Bentonville's future farm-to-table fine dining
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Chef Matthew Cooper at his under-construction RYN property in March. Photo: Alex Golden/Axios
An elevated tasting menu restaurant — already scarce in Northwest Arkansas — is just one piece of Bentonville Chef Matthew Cooper's next project.
State of play: RYN in northeast Bentonville has a more rural feel than Cooper's downtown restaurant, Conifer.
- The property includes a pre-Civil War home that's being renovated, as well as a full-fledged farm just outside the fine dining restaurant.
What they're saying: "I want to train people for the culinary field and show them what real farm to table is," the James Beard Award-nominated chef said. "And not just like, 'Oh, we grew this and then we served it,' but what it means to have relationships with local farmers and understand how they do their business."
- The plan is to grow anything RYN and Conifer needs while using products from other local farms. RYN may grow vegetables for other farms or restaurants, but there's no plan for wholesales or to compete with other farms.
- RYN will have an educational component, and Cooper wants to work with culinary programs and kids.
The big picture: The property will also be home to a store selling locally-made goods, host events and have a guest house for visiting chefs or those holding events.
- It'll also be a community space where people can hang out and have a drink from the mobile bar inside the store, with a pebble creek for the kids.
Zoom in: The restaurant will feature a 26-seat dining room plus an eight-seat private space. There's also a parlor room and room for the chefs to research and write menus.
- Expect a simple, thoughtful aesthetic with wood floors, a fireplace and stained glass.
How it works: Diners will make a reservation, offered at one time daily Wednesday through Saturday, and won't know what's on the menu until they show up. Think nine to 10 courses of American cuisine sourced locally and regionally as much as possible (with exceptions, like fish).
- Like Conifer, RYN will serve an entirely gluten-free menu and can accommodate other allergens or dietary restrictions.
Background: Cooper is originally from Arkansas and returned in 2010 after living in the Pacific Northwest. He's been cooking for some time, but Conifer was the first restaurant he 100% owned. It opened in 2022.
- "Being able to own something and not have to answer to anyone has really given me the opportunity to break all the chains and do all things that I've known that a restaurant was capable of doing in this area forever," Cooper said.
- He wants his restaurants to be a model, showing the industry that restaurants can sustainably offer livable wages, health care, and vacations. He also strives for "a good environment where you can successfully fail and not get yelled out and not have any of these traumas from the restaurant industry."
What's next: The restaurant is tentatively set to open in May.