock. We have to make it twice a day.” Beers are now on tap, and you can get Jose’s frozen margaritas to go with your grilled goodness.
Our conversation about the restaurant did turn a conversation about COVID. Consider it a curiosity of mine how we all made it through the pandemic in our own way. It’s also when the patio at Bubba’s opened. At first, neither of us could remember just how long the pandemic lasted. Between stages of everything closing, partial reopening and changing mandates, it’s hard to keep up with the exact timeline.
Allen, though, spoke of anxiety with owning the second Jose’s location. How to keep one’s livelihood and your employees’ livelihoods in wake of shutdown for an unknown period. He said he’d stayed up late unable to sleep because, “I was going to lose everything.”
During one of those late nights, Allen realized he knew distributors who had access to PPE equipment including gloves, masks, sanitizer and more, and that he could help with distribution. It was how, during those months and months and months of the pandemic, Jose’s was turned into a makeshift grocery store for PPE equipment. Allen even made deliveries of items to businesses in need in the NWA area.
The pandemic was also the time that Allen began writing Riverman’s Guide to the Kings River, a collection his own memories floating the river, as well as tips for how to fish the Kings River, and even old legends that have floated on its shores. Allen said he’d write to “take my mind off of that possibility of losing the restaurant” and that it was “one of the few good things that came out of COVID. Of course, you can pick up his book at Bubba’s.
Hours at Bubba’s are Monday – Thursday, 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. with Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. And when you end up going be sure to check their Facebook page for specials. Try the tamales!
Menu please.