7 Arkansas Restaurants Everyone Over 50 Remembers That Are Gone for Good

Some restaurants stay with you long after the doors close.

Arkansans who grew up eating at their old favorites can often still tell you what they ordered.

Take a look back at the Arkansas places that have closed for good.

1. Dixie Cafe

If you ate at a Dixie Cafe in 1999, you had 23 to choose from across Arkansas, Tennessee and Oklahoma, according to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas.

The first opened in Little Rock in late October 1980.

That November, you could get a chicken-fried steak with two vegetables for $4.25.

That first restaurant carried the Black-eyed Pea name, from a Dallas-based chain, until new owners announced the switch to Dixie Cafe in November 1986.

By 2002, sales were estimated at $30 million to $35 million a year.

By 2017, the chain was down to 17 restaurants.

On Monday, December 4, 2017, chief executive Allan Roberts announced that all of them would close.

KATV reported that he blamed declining sales and rising costs.

The doors closed within days.

2. Franke’s Cafeteria

The Encyclopedia of Arkansas says Franke’s Cafeteria began in Little Rock in 1924 and closed in 2020.

You could find a Franke’s in Little Rock’s University Mall from 1968 to 2007.

North Little Rock’s McCain Mall had a Franke’s too, from 1972 to 1992.

You would have found roast beef as the top seller, with hand-fried okra, eggplant casserole and egg custard pie among the favorites.

Zagat rated Franke’s Karo Nut Pie the best dessert in Arkansas in 2015.

Franke’s remaining Little Rock location closed on March 23, 2020, in what was supposed to be a temporary response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

By June 2020, the phone line was disconnected and the website was gone.

3. Cajun’s Wharf

On April 1, 2019, KATV reported that Cajun’s Wharf, a Little Rock restaurant that opened in 1975, would close on June 1.

If you’re wondering why, owner Mary Beth Ringgold cited upkeep on the older building and changing consumer trends.

She described strong weekends and slow weekdays.

A photo caption in the same story shows diners enjoying a sunset on the deck.

You couldn’t eat there by September 2019: Cajun’s Wharf had closed after 44 years.

4. Juanita’s

Levon Helm, Def Leppard and Tito Puente are among the acts AY Magazine says played Juanita’s, a Little Rock restaurant that became a live music venue.

Juanita’s Mexican Cantina opened on South Main Street in 1986.

Chef Mark Abernathy founded it, and he sold his stake in 1996.

You could follow it to the River Market in 2011, a move KATV reported after 25 years on Main Street.

The new address was 614 President Clinton Avenue.

Juanita’s closed permanently in 2015, so you won’t find it now.

5. Capers

At 14502 Cantrell Road in Little Rock, Capers opened in 1997, according to AY Magazine.

Capers won the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence for 14 consecutive years.

Mary Beth Ringgold, who also owned Cajun’s Wharf, led Capers until Dan Kovach took over in 2021.

Capers closed on March 29, 2025, after 28 years.

The owners’ announcement pointed you to Copper Grill in downtown Little Rock if you wanted another table.

By January 2026, AY Magazine reported, The Croissanterie had moved into the former Capers restaurant on Cantrell Road.

The former Capers Market became the bakery.

6. Lazzari Italian Oven

You could eat at Lazzari Italian Oven on Caraway Road in Jonesboro from 1995, according to Talk Business & Politics.

The owners announced its permanent closure in January 2026.

If you drove Caraway Road to Indian Mall, you were part of the traffic that fueled businesses along the road.

That changed after the mall closed and the Mall at Turtle Creek opened on Red Wolf Boulevard in 2006.

If you held a Lazzari gift card, the story said it wasn’t clear whether refunds would be distributed.

7. Feltner’s Whatta-Burger

Feltner’s Whatta-Burger opened on Thanksgiving Day in 1967 as a walk-up dairy bar with a patio, according to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas.

You would have found it at 1410 North Arkansas Avenue in Russellville, across the street from Arkansas Tech University.

The menu that built its reputation was burgers, fried pies and milkshakes.

For its 50th anniversary in 2017, Feltner’s rolled prices back to 1967 levels.

At the anniversary prices, you paid 25 cents for a regular burger and 15 to 35 cents for a milkshake.

After Bob Feltner died in 1997, his daughter Missy and her husband Randy Ellis took over.

The Ellises listed the restaurant for sale in August 2024, looking to retire.

They were apparently unable to find a buyer.

KATV reported in May 2026 that Feltner’s had closed its doors for the final time, after 58 years.

Places That Came Back

Some restaurants that closed did come back.

Herman's Ribhouse, which opened in Fayetteville in 1964, was set to reopen on September 3, 2026, after a six-month closure, Fayetteville Flyer reported.

If you ate at the Old South Restaurant in Russellville before June 6, 2023, you ate in a diner that opened on April 4, 1947.

A fire on June 6, 2023, destroyed much of the structure, and the business reopened at the old Dixie Cafe location on October 18, 2023.

Bruno's Little Italy spent 29 years on Roosevelt Road, where customers could watch Jimmy Bruno twirl dough through a large kitchen window.