Dear Readers,

Last week Arkansas Business subscribers received the Book of Lists, in which we compile most of the business lists that we published throughout 2016. Lists like that — the biggest law firms or the highest-paid executives or the most profitable banks — appeal to the part of the human brain that likes to see data organized (especially the kind of data that can translate directly into business contacts and sales leads).

This week, for the third time, we offer a compilation that appeals to the universal interest in other people: all 50 of 2016’s Executive Q&A features in the first issue of Arkansas Business for 2017.

Executive Q&A is not hard-hitting journalism. We don’t set out to grill the executives who agree to answer questions for us. (In fact, if we suspect we need to grill someone, we don’t ask him or her to participate in this particular feature.) But we do look for a variety of subjects from all over Arkansas and from a broad cross-section of our state’s industries and institutions. We ask questions about the individual, his company and his industry or area of expertise. We try to ask questions that will elicit candid and enlightening answers, but, naturally, some people are more candid and enlightening than others.

I know the Executive Q&A is a popular feature with our readers, mainly because of the response that the executives themselves report after appearing in it. With this issue, you have an opportunity to catch up on any of the Q&A features that you missed.

Executive Q&A will continue throughout 2017. If you know of someone who would make a worthy subject, I’m all ears. Email me at GMoritz@ABPG.com.

Best wishes,
Gwen Moritz, Editor

Executive Q&A - 2016

Haag Brown Commercial said Tuesday that U.S. Pizza Co. of Arkansas will open a new restaurant this summer in the Highlands Shopping Center at the intersection of Highland Drive and Red Wolf Boulevard in Jonesboro.

The restaurant will occupy a 6,000-SF space that faces Highland Drive and was the long-time home of Fuji's Japanese Steakhouse, which is moving into the space behind U.S. Pizza.  

The firm said the center had undergone renovations over the past several months.

"The Red Wolf/Highland intersection is ground zero for retail commerce in the Jonesboro trade area," Haag Brown Commercial Principal Joshua Brown said in a news release. "The other three corners are fully developed, so we are expecting The Highlands to be a logical landing spot for new restaurants entering the market."

Zac Qualls, also with the firm, manages the 7-acre property for G&P Development LLC and has overseen its redevelopment.

Brown told Arkansas Business that G&P acquired the center for $5.5 million in 2015, bought a lot directly across from Chili's for $1.25 million in the fall of 2016, and purchased a contiguous building to tear down for $400,000 in the spring of 2016. 

He also estimated that $10 million will have been invested in the center when it's completed. The project involved updating the parking lot, landscaping, exterior and interior, and tearing down two old buildings blocking visibility.

Brown told Arkansas Business the exterior improvements to the center cost more than $1.7 million, and the landlord participation in finishing 60,000 SF should be in the $1.8 million range.

Qualls told Arkansas Business that the center is around 60 percent occupied because prior leases have not been renewed. 

"We are opening up areas of the center in order to land higher quality tenants," he said. 

The center has spaces ranging fro 1,500 to 13,500 SF.

Construction on U.S. Pizza will begin as soon as Fuji's relocates. According to its website, U.S. Pizza has 14 locations throughout the state.

Zest Labs Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Rogers-based Ecoark Holdings Inc., announced Wednesday a new metric it said will simplify managing fresh products throughout the supply chain.

Fresh products have been managed through a "best use by" date. The date varies by product type and producer and is based on general assumptions, according to a news release.

The company said its new metric, called the ZIPR code, is based on the specific product type, growing location, harvest and processing condition.

A ZIPR code, calculated for each tracked pallet using patented methodology and sensors, will help business owners make better inventory and shipping decisions to increase efficiencies, the release states.

2016 was a good year for U.S. Pizza Co., the nearly 45-year-old homegrown pizza chain based in Little Rock.

The company, founded by Judy Waller in the Levy neighborhood of North Little Rock in 1972, saw sales rise 5 percent last year, said COO Drew Weber. He put the company’s 2016 revenue at $14 million.

And now U.S. Pizza, which officially became a franchising company last February, will see its first out-of-state location, a franchise in Texarkana, Texas. Weber expects the restaurant, operated by Sam Dickens, to open this summer.

That announcement comes on the heels of the news last week that U.S. Pizza will open its first franchised restaurant this summer in Jonesboro, in the Highlands Shopping Center. The restaurant will occupy a 6,000-SF space that was the longtime home of Fuji’s Japanese Steakhouse, which is moving into the space behind U.S. Pizza.

The new restaurants will bring the U.S. Pizza-linked restaurants to 16 — 10 corporate stores, throughout central Arkansas and one in Fayetteville; three franchises, in Batesville, Jonesboro and Texarkana, Texas; and three licensees, in Cabot, Conway and Newport.

“2016 was a really good year for us, to be honest with you,” Weber said. “Our sales were really, really strong. … Companywide, including everybody, we’re up about 5 percent. We were real happy with 2016.”

