13 minute read
Here Comes the Bride
Reid & Sydney WHEELER
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Married July 19, 2020
Ceremony and reception at The Pines at Moser Farms at Vian, OK Sydney’s parents are Kelly and Shilo Blackwell of Alma. Reid’s parents are Darrel and Kelli Wheeler of Greenwood. HOW WE MET: I saw Reid at a Greenwood-Alma baseball game and asked some of my friends who he was. I started following him on social media and he soon followed me back. We started exchanging messages and quickly went on a few dates and started o cially dating in March of 2016. THE PROPOSAL: Reid and I were attending Arkansas Tech in Russellville. I thought we were going to Reid’s grandparents’ house in Ozark for a family dinner to discuss an upcoming family vacation. However, I quickly realized he had something else planned. He thought of everything — a video that told our love story, a photographer, our friends and family, etc. When I got to the backyard, he was standing under a beautiful pergola (built by his dad), strung with a cascade of lights. Reid got down on one knee and proposed. All of our close family and friends were watching from a distance on the back deck. A erward, we had a wonderful reception to celebrate. OUR WEDDING DAY: Our wedding day was very special for so many reasons. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, our plans (including the date) changed multiple times. When we nally made it to July 19th and everything came together, we were so excited and happy. While we ultimately had a more intimate wedding than we originally planned
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for, it was absolutely perfect. We had a wonderful wedding that was made even more special because my Grandfather, Tom Steward, performed the ceremony. Also, my sister, London, was my maid of honor and Reid’s brother, Ross, was his best man. It was a perfect day that we will never forget. OUR HONEYMOON: Our original Honeymoon was supposed to be at the Valentin Imperial Resort in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Because of COVID-19 we decided that it would be best to postpone and reschedule the trip for our one year anniversary next July. So a er the wedding we went on a “minimoon” to Nashville for a few days. We stayed at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and had an amazing time. We ate a lot of good food, shopped and explored Nashville, which is one of our favorite cities. VENDORS: Venue: e Pines at Moser Farms Photographer: Ashley Capes Photography Hair and Makeup: Kari Wein Bride’s Bouquet: Petals and Stems — Alma Gown: Danielle’s Bridal Cake: Paul’s Bakery Catering: Pizza Parlor — Van Buren
SPECIAL THANKS: Staci and Kyle Satter eld — Wedding Planning and Music Pam Seiter — Wedding Décor/ Execution Tom Steward — Performed Ceremony Glenna Hill — Cakes for the reception Darrel Wheeler — Built Arbor, Lanterns, Centerpieces, and Donut Wall
[Photos by Ashley Capes Photography]
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POPULAR BBQ JOINT TO OPEN RESTAURANT IN GREENWOOD
[Photos by Scott Cutlip]
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WWW.GREENWOODARLIFE.COM | AUGUST 2020 | Greenwood Life By Scott Cutlip
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Rub ‘Em Tender, a BBQ highlight in Lavaca, will be opening a restaurant in Greenwood in mid-August.
Chuck Geske, the owner of Rub ‘Em Tender, originally intended to open in March or April, a er renting the space the Bulldog Diner had previously been located, but COVID-19 made him hold o .
Rub ‘Em Tender has been a mainstay in Lavaca, rst opening in 2009 in a smaller trailer, before moving to a larger location a few years later. In 1998, Geske retired from the Army, where he spent the last half of his time in food service.
Geske, a Wisconsin native, moved to Arkansas a er retiring, because that’s where his wife Mary was from. Unfortunately, Mary died in 1998 in a car accident, leaving Geske a single parent of two children and with an uncertain future.
He spent the next fourteen years working in the kitchens of retirement communities, the last three years of which he was also operating his own BBQ business. He opened Rub ‘Em Tender a er encouragement from his friend David Neimann, who
Chuck Geske OWNER OF RUB ‘EM TENDER
became his business partner. A er working essentially two full-time jobs, he decided to concentrate on his BBQ business.
Currently, the Lavaca restaurant is open four nights a week, from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. Rub ‘Em Tender also offers catering. Geske said he estimates he sometimes works 17 hours a day between the restaurant and catering. e Lavaca restaurant will still be open, but will be temporarily closed when Greenwood rst opens, so that he can concentrate on the opening and training employees. Geske mentioned that the new restaurant also provides opportunities he didn’t have at the Lavaca location.
“It’s a full kitchen, so we’re going to expand the menu quite a bit,” Geske said. “We’re going to keep it simple at rst, and then we’re going to gradually add more menu items. First we’ll add fries, and then we’ll incorporate burgers and appetizers. I’d really love to establish a good cat sh Fridays, maybe a prime rib night.”
Because of the size of the Lavaca location, which Geske described as being able to t in the dining room of the Greenwood location, and a lack of fryers and vents, Geske was previously limited in what he could serve. When the building opened up for rental, Geske saw it as a great opportunity, with Greenwood accessible to people who lived south of Fort Smith and which had only one other BBQ restaurant to choose from.
Geske hasn’t decided yet how he’s going to open the restaurant, due to COVID-19, whether to open the dining room right away or limit it to curbside until the restaurant has gotten past its opening and ironed out any kinks. He is also contemplating opening a drive-thru to make it easier to serve customers.
Geske estimates that the Greenwood restaurant will require between 15 and 20 employees, in addition to the seven who work at Lavaca. e
Rub Em’ Tender’s pulled pork sandwiches with cheesy taters, loaded potato with beans, and a loaded potato with pulled pork are pictured. [Courtesy Photo]
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Greenwood restaurant holds 18 tables compared to Lavaca’s four.
