Writer: Rebekah Hall Scott Photographer: Jamie Lee
Pine Bluff’s Magnolia Food Market & Bar plays a part in the revitalizing the city
For Ryan Watley, CEO of Go Forward Pine Bluff, bringing the Magnolia Food Market & Bar to fruition was a labor of love. The food hall, which opened in August 2025 as part of Simmons Bank Park in downtown Pine Bluff, features a unique model designed to support local food entrepreneurs. Each of the five start-up businesses housed within the space are on three-year capacity building leases, during which they receive assistance from Go Forward Pine Bluff as they continue to “market their product and grow their reserve funds,” Ryan says. The businesses include Oasis Catering, Mexico Lindo Taqueria, Distill Bar, Kylan’s Kitchen, and White Hall Fresh Market, plus JLC Wellness, which is located next door in The Bank: Pine Bluff Mercantile.
“The idea for the Magnolia Food Market and Bar was born out of an economic development condition we have in Pine Bluff, in that many of our local entrepreneurs would like a brick-and-mortar opportunity, particularly downtown, but they don’t have the capital to deploy into the historic buildings,” Ryan says. “We needed to create something that would help these entrepreneurs’ ability to build capacity for their own independent operations. At the same time, food halls were becoming very popular across the country. So, we approached this from a small business development standpoint and as an opportunity to improve quality of life.”
Planning for Simmons Bank Park—which includes the market and mercantile—began in 2018, and construction for the $8.5 million development began in 2021. The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff contributed the building that now houses the food space to the Pine Bluff Urban Renewal Agency. “It was an old warehouse with a hole in the roof; it was in bad condition,” Ryan says. “We were able to envision what you see today. That was part of putting on our creative hats and imagining what could be possible.” Simmons Bank donated a former bank building, thus the name The Bank: Pine Bluff Mercantile. Other partners include the Walton Family Foundation, the Delta Regional Authority, and funds from the 2017 Go Forward Pine Bluff sales tax, which ended in 2024.
Ryan says the response from the vendors at the Magnolia Food Market & Bar has been positive.
“They’re very thankful for the opportunity, for the vision, and for being selected to do this,” he says. “Otherwise, they would still be cooking in food trucks, selling plates out of their home or catering, or they might not have a business at all.” He also notes that the community has been supportive. “It’s rewarding that Pine Bluff now has a space they can go to that has all the bells and whistles of a food hall that you’d see in downtown Dallas or any major city,” Ryan says. “The people are what makes the space come alive. It gets electric when there’s a full house.”
At the beginning of the current vendors’ third year, they will have the choice to either renew their lease for an additional year or transition out of the food hall. New vendors will be added on a rolling basis. The goal is to gain consistent foot traffic to the space, so that it becomes part of residents’ weekly lunch or dinner rotations. “I’ll be so happy when the overall mission is met for the first vendor,” Ryan says. “They’re required to establish a relationship with a local banker, and I can’t wait to hear one of them say, They’ve reviewed my finances and believe that I’m ready to be independent of this space.”
As a Pine Bluff native, Ryan says the development of the food market and Simmons Bank Park are significant pieces of an even larger puzzle to help the city flourish. “We have had several new restaurants come into downtown independent of our work on Simmons Bank Park,” Ryan says. “Investment begets investment, so people are seeing this as an opportunity.”
“The people are what makes the space come alive. It gets electric when there’s a full house.”
–Ryan Watley, Go Forward Pine Bluff CEO
Caprice Flatbread from White Hall Fresh Market
Tasting box featuring Cajun pasta with sausage and shrimp, a salmon egg roll, and bacon jam slider from Oasis Catering
Southern fried catfish dinner with seasoned fries from Kylan’s Kitchen
Quesabirria taco from Mexico Lindo Taqueria
All restaurants are located inside Magnolia Food Market & Bar at 601 South Main Street in Pine Bluff. Learn more at goforwardpinebluff.org/the-magnolia.