For U.S. Pizza, the difference between a licensee and franchisee lies in the degree of control. Licensees, Weber said, use the U.S. Pizza name but can modify the menu.

Ester and Hunter McClellan, who own the licensed stores in Cabot and Conway, have been with U.S. Pizza for about 20 years, Weber said. “They met and married here and opened up Conway,” Weber said. “They follow everything we do. We’re in the process of talking to them and turning them into a franchise as well.”

The company prefers the control and brand protection of franchising, he said.

“And as we grow, we want to make sure that everybody’s on the same pace, using the same product. We just want to make sure we ensure the quality. Judy’s had this company for 44 years, and now that we’re starting to branch out, we’ve got to make sure we control the quality.”

So while U.S. Pizza Co. wants to grow, it wants to grow in the right way. “We’re going to do it slowly and make sure we get the right people involved with us,” Weber said. “At this point in time, we’re only offering one-unit franchises to any state that touches us. And then basically once we get to the one-store franchisee and he wants to expand after they’re doing a good job, then we’ll definitely look at that. We want to keep our family tight.”

New Maumelle Location
Also on the horizon is a newly constructed store right on Maumelle Boulevard, which should open sometime next month. It replaces the U.S. Pizza at 650 Edgewood St. in Maumelle.

“This store is going to be absolutely gorgeous,” Weber said. The new location, 5,000 SF plus a patio, is triple the size of the old site and will have a full bar, private dining and a fireplace on the patio, in addition to its much more visible presence. Weber said the Maumelle restaurant will hire about 40 more workers.

“I’m really excited about it,” he said. “All of the remodels that we’ve done have just done so well for us, increasing our sales. Randy, Judy’s husband, designs them and makes sure the planting, the brick, everything’s done correctly.” That’s Randy Breece, co-owner of U.S. Pizza.

U.S. Pizza Co. maintains a construction crew of about 10 who, when not constructing new restaurants, occupy themselves with remodels and the upkeep of the company’s properties. An example is the 2014 remodel of the U.S. Pizza in the Heights neighborhood of Little Rock.

“It’s a real exciting time for U.S. Pizza,” said Weber, an employee for eight years. “Our sales are up, our profits are up, so that tells me we’re taking care of the guests and things are good.”

Bark Bar, the dream of a couple of dog-loving Little Rock women, is several steps closer to reality, says Elizabeth Michael.

She and business partner Cara Fowler have raised all the money they need to open what Michael describes as “Arkansas’ first off-leash dog park and restaurant/bar,” in a former church that once housed Dreamweavers Inc. at 1201 Spring St. in the SoMa neighborhood.

In addition, Michael said, the Little Rock Planning Commission has approved Bark Bar’s request for a variance and Bark Bar has received preliminary approval from the state Health Department.

And as of Thursday afternoon, Bark Bar had raised $3,916 toward a $5,500 goal on Kickstarter to enhance the bar’s plans for a dog play area and an agility course featuring some sort of water feature, such as, according to the Kickstarter campaign, “a puppy pool to help your pooch cool off on those hot summer days!”

“We’ve had a lot of hurdles along the way to make this a reality,” said Michael, director of content and social strategy for Little Rock ad agency CJRW. She won’t be quitting her day job; Fowler, who has a background in events planning, will be the full-time operator of Bark Bar.

Last May, the two were lamenting the fact that they couldn’t enjoy a meal and drinks out while in the company of their dogs, when Fowler broached the idea of what would become Bark Bar. “By the next day, we had picked a spot and started the process,” Michael said.

And it has been a process, she said, what with the need for permits from the city and state for what is a novel venture in Arkansas.

However, Michael said, city and state officials have been helpful, and the project has received a lot of support, including from neighbors. The immediate neighbors are commercial, but residences are located within a couple of blocks of 1201 Spring.

Hot Dog!
The only way that Bark Bar would work financially is to have a full bar, said Michael, who as the daughter of Paul Michael, founder of the home décor chain the Paul Michael Co., knows a little something about entrepreneurial challenges. “I grew up in that industry,” she said.

Bark Bar will have a couple of revenue streams in addition to the restaurant/bar: memberships for the regulars (the dogs, that is) and a small retail space. The memberships will allow the establishment to keep vaccination information on file, much as kennels do. And Bark Bar will be partnering with Fur & Collar, a Little Rock pet products company, and offering locally sourced dog foods and treats.

As for the restaurant’s offerings, Michael and Fowler — perhaps unsurprisingly — are looking at a gourmet hotdog menu. “We’re really all about the dog puns,” Michael said, laughing.

But Bark Bar also plans to offer hot food options for dogs. Michael has even asked her sister-in-law, a scientist, to help develop a bacon-flavored doggie ale.

Adam Day is Bark Bar’s landlord. An architect at AMR Architects Inc. in Little Rock, Day is designing Bark Bar. Michael hopes to begin renovation work on the building in about a month.

