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 Boomtown
The Argenta district is blossoming into a thriving arts and entertainment center
By Nicole Boddington
Photos By Catherine Gilbert & Jeremy Colburn
Argenta, the downtown that stretched from 8th Street to Main and Locust in North Little Rock, was once a booming city at the turn of the 20th century. It attracted tourists, and saloons thrived on the mills and factories and the revenue generated by the Kellogg silver miles just north of town. But in the early '70s, McCain Mall sprouted to the east, and the decline of the downtown bustle followed. By the early '90s, there wasn't much of anything left along Main Street, except for a drug store, a liquor store, a police station, City Hall, and neglected neighborhoods burdened by rundown houses, unkempt yards, and stray dogs. Gangs moved in. Families moved out. Conditions spiraled into the seedy.
But in 1992, the nonprofit Argenta Community Development Corporationwas established in an effort to fight the decline and found a way to jumpstart revitalization by purchasing various historic properties that were considered endangered by the awful circumstances. Since being placed on the National Register, more than 90 properties have been purchased by the Argenta Community Development Corporation with plans for renovation. In 1994, North Little Rock Mayor Patrick Hays founded Main Street Argenta as a way to stimulate the economy of the business district, which was greatly transformed when in October 1999 the $80 million, 18,000-capacity Alltel Arena opened and began drawing huge crowds to the area. Small businesses started popping up along Main Street. Folks who had previously ventured to or stayed in Little Rock to eat, drink, and hear music began hanging out on the north side of the river.
These days, a handful of small business owners have been experimenting with ways to make Argenta a thriving arts community. Chris Kent, of Cornerstone Pub & Grill, Louis France, of Reno's Argenta Café, Jeri Warlick, of Argenta Coffee Company, and John Rogers, of the Scene, are just a few of these people with Argenta's revival on their minds.
 Cornerstone Pub & Grill
Little Rock natives Louis France and Chris Kent opened Cornerstone Pub and Grill, the first restaurant/bar on Main Street, in May 2003.
Cornerstone quickly became an everybody-knows-your-name hangout known for its draft beer, homemade potato chips, pool table, darts, and Ms. Pac Man machine.
Last year, the owners parted ways: Kent got the bar; France got the building. Kent relocated Cornerstone to an adjacent building, which formerly housed a billiards room in the '30s, the Twin City hotel, and the Magic 105 radio station.
The two-story space provides more than enough room to attract big musical acts that would otherwise overwhelm most central Arkansas venues, yet its spacious upstairs lounge area still manages to feel cozy with leather sofas and pool tables.
Kent said he tries to fill a different niche than some of the other places around town and wants to concentrate on booking more live music. Cornerstone has welcomed local bands like Ho Hum, Free Verse, and Weakness for Blondes and national acts, like The Vacation, The Shys from Los Angeles, and hip-hop duo Blackalicious.
In addition to running Cornerstone, Kent has become involved with Main Street Argenta and now serves as president of the board and works on securing and planning development projects.
“It's hard to come out of the bar business and sit in these meetings with people talking about spending $40 million, I'm like, ‘Am I in the right room?'” he joked. But, for Kent, it means improving the Argenta district.
Some of the major development projects include the $14 million, twenty-five mile bike loop through downtown Little Rock and North Little Rock, the Dickey-Stephens ballpark, future north-shore home of the Arkansas Travelers, and the Clinton Presidential Center and Park's walking bridge.
Kent hopes these projects and Argenta's emerging arts scene will encourage younger people to move into the area and support local businesses, artists, and musicians.
314 Main St., (501) 374-1782, www.cstonepub.com
Reno's Argenta Café Louis Reno France has been part of the renaissance in the Argenta district since 2003 when he and Chris Kent started Cornerstone Pub and Grill. After splitting from Kent, France, whose father owned the property, remodeled the space and opened Reno's Argenta Café in November.
With its rich colors, antique black-and-white photographs, local art, wall-sized mural, and comfortable booths near the front windows, Reno's is more inviting and intimate than its previous man's-man bar-and-grill predecessor.
Reno's serves up a variety of dishes—gourmet pizzas, gyros, Cuban sandwiches, Italian subs, and Southern fried catfish, to name a few—and has a well-stocked bar and wide selection of beer on tap.
On Wednesday through Friday nights, local musician Chris Gulley plays soft jazz on a piano that has been in the Argenta district since the '30s.
France says business has changed greatly over the past few years as North Little Rock residents don't have to cross the river to experience fine dining and entertainment, which he credits to his neighboring small business owners and city officials.
“The people in the Argenta area are visionaries. They see a community of food, music, and art all working together to create a well-rounded ‘Argenta' experience for the locals and visitors.”
