August 2019 Faulkner Lifestyle Magazine

on the streets and sidewalks. I love that
idea of togetherness where everyone is
walking by. It feels more like a community
than when people are shoved into
booths in their own little world.”
So, three years ago, when Spencer was
ready to put his plan into action, he
knew this spot in the heart of downtown
would be perfect. He wanted the place
to be intentionally small with a cozy
feeling, the option for inside or outside
seating, and the ability for customers to
walk to the storefront café.
But Spencer is intentional about much
more than the feel of the space. His initial
thought behind starting his own restaurant
was to create a local eatery working
towards the farm-to-table concept that
has become popular in recent years.
“In other areas of the country, farm-totable
is to be expected. Here, a lot of
people are just like “why does that even
matter?”” Spencer shrugs his shoulders.
“We are in the natural state. We have
everything we need to be growing great
food, but farm-to-table isn’t nearly as
common.”
When the creperie opened its doors
in the fall of 2016, they were the first
in Conway to make a commitment
towards the idea of sourcing local
products from local farmers. Initially,
they worked with just 6 or 7 farmers to
source goods; now they have farmers
from all over the area calling to share
what they have available. They currently
bring in almost 30% of their purchased
food from over three dozen small-scale
Arkansas farms.
“My favorite part of the job has been
working with these farmers and their
families. I get so tickled when I get
to go out to their farm and see how
they’re growing the food and see their
family structure. It’s usually an amazing
sense of togetherness. And to see how
differently they farm from conventional
farmers is also super inspiring — it’s
night and day. I truly believe if people
understood more about this, they would
choose local.”
Spencer admits that working this way is
more challenging, logistically. Weather,
availability, seasons — these all influence
what they can offer each day. “But it’s
worth it. If we support local, we are
working towards addressing the larger
food problems.” Pearson’s passion for
the topic is evident, and something that
grew during a volunteer stint working
at Heifer Ranch in Perryville. “I learned
so much about how delicate our food
system is — local food was a topic that
kept coming up.”
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