(See a 360º "virtual reality" rendering of Bark Bar, composed by AMR here.)

“We want this to be a place for the community to come and not feel that they’re being ostracized because they have a dog,” she said.

Michael, who recently earned an MBA from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, declined to share the cost of their project but said she and Fowler have been careful with their money.

Michael said she thought: “I’ve been making these financial models for fake businesses to get my MBA. Why not do it to make my friend’s dream come true?”

Dollar Tree Inc. announced Friday the promotion of Gary Philbin to enterprise president and the addition of Duncan Mac Naughton as president and chief operating officer of Family Dollar, which it acquired in 2015.

Mac Naughton, who will report to Philbin, has more than 30 years of experience in the food, grocery, mass merchant and specialty retail industries. He was most recently CEO of Mills Fleet Farm, but has also held numerous leadership roles at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. of Bentonville.

"Our focus will continue to be on meeting the everyday needs of our customers – through providing terrific values, affordable prices, and the right assortment in clean, convenient and shopper-friendly stores," Mac Naughton said.

Mac Naughton was chief merchandising and marketing officer of Wal-Mart U.S. from 2011-14, executive vice president of Consumables Health & Wellness and Walmart.com from 2010-11 and chief merchandising officer of Wal-Mart Canada from 2009-10. From 2006-09, he served as executive vice president of Merchandising & Marketing for Supervalu Inc. and was head of the Health & Wellness Division.

Philbin has worked for the company for more than 15 years as president and chief operating officer of Family Dollar; president and chief operating officer for the Dollar Tree banner; and senior vice president of stores.

LITTLE ROCK - A Marianna man who says he plotted to defraud a feeding program for children in low-income areas has been sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to make $380,000 in restitution.

The U.S. Attorney's office said 34-year-old James E. Franklin Jr. was sentenced Tuesday for conspiring to commit wire fraud. After completing his prison term, he will be on two years' supervised release.

Franklin is the fourth person sentenced in what prosecutors say was a scheme to defraud feeding programs funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Franklin claimed he fed 244 children a day at a center in Hughes and another 287 at Brinkley. Witnesses said he fed no more than 25 children at the two feeding sites.

Eight other defendants are awaiting sentencing. Three await a trial.

(Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

The Arkansas Foodbank, which merged with the Arkansas Rice Depot on Jan. 1, 2016, announced Wednesday that it distributed a record 25 million pounds of food last year, besting the previous record set in 2014 by almost 2.6 million pounds.

Last year's total is also a 28 percent increase from 2015. The nonprofit served 20.8 million meals to 280,000 Arkansans in 33 counties in 2016.

"2016 was a monumental year for the Arkansas Foodbank," Sanders said in a news release. "I am excited to see in year one of the merger our total passed what both organizations distributed jointly in 2015 while also reducing expenditures."

The Foodbank said it was able to continue its focus on more nutritious foods too, by distributing 4 million pounds of fresh fruit and vegetables and 400,000 pounds of locally farmed rice to 450 partner agencies. It also said it had a record number of volunteers, 9,264 who served for 26,000 hours, and monetary contributions were at an all-time high.

CEO Rhonda Sanders credited the merger for the distribution increase. She told Arkansas Business that it allowed the nonprofit to become more efficient and redirect funds from areas like administration and storing food to transporting and purchasing food.

Now that the merger is done, she said, the Foodbank will strategically plan for the next three to five years, identifying gaps in needs and then addressing them. She believes distribution will significantly increase in the next 10-15 years.

Sanders also said Feeding America, a national nonprofit, had determined that there is a need for the Foodbank to double its distribution. She said that isn't going to happen next year, but it is a long-term goal for the organization.

About the focus on fresh produce, Sanders said the Foodbank would analyze it transportation system with the goal of reducing waste by quickly getting those goods with shorter shelf lives to where they will be distributed, and getting them there close to when they will be distributed.

She also said donors continuing to support the organization post-merger helped it increase distribution.

Sanders said in the release, "Our eyes are now focused on making 2017 as ambitious as the year before. We hope that together we can make create a stronger community where hunger needs are met with sufficient access to nutritious food."

Although Sunshine Week, when journalists gang up to promote open government, is still a couple of months off, the recent downfall of former state Rep. Micah Neal provides us a good opportunity to make an appeal to his former colleagues in the Legislature to undo some of the damage he did.

In 2015 Neal pushed legislation, Act 1102, that exempts local option taxes, also called hotel-motel-restaurant or HMR taxes, from the state’s Freedom of Information Act. Those taxes are paid to cities’ advertising and promotion commissions or visitors’ bureaus.

Arkansas Business used the tax totals to calculate the revenue of the top-selling restaurants around the state. We published that information yearly in lists and throughout the year as we wrote about eating establishments, and our readers — including restaurant owners, investors and developers — loved it. They still ask for those lists, but Act 1102 made it impossible for us to deliver.