312 Main Street, (501) 376-2900, www.renosargentacafe.com  Argenta Coffee Company
In 1999, Jeri Warlick moved from Witchita Falls, Texas, to North Little Rock when her husband Mike was transferred here on active military duty. An interior designer and artist, Warlick rented studio space in the Argenta district before opening Argenta Coffee Company six months ago.
“I was drawn to this part of town, because downtown Little Rock used to be the heart of the city, but now it's commercialized, and downtown North Little Rock is becoming the heart,” she said.
With only enough space for a half-dozen tables, Warlick has big aspirations for her little coffee shop, offering salsa lessons on Thursday nights, live music by local artists, like Tim Anthony of Afrodesia, on Friday and Saturday nights, and art openings for local artists.
Argenta Coffee Company serves what you'd expect from a coffee shop—espresso drinks, flavored coffee, iced and frozen coffee drinks, and Italian sodas. The lunch menu consists of salads, quesadillas, and sandwiches with about every combination of meat, cheese, vegetable, and bread that you can think of, all named after Argenta Coffee Company regulars (the “Mike” in Mike's Meat Lovers and the “Joe” in Cheesy Joe were both having lunch when I was there), salads, and desserts.
Warlick's near-future plans include opening the patio for outdoor dining and live entertainment, serving beer and wine, and bringing in specialty desserts and pastries to make the coffee shop an after-dinner stop.
318 Main St., (501) 372-3670  The Scene
Since February, the Scene has been open every Friday night from 8 p.m. to midnight for art parties.
John Rogers, who runs the Scene, sets up easels and art supplies for local artists—and everyone else—to walk in and become part of an interactive arts experience where he invites people to draw, paint, watch movies, and hear live music.
Most recently, The Bloodless Cooties and Soophie Nun Squad played there for good-sized crowds of hipster kids and older folks alike.
Unlike any art gallery and music venue you'll find in central Arkansas, or perhaps the state, Rogers said his idea for the Scene spun off of the art parties he used to throw with friends Patrick Cunningham and Kevin Kresse.
“We started throwing art parties about twelve years ago at our houses. We'd build easels, bring out art supplies, everybody would BYOB. We'd pay for a model and a band. We thought, ‘Let's all create, consume, and listen to music,'“ he said.
Rogers remembers the first art party held at Patrick Cunningham's house near Mount St. Mary's. Early Sunday morning, a group of older women, on their way to church, stopped to inquire about the easels—still holding wet canvasses—strung across the front yard.
“Here were these old ladies, stepping over tequila bottles out on the yard, knocking on the door, asking ‘Is any of this artwork for sale?'”
The art parties soon outgrew their front yards.
“We started throwing art parties in a warehouse across from Cajuns,” explains Rogers. Forty or fifty people would come, the majority of them artists—drawing, creating. All types of makes and personalities: old and young, tattooed, pierced, not tattooed, not pierced, conservative, not conservative.
“One night a girl said, ‘I want to be a nude model,' so she stripped off. Some artists' kids were there. They didn't ask them to leave; the kids weren't affected by it. So we had artists drawing the nude model, a band playing, kids running around, and everybody was at ease, no one was offended; that was cool. That feeling, that energy level, you haven't seen that [at the Scene] yet, but that's what I want to bring here: All ages, all types of people, all getting along, all creating. I've got to be careful about politics, being across the street from the mayor, but there are different degrees of how to take this to the edge because I will take it to the edge.”
Rogers, an interior designer, said he spends about $1,000 a month out of pocket on supplies, a model, a band, and beer and wine just to allow the parties to be free of charge while accepting donations.
John Gaudin, who owns the one-story building, supports Rogers' project, and has been letting him use the space for free.
The building, which was a car dealership in the '70s and now functions as an office furniture storage facility, will be torn down in late summer with plans for rebuilding it as an office building and condominium project called Argenta Place.
Rogers said he's not attached to the physical property. His easels, supplies, and equipment are mobile; he can easily take his concept elsewhere.
Gaudin said he'll help Rogers relocate the Scene to another building in Argenta.
Rogers welcomes donations of art supplies, submissions for third-Friday Arkansas film nights, and asks bands to contact him if interested in performing.
To donate, stop by the Scene on the corner of Main and Broadway in Argenta or visit.
301 Main,www.thesceneonline.org
Nicole Boddington is associate editor for Localist and assistant internet editor at Arkansas Business Publishing Group. She's thinking about buying an electric blue velvet vintage couch from Galaxy Furniture at 304 Main Street in the Argenta district. Let her know if $225 is a good deal by emailing her at nicole.boddington@gmail.com. |
