Kent Walker Artisan Cheese, 323 S. Cross St., which closed last month, will reopen in June as Southern Table, new owner Margie Raimondo of Raimondo Winery says. She bought the business in its entirety from Walker, including his cheese recipes, and she has already started making cheese.
Raimondo, who grew up in an Italian family making cheese and also made cheese during a year she spent in Italy, said cheese-making “is just a natural extension of wine making; I understand the process of fermentation.”
Southern Table will have both a retail and nosh side; on the retail side will be Raimondo’s own gourmet jams, jellies and spreads along with her Italian wines. On the restaurant side she’ll offer antipasti of cheese, smoked meats, bread, nuts, olives and other nibbles, along with hers and others’ wines and local beers.
Southern Table, which will seat 50 to 60, will have a Southern look: She’s remodeling the property with natural wood and ship lathe. It will be hung with artworks from the private collection of Al Hodge, senior vice president of Arkansas Capital Corp. Southern Corp. will be a place to stop before dinner, “a shared food experience,” with hours from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. (tentatively).