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Welcome to the End-of-Year Special of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas podcast!!

Juuuuuust when you thought there wouldn’t be a podcast today (amirite?!?!). It’s been a series of technical snafus the past few days, but it’s finally done!

In this End-of-Year Special, we picked out some of our favorite stories of the year. We couldn’t do them all, because the episode would be too long and consequently, I found out that I didn’t have enough storage to make the episode any longer anyway.

We didn’t include Food News in this episode, either. I didn’t want to make it a focus of the episode, but some news came down that we couldn’t just put off.

• I got word that Black Apple Hard Cider will be closing their taproom for good after today. That’s right, the last day will be today, December 31, 2025. Get out there if you can!
• Fridha’s Mexican Kitchen and Mezcal officially closed their doors for good last night (12/30). They’ll transition into a catering business, mobile bartenders and event space.
• Jaclyn’s Kitchen announced today that they’ll be opening at their new location at Prairie Creek Marina on March 1.
• Black Crown Social closed their doors, and it’s for an exciting reason. They’re growing and they’re moving to a bigger spot. It’s currently under construction. No word on where the spot is or when it will open

We round out 2025 with stories from Junto, MJs Pizzeria, San Miguel Mexican Grill, Lasang Pinoy, Marsouls, Sassafras Winery, The Odd Soul, Pizzeria Ruby, KYYA, The River Grille, Eleven at Crystal Bridges, The Stonebreaker, Erin Rowe, The Venesian Inn, The Hive, Leverett Lounge, Heirloom at the 1907, The Wooden Spoon, Menya Kitakara, New Province, Goat Lab, Bocca, R.G. Mason & Carson Apple Brandy, Chefs Matthew Cooper and Rafael Rios, Dot’s Hot Chicken, Uptown Kitchen & Taphouse, Atlas the Restaurant, Onyx Coffee Lab, Casa Alejo, Bistro 16, Bentonville Brewing Company, UA Football player and pitmaster Cam Ball, Kilroy Public House, Rendezvous Junction, Callisto, Nosh Nola, Geraldi’s & Pizza Navona, Baked by Kori, Mockingbird Kitchen, Bloom Cheese Collective and Archie’s Sandwichery.

Available on YouTube and wherever you listen to podcasts.

Happy New Year!