Sound Garden Cafe is open

A new eating establishment -- the Sound Garden Cafe -- opened in town recently.

Located at 185 Townsend Way, the cafe is adorned with repurposed antiques.

Owners Shane Perry and Greg Smith are eager to share the cafe with customers who they encourage to stay and visit and enjoy either music or ballgames.

Perry's fascination with history and collecting old items has provided much of the decor. His love of gardening was part of the inspiration for the name. He has a garden at the west end of the building from which the community may harvest flowers.

"Those came out of a factory on the eastern seaboard. They're from the early 1900s," Perry said of the light fixtures hanging above the bar. He also made the sconces.

The ceiling is pressed tin from W.F. Norman in Nevada, Mo.

The tables are made from old pallets made with angle iron. The seating is repurposed pews. There are old barn doors hanging on a wall.

There is one booth with a window and a "call light" that Perry made from an old automobile hood ornament.

The brick along one wall was originally in an old house from an apple orchard in Bentonville.

"This is the floor out of a railroad box car," Perry said pointing to shelves near the outside serving window.

Televisions will display ballgames.

"We'll try to keep different games on," Perry said.

All of the outdoor tables are made from Buffalo Trace whiskey barrels with pallets for the table tops.

"The cafe can hold between 50 to 60 people inside and up to 99 total, according to the permit," Perry said.

Customers order and pick up food and drink at the window next to the bar. The menu is written on an old chalkboard that was once in an old school house in Gravette.

"About a year ago I bought old timbers from and old barn near Cave Springs and they are used as the base. The top is an old joist that came out of an old building in downtown Bentonville," Perry said.

The east side of the building is shaded from the afternoon sun and the lawn is designed for a place for people to sit on blankets and lawn chairs to listen to the bands.

"I'm going to pull my goose-neck (trailer) up here and put the bands on it," he said.

The menu consists of a chicken salad sandwich on cranberry-raisin bread, a beef link on a hoagie bun and a ham and bacon panini sandwich.

The charcuterie board has a couple of meats, couple of cheeses, gourmet raisins, chocolate with sprinkles, French bread and basil olive oil, Smith said.

"All breads are bakery breads," Perry said.

As for the drinks, Smith said he makes a good Old Fashioned and an orange margarita.

"We like to think our martinis are good," Smith said, adding that his bloody Marys are very popular. "We also have a 'filthy bloody Mary.'"

"We just want to offer a place for the whole community -- everybody -- to be able to come in, feel comfortable and relax, unwind and visit, and get to know their neighbors," Smith said.

"One of the things that really drove all this for me was there is no where to go to just exist and just be with the people you care about and spend time with," Perry said. He said many eating establishments work hard at "turning their tables," moving customers out for the next set of customers.

"Part of this was to create an atmosphere where you can just sit and relax, whether you want to have a glass of tea or a glass of wine, you can just take time to spend time with the people you love," Perry said.

The men said children and families are welcome even though alcohol is served.

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