Neal, when he wasn’t taking kickbacks, operated Neal’s Café in Springdale, and he told us in 2015 that “it’s nobody’s business what individual businesses’ gross sales are every month.” Neal added: “They’ve threatened to pass a hamburger tax up here where I’m from for years, and I don’t want my gross sales in the paper where all my neighbors and friends can say, ‘Oh, Micah made this much money this month.’”

Neal was so concerned that someone might learn — legally — how much revenue his business received — legally — that he persuaded his colleagues to shut down the public’s right to know. Meanwhile, he wasn’t nearly concerned enough about the impact the kickbacks he received — illegally — would have on himself, his family, his community and on the public’s faith in its government.

Although HMR taxes aren’t the only government information we’d like to see restored to the public through the FOI, it’s a start. The reversal of self-serving legislation by a man who has admitted he was on the take at the time would be a gesture of goodwill to the public that both lawmakers and newspapers serve.

A 124,900-SF office building in west Little Rock tipped the scales at $11.3 million.

Two Financial Operating Associates Ltd., an affiliate of BGK Group of Santa Fe, New Mexico, sold Two Financial Centre at 10825 Financial Centre Parkway. The new ownership is divided among Two Financial Centre Holding Co. LLC, an affiliate of the for-profit arm of Baptist Health (Multi-Management Services Inc.), 65 percent; Kelley Commercial Realty LLC, led by Hank Kelley, 18.43 percent; Stephanie Kelley, 6.57 percent; Karen Flake, 5.81 percent; John Flake, 3.56 percent; and the Flake Family Trust, 0.63 percent.

The 3.83-acre development previously was tied to an August 2006 mortgage of $7.9 million held by Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Co. of Jackson, Mississippi.

Two Financial Operating bought the four-story office building for $11.1 million in August 2006 from Cooper Financial LLC of Rogers, an affiliate of Cooper Realty Investments Inc.

Child Care Transaction
A 9,000-SF child care facility in Maumelle weighed in at $1.83 million.

Cot Investments of Dos Rios, California, acquired the Childcare Network project at 104 Country Club Parkway from Child Development Schools Inc. of Columbus, Georgia.

The 1.28-acre site was purchased for $345,000 in February 2016 from CCP Development LLC, led by Skip Davidson.

Retail Acquisition
A 15,920-SF retail project in Sherwood drew a $975,000 sale. Baba Ganush LLC, led by William Marfoglio, bought the 6503-6515 Warden Road project from Larry and Kim Vognet.

The deal is financed with a three-year loan of $975,000 from First Arkansas Bank & Trust of Jacksonville. The 1.75-acre development previously was linked with a December 2006 mortgage of $600,000 held by Little Rock’s Bank of the Ozarks.

The Vognets acquired the property for $280,000 in March 1992 from the Federal Savings & Loan Insurance Corp., receiver for Madison Guaranty Savings & Loan Association.

Education Deal
A school in eastern Pulaski County changed hands in an $813,500 transaction.

Academics Plus Charter Schools Inc. purchased the 22.2-acre Scott Elementary School development at 15306 Alexander Road from the Pulaski County Special School District.

Most of the acreage was bought for $17,000 in July 1960 from George and Elaine Alexander and Louie Sanford.

Cruizzers Foreclosure
A west Little Rock car wash rang up a $630,000 foreclosure sale.

Simmons Bank of Pine Bluff recovered Cruizzers Car Wash at 13100 Otter Creek Road from Cornett Enterprises Inc., led by Roger and Paula Cornett. The bank obtained a $1.1 million judgment in August stemming from an October 2004 loan of $980,000 inherited from Delta Trust & Bank of Little Rock.

Cornett Enterprises purchased the 1.32-acre location for $275,000 more than 12 years ago from Highway 5/Otter Creek Investments LLC, led by Gene Cauley.

Med Office Purchase I
A 1,688-SF medical office in midtown Little Rock is under new ownership after a $286,000 deal.

IDRG Property Management LLC, led by Brandon Walser, bought the first-floor space in the Parkview Medical Building at 1 St. Vincent Circle from the Fernando & Steff Padilla Revocable Trust.

The deal is backed with a five-year loan of $243,100 from First Security Bank of Searcy.

The space was acquired for $101,000 in January 1988 from Medical Arts Associates, led by Dr. Troy Barnett and Dr. Fernando Padilla.

Med Office Purchase II
A 2,127-SF dental office building in the Hillcrest area of Little Rock sold for $250,000.

Malvi Acquisitions LLC of Concord, Massachusetts, purchased the 5500 W. Markham St. project from T.W.L.R. LLC, led by Tracy Windham.

The 0.15-acre development previously was tied to a January 2005 mortgage of $166,000 held by Arvest Bank of Fayetteville.

Windham bought the property for $115,000 in March 1996 from George and Barbara Beene.