All the food at Rub ‘Em Tender is freshly made, including their BBQ sauces, which include a hot and mild version. According to Geske, some of the most popular items include “Slaw Hogg,” which is pulled pork piled on Texas toast topped with coleslaw and BBQ sauce, as well as the “Screamin’ Niemann,” named a er his partner’s son, who wanted a pulled pork sandwich with a hot link on it. e cheesy taters, which he likened to hashbrown casserole, is the most popular side item. Other items include brisket, chicken, sausage, and ribs, which he said was his favorite item to cook. Other items Geske is thinking of adding are chicken fried steak, burnt tips, hush puppies, appetizers, and a more expansive dessert menu. e coleslaw recipe was perfected by Geske’s girlfriend, Cheryl Markham, who also picked most of the decor in the Greenwood location. Geske does have some of the area near the entrance dedicated to representations of the military and America, as a re- ection of his own military service and patriotism.
e restaurant is located at 3 South Main St. e Lavaca location is at 101 AR-96. Rub ‘Em Tender also has an extensive catering business, which has served at weddings, business meetings, rodeos, military training, and many other events, which can be set up by calling 479-739-1534.
The inside of Rub ‘Em Tender’s Lavaca location is seen. [Photo by Scott Cutlip]
Owner Chuck Geske at the counter of the Rub ‘Em Tender Greenwood location [Photo by Scott Cutlip]
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Stu’s Clean Cookin’ opening in Greenwood
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By Scott Cutlip
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Stu’s Clean Cookin’, with ve stores already in Arkansas, is coming to Greenwood. Stu Rowland, the owner of Stu’s Clean Cookin’, recently decided to open the business up to franchising, resulting in lifelong friends Keith Dake and Caleb Bauer making the decision to open one in Greenwood.
Rowland started Stu’s Clean Cookin’ in 2016, in part as a result of battling his own weight gain. rough research, dieting and exercise he lost 90 pounds and came up with a business idea. Stu’s Clean Cookin’ has inexpensive, non-processed meals, many of which use smoked meat to introduce avors without fat or sugar. e store offers 16 meals (which occasionally change) ranging in price from ve to seven dollars, as well as discounted bulk orders and BBQ sauces. e meals o en consist of chicken, pork, or brisket, as well as rice and vegetables.
Rowland started the business in a food truck, then displayed his meals in gyms and other locations, before nally having his own brick and mortar store. Now, he has locations in Van Buren, Fort Smith, Springdale, Bentonville, and Fayetteville. Rowland said he felt the next natural step was franchising. According to Rowland, “We had reached the limits of our kitchen and were looking at building our own multi-million dollar kitchen or to nd a partner with a USDA certi cate. We were balancing the two and found that it made more sense for our partners to make our food for us, so we could focus on growing the business to help more people.”
Both Dake and Bauer were Stu’s Clean Cookin’ customers before they became part of the business. In fact, Bauer lost 30 pounds in the last year, in large part due to Stu’s Clean Cookin’ meals, he said. Dake, who was at the time Mans eld’s basketball coach, was talking to friends at the gym, including Bauer, about how bene cial it would be to have a Stu’s Clean Cookin’ for areas south of Fort Smith.
“I just randomly shot a message to their Facebook page,” Dake said, “And they forwarded me to the franchise manager, and he put me in touch with Stu. I lled out an application, and it just went from there, and within two months turned into owning a franchise.”
Dake le coaching in order to focus on the business. During the opening months of the store, he said he will likely be the store’s main employee, with Bauer, who works at Arcbest, contributing in early evenings and the weekend.
“ e rst week that we are open,
ABOVE: Stu’s Clean Cookin’ prepared meals are pictured. [Photo by Scott Cutlip] LEFT: (L to R) Caleb Bauer, Stu Rowland and Keith Dake are pictured at Stu’s Clean Cookin’. [Photo by Scott Cutlip]
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I’m going to be there,” Bauer said. “I’m gonna take vacation, so I’ll be there for the grand opening.”
Dake and Bauer chose Greenwood to open their Stu’s Clean Cookin’ location as a great spot for people who live in south Sebastian County and Scott County who did not want to negotiate the Fort Smith tra c.
“I know that’s one thing that always kept me from getting my meals from time to time,” Dake said. “And Greenwood has such a lot of pride in themselves, their community, their athletic program, obviously. We thought there was no
better location than Greenwood better location than Greenwood just because they do prioritize their health.”
Dake estimates that the opening date will be sometime between August 22 and September 5. COVID-19 has provided some complications, but Dake said that Stu’s Clean Cookin’ is also the perfect food source during the coronavirus quarantine. He also said they will follow the mask mandate and other suggested practices.
“One thing incorporated is we have online ordering,” he said. “You can pay there, and we have curbside
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pickup. And we’ll have that at our pickup. And we’ll have that at our disposal once the store opens. e customer can put in their order 24/7 online and just set their pickup time and date, and we’ll have their order ready for them. ey can just call the number when they get there, and we’ll bring it out to them. ey’ll never have to come inside or touch the door handle. We o er healthy, clean-cooked meals that are already pre-made and frozen and convenient. It teaches you to have portion control, because a lot of us are stuck inside and not able to get out and do as much. So portion control has become huge
for a lot of Americans. It keeps you for a lot of Americans. It keeps you from overeating. I’d sit around the house and eat all day long, and this kind of gives you an idea of how much you should be eating.”
