MALVERN -- Keeney's Village Store hosts its grand reopening today, beginning at 8 a.m. at 101 W. Mill St. in Malvern.
Formerly called Keeney's Food Market, the establishment was purchased by Hot Springs restaurateur Chef Joshua Garland, owner of DONS Southern Social and Best Cafe.
According to a news release, the first 15 guests will receive a complimentary bottle of "CK's" Secret Sauce.
Visitors will also be able to participate in a meet-and-greet with Garland and original owner Charles "CK" Keeney, with free coffee and doughnuts available to all guests.
Coupons for 10% discounts on future breakfast and lunch purchases over $30 will also be available, the release said.
According to Garland, the process of purchasing and reopening the Malvern eatery took about eight months, while the location underwent "an extensive overhaul" in collaboration with developer Rick Williams, the release said.
The renovation "was a labor a love ... Rick and I wanted to ensure that Keeney's Village Store would not only survive but thrive for future generations," he said.
"We've kept the original smoker that CK himself used to cook his famous smoked meat plate," Garland said.
Charles and Maurine Keeney opened the original Keeney's Food Market in 1956, according to the release, and the eatery was later added to the Arkansas Food Hall of Fame.
Garland chose to purchase the restaurant about a year ago, when he "met Charles Keeney and pretty much fell in love with him and what he was doing ... and wanted to try to keep his legacy going even though he was retiring."
The Hot Springs chef said he sees an opportunity in Malvern. "Malvern is a very small town that I think is ... becoming a bigger place ... and I just wanted to try to have a staple there."
Longtime customers of Keeney's can expect to see continuity as Garland reopens the restaurant, he said. "We're still going to be doing his same weekly specials that he did for ... 40, 50 years."
The new owner began a collaboration with Joshua Davis, executive chef at The Reserve at Hot Springs "to help craft menus and oversee kitchen operations," the release said.
New additions to food offerings at Keeney's Village Store include, "some of the stuff that we do at my other restaurant Best Cafe," Garland said. "In-house biscuits and pancakes," among other breakfast and lunch staples.
Garland plans to introduce "grab and go" meals to the store's offerings, consisting of "things that people can just easily grab ... and take home and with instructions to bake them off themselves and enjoy their dinner at home," he said.
The idea came from "a place in Florida called The Village Store," where Garland was formerly employed, "and we did that quite a bit ... and it was just received very well by the town," he said.
Garland said that he is already in the process of creating another new eatery in Hot Springs called "On the Side ... connected to (DONS Southern Social)," set to open early next year.
"We're going to be offering tapas ... that are meant to be shared with other people ... and it's going to be a lounge," with a "full-service bar, TVs everywhere, fireplace," he said.
"It's also going to have a karaoke room."