Heights Manor
A 5,091-SF house in the Country Club Heights neighborhood tipped the scales at $1.35 million.

The Karen E. Flake Revocable Trust acquired the house from Chuck Hamilton Construction Inc.

The residence previously was linked with a June 2009 mortgage of $1 million held by One Bank & Trust of Little Rock.

The property was purchased for $310,000 in September 2008 from Rupert Blakely, Angela B. Ross and Angela B. Banks.

Quapaw Manor
A 7,323-SF manor in Little Rock’s Quapaw Quarter drew a $910,000 transaction.

Andrew Somers III and his wife, Sarah, bought the house from the Thomas Clyde Wittenberg & Lillian Phillips Wittenberg Joint Revocable Trust.

The deal is funded with a 30-year loan of $637,000 from IberiaBank of Lafayette, Louisiana.

The home previously was tied to a November 2009 mortgage of $417,000 held by Bank of Little Rock Mortgage Corp.

The Wittenbergs acquired the residence for $725,000 in September 2007 from James and Carla Davis.

Riverbend Residence
A 3,150-SF home in Little Rock’s Riverbend neighborhood changed hands in an $830,000 deal.

William and Peggy Marshall purchased the house from JSW Properties LLC, led by Jane Stewart Gillespie.

The deal is financed with a one-year loan of $841,653 from Simmons Bank.

The residence was bought for $290,000 in June 1993 from Virginia and H.A.T. Bailey.

Accadia House
A 5,100-SF home in the Accadia Court neighborhood of west Little Rock’s Chenal Valley development rang up a $770,813 sale.

Shariq and Sara Tariq acquired the house from The Wilson Co., led by Janet Dillon. The deal is backed with a 30-year loan of $417,000 and a seven-year loan of $160,500 from One Bank.

The location was purchased for $94,000 in October 2014 from Deltic Timber Corp. of El Dorado.

Club House
A 3,050-SF home near the Country Club of Little Rock is under new ownership after a $750,000 transaction.

Ten Timber & Wildlife LLC, led by Leon Catlett II, bought the house from the Lois L. Park Revocable Trust.

The Park family acquired the property for $1,200 in deals with James and Lecila Hewitt in February 1945 and Mary Rowan et al in May 1945.

Robinwood Abode
A 4,042-SF home in Little Rock’s Robinwood neighborhood sold for $568,000.

Barbara Samuels and Nancy Ryburn purchased the house from Steven Williams. The residence was bought for $467,000 in June 2010 from Pat and Stephanie O’Donnell.

Seven-Digit Construction

Renovation    $2,000,000
Country Club of Little Rock
4200 Country Club Road
East Harding Inc., Little Rock

Cornerstone Clinic     $1,992,144
9500 Baptist Health Drive, Little Rock
Bailey Construction & Consultants LLC, Little Rock

New Home    $1,650,000
2317 N. Palm St., Little Rock
Fred Lord Builder Inc., Little Rock

Dairy Queen Grill & Chill    $1,384,455
6100 W. 12th St., Little Rock
VCC LLC, Little Rock

Stone’s Throw Brewing has partnered with Kent Walker Artisan Cheese to provide regular food service at the nano-brewery in Little Rock’s MacArthur Park Historic District.

Ian Beard, a managing partner in Stone’s Throw, said the brewery, at 402 E. Ninth St., was offering Walker’s menu items in a soft opening last week.

Since Stone’s Throw’s opening over three years ago, it had been using the services of different food trucks on a rotating basis. “We are replacing that with pretty much a permanently parked food truck that will be open every hour we’re open and which will allow people to dine restaurant style,” Beard said. “They order their food with their drink, and it will come to their table instead of going out to the food truck and bringing it back.”

The menu will feature a variety of grilled cheese sandwiches, ranging from Walker’s take on traditional to a tomato and pesto grilled cheese to the Woo Pig! (ham, cheese, lettuce and tomato). Soups and salads will also be offered. Beard expects to add menu items after the trial period, and “it’s Arkansas, so we’ll have cheese dip and nachos, the kind of snacks you’d expect in a bar setting.”

“As far as the customer is concerned,” Beard said, “it will be pretty seamless. It will be just like a regular restaurant.”

Burgers made from vegetables? A smartphone app that alerts potential diners to discounted meals at a restaurant? Data analysis to determine the precise amount of fertilizer to use on small farm plots?

Tyson Foods Inc. of Springdale is interested in all of those concepts and more, and plans to use the company’s considerable resources to explore how to make them work on a large scale. Tyson announced in early December a $150 million capital investment fund it calls Tyson New Ventures LLC to invest in innovative food companies and technologies.

The fund’s first recipient was chosen before the fund was announced. In October, Tyson acquired a 5 percent ownership stake in Beyond Meat, a private company that makes meatless burgers sold in Whole Foods stores.

