ROGERS, Ark. — Proof Downtown, a rotating culinary venue in Rogers, is helping new restaurants find their footing in the Northwest Arkansas food scene before officially opening their doors.
“There’s a lot of variables in owning a restaurant, and I think it's a big leap for a lot of people to take,” said Culinary Director Ash Skaggs.
Proof Downtown aims to provide a softer landing for new businesses taking that leap, inviting new restaurants or chefs to try out their concepts for 30 days at the venue with support from Proof.
“We want to let them have the chance to make this place their own and put their menu out,” Skaggs said.
Right now, the venue is home to Lasang Pinoy, a new Filipino restaurant.
One of the owners, Maria Smith, said her brother is a chef, and her family had always wanted to bring Filipino food to the community.
“[Lasang Pinoy] is all about Filipino food and culture,” Smith said. “... That's why we've got karaoke. Part of my goal is to bring the dancing, the music, the language, the food.”
Smith and her family had plans to open their restaurant’s doors just weeks before the May 26 tornadoes tore through Rogers, heavily damaging their new space.
“The roof came off, the interior walls came down, the glass doors and windows came down, and we had to start over,” Smith said. “I was trying to figure out, ‘What do we do?’ I mean, here I am: I've got the name, I've got the ideas, the menus, all this stuff planned out, and we're stuck.”
That’s when Proof Downtown came in at the perfect time.
Smith said she reached out to Proof’s owner, Hannah Cicioni, and she offered the venue to Lasang Pinoy for an extended three months, instead of the usual 30 days.
“I’ve never worked in a restaurant, I've never owned a restaurant, I've never done any of this,” Smith said. “To have this support system that allows us a network to supply chain, support from a bookkeeper standpoint, support from a marketing standpoint … all we have to do is come in and cook and serve people.”
The format allows the restaurant to test the waters and introduces the community to the menu, which Smith said has been a success so far.
“It has been so heartwarming and overwhelming, the support from the Filipino community … and just the exposure to the rest of the people in Northwest Arkansas; seeing people interested in trying new things is so cool,” Smith said.
“Some of the things you can't pronounce; some of the things you would never eat on a regular basis, but people are really curious about this cuisine, and they're coming, and they're coming back.”
Lasang Pinoy serves dinner Thursday-Saturday and Sunday brunch. The restaurant will operate from Proof Downtown’s venue at 200 N 1st St. in Rogers through October. After that, the family will wait for repairs to be completed on their original building, which Smith said will take about five months.
Restaurants and chefs interested in trying out a culinary concept through Proof can submit a request on Proof Downtown’s website.
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