Our family’s first big trip since our son was born didn’t go the way we drew it up. We had four days planned at Roaring River State Park, but a flooded campsite on day two cut it short. After a night in Eureka Springs, my wife, son, and I took our time driving home to Sand Springs, stopping in downtown Rogers, Arkansas to explore. We wandered the shops, let Jordan burn off energy at Railyard Park, and worked up an appetite along the way.
As lunchtime approached, we initially tried to stop in at OZ Smokehouse, but they had already run out of food by the time we got there a little before 1:00 p.m. Instead we ventured around the corner to Parkside Public in search of some good pub fare.
Parkside Public
112 S 1st St, Rogers, AR 72756
A Great Retro Atmosphere
Parkside Public sits in the Railyard Entertainment District, billing itself as a burger-and-beer alehouse, and the atmosphere absolutely delivers on that promise. If you grew up on cartridge-based consoles and movie posters, the space feels like home.
The wait to even be seated took a little longer than we expected, but we didn’t mind because they had a retro box TV and Super Nintendo hooked up at the host stand with Back to the Future for me and Jordan to play. The whole restaurant had a great retro vibe and lots of pop culture decor.
The Wait Wore On
The wait continued after we were seated, as it took about 30 minutes to get our food. Thankfully we were seated right next to another arcade game that kept our kid from getting too rambunctious, but we were definitely sweating it.
The place wasn’t particularly popping with people, but it was clear they were understaffed. Some restaurants are chronically understaffed, some just have off days with unexpected cancellations. Since I’m not a local, I can’t speak to which situation this was. Our server was friendly enough, even if it did take quite a bit of time to get any drink refills.
The Food Was a Letdown
When our food finally arrived, none of us was particularly impressed.
I had a simple bacon cheeseburger with pepper jack cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, and a fried egg. It wasn’t terribly priced at $10.90, but it wasn’t particularly flavorful and was a bit greasy. Not a bad burger by any means, just didn’t leave me wanting more.
My wife had the chili cheese dog, which came out with a very soggy bun, suggesting it may have sat out on the counter a little too long before making its way to our table. At $8.50 for a hot dog, she wasn’t satisfied at all. Our son had a plain hot dog — that was fine enough. The restaurant serves Nathan’s Famous all-beef hot dogs, which are of solid quality.
The three of us split an order of truffle oil fries that could have used a bit more seasoning, to be sure. We each drank water, so we made it out of there for only $50 even. But even at a reasonable price by today’s inflationary standards, we weren’t impressed.
Would We Go Back?
If we were locals, we would probably get around to giving them another shot in case it was a bad day. But with how rarely we expect to pass through Rogers, I expect we’ll try somewhere else next time we’re in town.
The retro arcade setup and the pop culture decor genuinely won us over, and the prices were fair. The food and the service just didn’t keep pace with the atmosphere on the day we visited. If you’re in the Railyard District with kids in tow and you want a relaxed, nostalgic spot to grab a burger, it may be the off day we caught — but for us, the meal didn’t quite land.