For Tyson, the investment in Beyond Meat and the future investments of the fund are about expanding its innovation efforts through an external network. Tyson is not alone in this as numerous food and agricultural companies such as Monsanto, Coca-Cola and Kellogg’s have created funds or internal divisions to expand their innovative reach outside the company.

Monica McGurk was hired by Tyson in April as its executive vice president of strategy and new ventures. She said New Ventures’ outside investments are meant to complement Tyson’s already robust internal innovation.

“There is such a high degree of entrepreneurial activity, emerging technology and investment in agriculture and food right now that it just makes sense for us to tap into that network, to broaden our view of the world,” said McGurk, who also is president of food service at Tyson.

“It’s a very smart resource play. For us, I think it will be a fabulous stimulus to our culture to have another source of inspiration, another source of external trend sourcing.”

Tyson New Ventures will be run by Mary Kay James out of Chicago. James has a wealth of experience in venture capital, including time as a managing director at DuPont Ventures.

McGurk joined Tyson from Coca-Cola, where she had worked with that company’s emerging brands and ventures teams.

She was brought aboard with the Ventures fund idea already in the planning stages, and her early months were spent helping develop the company’s strategy and goals.

“A significant part of my early days here at Tyson were spent learning what role Ventures could have, as well as reaching out into the venture capital community to learn different practices, different models for applying venture capital to make the right choice for Tyson,” McGurk said. “My role at Coca-Cola definitely gave me exposure to this part of the world.”

Meatless Marriage
Tyson’s first plunge was outside its pork, chicken and beef wheelhouse with the investment in Beyond Meat, which is a darling of the vegan set.

Beyond Meat founder and CEO Ethan Brown posted a statement on the company’s website to explain why he chose to partner with Tyson when his earlier investors included such organizations as the Humane Society of the United States. Brown said Tyson’s use of animals for food goes against his personal beliefs, as do the diets of many friends and relatives; it doesn’t make Tyson an “enemy.”

“My willingness to engage with Tyson may unsettle the most ardent supporters of our brand,” Brown said. “I don’t expect to change Tyson. Nor does Tyson expect to change me. Instead, we both intend to serve the changing consumer.

“The good news is that Tyson and I can — and do — agree on many other things including: the need for sustainable protein for a growing global population; that innovation can fuel growth and profit; and that business best serves the consumer by offering choice.”

McGurk said the fund will focus investments in three main areas: alternate sources of protein, of which the vegan Beyond Meat is a clear example; combating food insecurity and food loss; and the Internet of Food.

The Internet of Food combines data collection and interactive internet to help consumers make better food decisions. Examples include a refrigerator that can tell people when fruit is going bad in the crisper drawer or can recommend healthy recipes based on ingredients inside.

McGurk said research has shown food loss amounts to many billions of dollars annually. One idea Tyson is exploring is a cloud-based app that a restaurant can use to alert consumers that it will be offering food at a discount near closing time; the app would allow diners to save money while restaurants would still make profitable sales while avoiding food waste.

It’s the same pricing concept airlines and hotels use to book empty seats and rooms. While such an app could be made workable for a single restaurant, Tyson’s market reach and restaurant connections could make the idea usable on a much grander scale.

“Every point in the food chain, we’re missing opportunities to connect hungry people with nutritious food that could meet their needs affordably,” McGurk said.

“Tyson has in its DNA a really radical focus on eliminating waste in our value chain,” she said. “It’s part of the way we run our operations.”

Tyson and Beyond Meat made clear the vegan company would still be independently run by Brown’s team. Tyson’s involvement, though, will allow it to learn more about the growing market for non-meat proteins.

Goal Is to Learn
McGurk said the overarching goal of the fund — whether it invests in alternative proteins or a farming efficiency app or a restaurant pricing guide — is to help Tyson learn more about new technologies and business models.

“By getting exposure through smaller investments to the entrepreneurial activity we’ll be able to learn about how the market is evolving, what degree of acceptance is becoming the norm, what technologies and platform emerge as the winners over time,” McGurk said. “The learning, of course, will be very valuable as we think about our overall strategy, our internal innovation efforts and things of that nature.”

Win Some, Lose Some
McGurk said the venture fund is scheduled for approximately an eight-year run with most of the expenditures happening in the next four. Each partnership will differ; Beyond Meat will run independently, but the next investment might have Tyson assuming a more active consulting or operational role.

“Out of the portfolio of investments that we make, we’re hoping to build the next leading businesses over time,” McGurk said. “Some of those portfolio investments will grow into full-fledged businesses that if they are not great candidates for spinning out to some other natural owner could become great platforms for us.

“It’s a combination of betting on the future, hedging our bets a little bit but very much complementary to the way we think about growth and innovation overall.”

Tyson’s growth is important because it will help the company’s purpose: helping feed the world in a sustainable way.

“Some of these partnerships will fail; we’re expecting that not every one is going to be a home run,” McGurk said.

