The River Grill- Brenda Swango

On this edition of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas podcast, we’re up in Bentonville at The River Grille talking to Brenda Swango, but before we get to that... we talk Food News!

Some good news:

• The Feral Pig is finally open in Fayetteville. We hear what items owner Julie Sill has brought over from the legendary Common Grounds
• Chef Rafael Rios has announced the grand opening date for his newest venture, Casa Magnolia in downtown Springdale

Some not-so-good news:

• The Blackberry Brasserie has closed
• Bentonville Provisions will be closing soon.

Brenda Swango practically ran a café at a gas station as a 14-year-old. She worked in restaurants through college, which included pounding ice at 6 in the morning. She’ll tell that story.

After college, she worked in retail and travel, but the pull of restaurant life never left her, and she wanted back in. She worked for a restaurant group in Oklahoma and wanted a project where she was a partner, and it finally came. A steakhouse in Bentonville in the year 2000? Hear what she thought at the time.

Brenda also tells us about their event called Dining in the Dark. What is it, how do folks participate, and what does it have to do with Chelsea Handler?

We hear about it all with River Grille’s Brenda Swango, on this edition of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas!

Listen wherever you get your podcasts!