When we reported on Jan. 2 that South on Main had officially closed, owner Don Dugan told us that he’d agreed in terms on the sale of the restaurant and expected to close the deal later that week. That sale never happened, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported last week.
Dugan told the Democrat-Gazette that he and his wife, Tasha Stratton, are planning to reopen the restaurant as a different concept.
“Give it a couple, three months,” he says, noting that they have not yet fully formed a concept for the space.
Dugan and Stratton, purchased South on Main, located at 1304 S. Main St., at the beginning of 2020 when chef Matt Bell sold the restaurant after accepting the executive chef position at Gray & Dudley, the restaurant in the 21c Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee. Bell opened South on Main in partnership with The Oxford American in 2013.
Dugan took over the restaurant just before the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The restaurant kept the Southern-style menu theme, but the programming partnership with Oxford American didn’t continue on after the pandemic started.
Together Dugan and Stratton own Dizzy’s Gypsy Bistro, Dugan’s Pub and Stratton’s Market.