“In fact, that’s part of the design: Make lots of small bets. Some will pay off, some won’t. When that is the case, we’ll find the right option for that company, as well.”

Tacos 4 Life Grill of Conway announced Friday that it would break ground in the spring on a new restaurant on West Sunset Avenue in Springdale, between Buffalo Wild Wings and Freddy’s Frozen Custard.

The local chain also plans to open its first Little Rock location at Shackleford Crossing next month and a Benton location this spring.

Founders Austin and Ashton Samuelson said in a news release, "We are growing and are excited to be opening a location in Springdale. Because of its fast growth and market energy, Springdale has been at the top of our list for a while."

The restaurant also has a charitable focus. For every taco, quesadilla, salad or rice bowl purchased, 22 cents is donated to Feed My Starving Children, a nonprofit.

Since opening the first location in June 2014, Tacos 4 Life said it has donated over 2.2 million meals.

LITTLE ROCK - Arkansas would ban food stamps from being used to purchase soda or junk food under a proposal endorsed by a legislative committee Tuesday, joining a list of Republican-led states hopeful the Trump administration will allow such restrictions to the federal program.

The bill approved by the House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee on a 12-6 vote requires the state to prohibit Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits from being used to purchase products with "insufficient nutritional value." The ban, which goes before the full House later this week, would also require federal approval.

The lawmaker behind the proposal, Republican Rep. Mary Bentley, said it would ensure that food stamp dollars are being used for their intended purpose and encourage healthier habits in one of the most obese states in the nation. More than 398,000 people are on the food stamp program in Arkansas.

"Food stamps are meant to provide for families, for kids to have something to eat," she said.

The federal government has denied similar bans from other states, but Bentley said she was optimistic that President-elect Donald Trump's administration would allow Arkansas to impose the restriction. Similar legislation has been filed in Tennessee and New Mexico.

Bentley's proposal doesn't specify which foods would be prohibited and would require the state Department of Human Services, which administers the food stamp program, to identify foods that have "sufficient nutritional value." The state would use guidelines for the federal Women, Infants and Children program as a basis for those restrictions.

Advocacy groups say the restriction is unfair to low-income Arkansas residents who live in areas where more nutritional options are either unavailable or too expensive.

"We do have many families who live in 'food deserts.'... and choices are limited for folks in many of these communities," former state Rep. Kathy Webb, executive director of the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance, told the committee. "People rely on dollar stores and convenience stores as their primary grocery store because there is not any alternative."

The measure also faces criticism from grocery stores, who say the restriction will impose new burdens and costs on them. One grocery chain, Edwards Food Giant, estimated it could have to spend $1 million to upgrade its cash registers to comply.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy grew a bit faster at the end of last year, spurred by healthier sales for manufacturers and steady hiring that is slowly pushing up wages.

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Blue Sail Coffee Roasters of Conway has signed a three-year lease to operate a coffee shop inside Phase 1 of the Little Rock Technology Park at 417 Main St.

Blue Sail, which has two locations in Conway, will occupy 1,222-SF on the ground floor of the park. The downtown site will be overseen by Andy Pickle, a new partner in Blue Sail, founded in 2014 by Kyle Tabor.

The shop will offer lattes, cold brew and pour overs, as well as brunch items like quiche, croissant sandwiches and baked goods. It plans to be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays and keep Saturday hours too.

"Little Rock has been yearning for a real coffee company that serves well-prepared espresso and slow brews," Tabor said in a news release. "Blue Sail will be staffing some of our best and most experienced baristas from day one and I cannot wait to pioneer the coffee culture in Little Rock." 

Brent Birch, executive director of the park, said the shop aims to open along with the park on March 1. While Blue Sail is important to entrepreneurial scene the park aims to develop, Birch said the general public is welcome too.

"The coffee shop is key element to the highly-caffeinated startup scene providing tenants and their guests an opportunity to collaborate and communicate outside of traditional meeting space," Birch said. "Blue Sail is a perfect fit for the space given Kyle and Andy's entrepreneurial background and spirit." 

The 38,000-SF tech park is billed as a "premier multi-use environment for entrepreneurs and businesses." Phase 1 of the project, which began construction in April, is renovating two 100-year-old buildings into office, conference and meeting space for technology-focused companies.

The park includes conference rooms, co-working desks, one- and two-person office suites, lounge areas, kitchen space and other amenities. Plans for Phase 2 include wet and dry laboratories.

Eleven tenants have been announced for the park so far, including the Venture Center, LumoXchange, PFITR and Sparkible. Together, the companies will bring 50 employees to the Main Street site.

Dawn Prasifka has more than 25 years of experience with nonprofit organizations in Arkansas. Before joining Girl Scouts-Diamonds of Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas as CEO, she was the executive director of the Centers for Youth & Families Foundation, director of operations for Arkansas Children’s Hospital Foundation and volunteer coordinator for Arkansas Hospice.
Education: Prasifka received a Bachelor of Science from Southeast Missouri State University.

