After nearly 15 years holding down its busy corner spot, Local Lime will open the doors of its new flagship restaurant this month. The stylish Mexican-inspired restaurant isn’t going far — just a few doors down in The Promenade at Chenal — though the new space offers not only more square footage, but the opportunity to fully reimagine its atmosphere and dining experience.
We caught up with Amber Brewer, chief creative officer of Local Lime’s parent company Yellow Rocket Concepts, for an up-close look at the stunning design elements bringing new life to a local favorite.
Tell us about the inspiration behind the space. What atmosphere did you want to create?
The inspiration was simply to expand on what we love about Local Lime and to answer the requests we’ve heard from our most loyal patrons over the last 15 years — a shorter wait, a larger and more comfortable patio, an expanded bar, an expanded menu — without having to move our address. Our new space is just three doors down the sidewalk from our home base. When this space became available so close to us, we were thrilled. The atmosphere we wanted is a fresh environment inspired by the origin of our flavors and food: a relaxed, semi-coastal feel with very natural tones that let the vibrancy of the food shine. We want the whole space to feel like it could exist indoors or out.
What new characteristics did you want to bring in? And what from the former space did you want to preserve?
Fifteen years ago with the original Local Lime, we opened in a small space, took advantage of existing walls and didn’t have the running room for much variance in finishes, so I kept it very minimal, playing on the broadest references to our food and desired vibe.
The white masonry and brick in the original space references the white adobe of the regions our flavors are drawn from, so in the new space we expanded on that, pulling the texture forward into walls with adobe-like plaster finishes that are hand-streaked. We furthered the masonry aspect by adding terracotta breeze blocks for an airy feel and outdoor dining reference.
We also carried through the rustic woodwork found in the original location that represents exposed beams found in older coastal structures, but pushed it further. In the larger dining room, we used it to build slatted, shutter-style walls that dapple the light like sun through palm trees and let air move through for that open-air, breezy feel.
Our paint palette has expanded, too, adding more cool cactus, silvery agave greens and terracotta to enrich the original tones of adobe white. And of course, Toro Blanco, the steer head who has watched over our patrons at the bar for 15 years, is moving in with us to keep an eye on everyone.
With this serving as the flagship Local Lime, how did you set it apart from other locations?
What sets this location apart as the flagship isn’t that it’s entirely different, it’s that it becomes our training ground. The kitchen plan here will train future chefs and kitchen managers across all the Local Limes, and the front of house will do the same. This space is run by our most senior crew, many of whom have been with us for over a decade. The expanded footprint — a more robust patio, a bigger to-go pickup area and a larger kitchen — lets us set the systems and tone here that we’ll carry into every existing and future location. We’re using this space to set the standard the rest of the brand grows from operationally.
Is the new vibe reflected in the menu? If so, how?
Yes! The updated vibe is slightly more airy and bright, taking advantage of more natural light, and has more color and depth of texture and pattern. This is reflected in the menu through more frequent specials that let us flex the palate and colors of the seasons. With the expanded bar, we can do more with our seasonal menus and offer a more colorful array of tequilas, mezcals and cocktails, more frozen drinks and more variety overall. We’re not changing any of our menu fundamentals, but we’re introducing a bit of updated dishware and tweaking the presentation of some dishes to reflect our new eye on the existing palette. Most of what you’ll see comes through rotating specials in both food and beverage.
What are the must-see (or your personal favorite) details and finishes?
What I’m most proud of are the pieces we create with our local team we have worked with for two decades. Our blade signage at the corner of the entrance was designed by me and our local sign fabricator 15 years ago. Together we made a plan to rehabilitate it and give it a glow-up while staying true to the original format. It’s really special to work with someone over that long and have them be part of the future.
I’m also proud of every piece we’re making with our local metal and wood craftsmen: the floor-mounted light fixture in the main dining room, made literally by bending wood with chains in their shop in Beebe; the adobe niche wall, hand-troweled by our Little Rock team and filled with handmade clay pieces from 10 different families in Oaxaca; and the custom tile mosaic developed with our design team, a special pattern used for the first time here that we’ll use forevermore.
And with the custom glass and metalwork, the same local fabricators make the pieces we take on the road, so there’s a piece of Little Rock in every one of our locations, you just get to see it in an expanded view here.
As Local Lime inches toward an opening date, follow along on Facebook and Instagram for the latest.