ROGERS, Ark. — Some of the world's top women professional golfers are teeing off in Rogers for this year's Walmart Northwest Arkansas Championship. But this event has so much more, including a tasty food festival called "Bite NWA."
Bite is a three-day culinary experience that has been a part of the LPGA tournament since 2015. It's located right on the golf course and attendees get to try food samples from 38 different restaurants in Northwest Arkansas.
Executive Director Annye Degrand Fox said that new restaurants are added every year, providing a fresh and exciting lineup each iteration.
"Every year we're adding new restaurants. The restaurants change out every day, so it really allows us to engage with a variety of different restaurants. and with us recruiting 28 more restaurants this year alone, that's really allowed us to expand our reach," Degrand Fox said.
Organizers said that the event gives local restaurants and small businesses the exposure they need.
"Here in Northwest Arkansas, there's such a diverse array of restaurants, cuisines and foods to offer, and so for us, we just really want to showcase the incredible local small businesses that we already have here and show off the diversity of what's here in our community. It's really special, and we hope people leave, you know, seeing new restaurants, trying new restaurants that they may have never heard about, that are right here in their own backyard," Degrand Fox said.
In previous years, Bite NWA helped dozens of restaurants gain more customers. Nosh Nola in Bentonville is one of them.
Hayne Begley, the owner of Global Street Hospitality, which owns Nosh Nola, said that the event was good for business.
"Between the last Bite NWA and now, the number of caterings we picked up from this for private events was fantastic, but just people coming in and going, 'hey, we found out about you at Bite NWA,' and then people seeing us back this year helped us a ton, helped us win awards and recognition," Begley said.
Nosh Nola operates inside Bentonville Brewing Company and is known for its New Orleans style brewpub. This is its second year participating in the event.
"We always try to stick to something that's very southern, very traditional, and obviously we have that New Orleans flare, So what we did is we did a smoked pork belly with our homemade apricot barbecue glaze. We did greens and then rice grits, so a little bit different on the grits, but it's an Arkansas product, and I think what people say is that there's a ton of flavor. It's fantastic," Begley explained.
With Bikes Blues and BBQ happening last week and now the LPGA tournament, J.R. Shaw with Destination Rogers said last year the motorcycle event accounted for about $15 million and the LPGA was about $10 million.
"I think a lot of the secondary and tertiary events that are around here, are important for our small businesses. You know, the dollars and cents are great, but the community-oriented, facet of it, and then the awareness that it brings for Rogers in Northwest Arkansas is priceless," Shaw said.
Bite NWA is from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are sold out for Saturday but there are still tickets available for Sunday. You can buy online or at the gate for $50.
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