Dawn Prasifka is a member of the Downtown Little Rock Rotary Club, Mount St. Mary Alumnae Board past president and a graduate of Leadership Greater Little Rock.

How has the mission of the Girl Scouts changed over the years?

Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place. The mission has stayed true to what our founder, Juliette Gordon Low, intended; however, our methods have evolved to stay relevant to the girls of today.

What’s something about the Girl Scouts that our readers would be surprised to learn?

While some people still think of us as just cookies, campfires and friendship bracelets, Girl Scouts are so much more. Girl Scouts are big thinkers, groundbreakers and role models. They design robots, start garage bands and improve their communities — and yes, they sell the best cookies on the planet. As a Girl Scout, she’s expanding her G.I.R.L. (go-getter, innovator, risk-taker, leader) potential. As a go-getter, she’s determined to succeed — failure is no reason not to get back up and try again. She learns to tap into her ability to be an innovator, looking for creative ways to take action. In the safe environment of Girl Scouts, she can be a risk-taker, learning to try new things and embrace the unfamiliar.

Every year, Girl Scouts collectively spend more than 75 million hours improving their communities, exhibiting the traits of confidence, responsibility and commitment to our world that will make them tomorrow’s leaders.

This is the 100th year that the Girl Scouts have sold cookies. Do you expect that tradition to last another 100 years?

The Girl Scout Cookie Program is the largest girl-led business in the world, and given the program’s history, combined with people’s unwavering love of Girl Scout Cookies, who knows what the next 100 years will bring. Our cookie program helps develop girls into leaders through learning five essential life skills: goal-setting, decision-making, money management, people skills and business ethics.

How did you get involved in nonprofits as a career?

I was a teacher and single mother. There came a time when I realized I needed to change careers to better support my children, but I wanted to stay in a profession that served others. I found that the nonprofit arena is a perfect fit for me because it’s a career in which you can change the community through service to others.

What was your biggest career mistake and what did you learn from it?

I think the best way you can learn is through your mistakes, and I will always be learning. My biggest career mistake was determining my path in life when I was young, without a plan B. I had a one-track plan and did not evaluate my potential. It wasn’t until I was faced with some hard challenges as a young adult that I had the chance to pursue all opportunities and be innovative in growing my God-given talents. I took risks to push myself out of my comfort zone so I could learn more about myself, and that is where I found the servant-leader I strive to be. That ability to be a risk-taker and going outside one’s comfort zone is one of the many benefits girls gain by participating in Girl Scouts.

See more coverage of the Girl Scouts celebrating the 100th anniversary of selling cookies in this month's issue of our sister publication, Little Rock Family.

There’s a target opening date of April 3 for the IHOP at the corner of Markham and University, which was razed only so a newer, better IHOP could arise.

That’s according to Susan North, who with her partner, Marty Gunaca, owns Golden Cakes Inc. of Little Rock, the IHOP franchisee in Arkansas. Golden Cakes has 10 IHOP locations in the state.

North says they plan to start hiring March 13, employing 50 to 60 people.

The reborn IHOP will have 4,805 SF, will seat 164 and will be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The dining room will be one big room instead of three separate rooms, making the restaurant more efficient.

Burger 21, a fast-casual specialty burger franchise based in Tampa, Florida, should be opening its first location in the state sometime in April at 12319 Chenal Parkway in Little Rock.

Franchisee Allen Hurst, a Little Rock native who’s been working in the mortgage business in Colorado, says, “We think it will be a smash hit and it’s a chance for us to get back home.”

The 2,400-SF restaurant will employ between 35 and 50 people full and part time, Hurst said.

Hurst told Arkansas Business last February that he loves the Burger 21 concept, with its emphasis on burgers ranging from variations on beef to chicken, turkey, seafood and vegetarian offerings.

You’ve probably heard that Jim Keet and Louis Petit’s planned Petit & Keet Bar & Grill, which Keet had hoped to open last November, is taking much longer than planned, what with a $1 million complete renovation of the restaurant building considered necessary. That building is the former 1620 Savoy at 1620 Market St. in west Little Rock.

But what you may not have heard is 1). the name of the chef and 2) the reason for the big remodel.

The chef, Keet tells us, is Mateo Vannucci, originally from the Benton/Bryant area. Vannucci trained at the Escoffier Culinary School in Austin, Texas, and is the executive sous chef at Bravo Cucina Italiana restaurant.

The reason for the big remodel, a change from Keet and Petit’s original plan for a modest makeover of the 1620 space, was an analysis of the market potential for private parties, Keet said. That study showed that there are a lot of professional groups that would like to meet in west Little Rock but have limited choices of venues, he said. “We’re confident that this is the right strategic decision, not only for the short term but also the long term,” Keet said.

Look for Petit & Keet to open by May.