For a state with a smaller population than any of the six states that border it (and home to only one city with a population over 100,000) Arkansas still significantly impacts the region’s culinary culture. One major element of the state’s importance in American food culture is wrapped up in a nostalgic institution that is still a proud tradition for Arkansans — the dairy bar.
Primarily located in rural regions, dairy bars are more than just a place to grab a quick burger and an ice cream cone from a walk-up window. They are the gathering point for the entire community and often the only dining option for miles in small towns that aren’t on major roads.
Popular since the 1920s, with a heyday in the middle of the 20th century, dairy bars began as a way for nearby dairy farms to sell their excess milk without having to travel all the way to a big city. Small restaurants popped up near where the milk came from and churned ice cream to sell through sliding windows in the side of tiny buildings, often serving burgers, too.
The Dairy (Bar) Queen
The undisputed Dairy (Bar) Queen is Kat Robinson, a historian of Arkansas food who quite literally wrote the book on the subject. Curious and enthusiastic, Kat traveled the state from corner to corner, visiting dairy bars and learning about the people and history behind them for her book, Arkansas Dairy Bars: Neat Eats & Cool Treats. The book also became the basis for a 2021 documentary — starring Kat — for Arkansas PBS.
In an era where fast food strives to get even faster, and convenience is valued over quality, dairy bars are an outlier in the restaurant business. They are a throwback to a time when a meal with family and friends was the centerpiece of the day. Kat saw the opportunity to explore a unique piece of Arkansas culture and embarked on her tour in 2020.
“There’s a huge campaign in the state to support local restaurants,” she recounts, “and dairy bars are a really awesome part of the landscape. I visited all these restaurants and discovered neat little stories about how they had survived and the parts they played in their communities. I just knew I had to share them!”
What makes a dairy bar?
So, what makes a dairy bar different from a regular restaurant? “Four things define a dairy bar,” Kat explains. “First and foremost, they have to serve some form of ice cream, usually soft serve, but scooped ice cream and frozen custard are also popular. Second, they have to serve something other than ice cream, usually burgers or hot dogs. Otherwise, it’s not a dairy bar; it’s just an ice cream stand.”
Kat also tells us, “A dairy bar has to have a walk-up window you can order at versus a drive-thru. But it can have one of those, too. Finally, it has to be a permanent structure, even if there aren’t any seats or [there are] just some tables outside to eat at.”
In addition to ice cream and burgers, Arkansas Dairy bars often feature other regional specialties unique to their area of the state. These include restaurants in the southwest portion closest to Louisiana that offer a spicy sausage locals call “a Polish.” Near the Texas state line, you’re likely to find tamales on the menu.
The Evolution of the Dairy Bar
Some dairy bars have expanded into more full-service restaurants but maintain their traditional roots and service options. One thing Kat discovered during her research in 2020 was an unexpected advantage of the dairy bar service style.
“I quickly figured out that dairy bars were perfect for the pandemic!” she recalls. “A spot with two walk-up windows separated the customers and the people inside from each other, and they were already set up to use disposable serviceware. They were already safe places, and all these places were thriving!”
By her count, all but one of the operating dairy bars in Arkansas survived 2020, a statistic any state would envy.
Dairy bars have long had a tradition of serving their communities. Almost none advertise, except maybe in the back of a local high school yearbook. In fact, some dairy bars take their names from the town’s high school sports mascots, like Sheridan’s Yellow Jacket Drive-in, the Lion’s Den Drive-in in Clarendon, and the Jackrabbit Dairy Bar in Lonoke.
“A lot of these places might be the only restaurant in a small town,” Kat shares. “Take Troy’s Drive-in in Dewitt. It’s a tiny place that’s not on the way to anywhere. If you’re going to DeWitt, you’re either involved in agriculture or visiting family.”
Kat continues, “Stephanie Williams bought it from Troy because the restaurant was the heart of the community. It’s perfect for a small town; their only real competition is the Piggly Wiggly. (They have great fried chicken!) Troy’s is the home of the ‘Love Burger,’ and when they cook that flame-broiled burger on the grill, those flames can get two or three feet high. Watching it from outside through the window is like getting dinner and a show at the same time!”
Community Service
One of Arkansas’s most famous dairy bars with a deep connection to the community is Whatta-Burger in Russellville. Not to be confused with the Texas-based Whataburger chain, the Arkansas version was founded in 1967 by Bob Feltner. The legend goes that Mr. Feltner sat in his lawn chair in a pasture near his house and counted the cars that drove past in a day. Then, he decided to build a little dairy bar and burger joint.
“Feltner’s is the place to stop between Little Rock and Branson,” shares Kat. “Mr. Feltner’s kids worked there, and the kids’ kids worked there, pretty much everyone in their family. Three of the Feltner boys went to college in Arizona, so they didn’t work at the restaurant, but when they graduated, they came back and opened Feltner Brothers in Fayetteville. Their beef tastes exactly the same as it does at the original!”
Bob Feltner was famous for giving back to the community. He often handed out his business card with the promise of a free meal for an entire family scrawled on the back. Feltner said that he remembered what it was like to go without, and he always wanted to contribute as much as he could.
This deep connection to the small communities where dairy bars operate has helped them survive fast food expansion. Kat explains, “Corporations don’t see the potential in these rural spots. Chain restaurants want to be part of a service station chain, piggybacking on a gas station’s infrastructure. The biggest competition for dairy bars is chains like Pizza Pro and Chester Chicken that set up inside gas station convenience stores.”
Keeping It Local
But dairy bars have some built-in advantages. As multi-generational family businesses, they rarely have to worry about a mortgage on their small properties. In many cases, they’ve been paid off for years. They can also depend on family members and local high schoolers as employees, paying a full wage instead of the $2.63 an hour bigger restaurants pay tipped employees.
Without a sizable national franchisor to dictate their menu, dairy barns can serve whatever they want. Kat notes, “A dairy bar is the one place where everyone can agree on what to eat. The Daisy Queen Hi Boy in Harrison has a huge four-panel menu board, but they still keep adding specials to whiteboards hanging all over the walls. They never take anything off because everything is somebody’s favorite.”
While Arkansas dairy bars might not be the healthiest spots to eat (Kat admits her culinary tour of the state “messed with my blood sugar tremendously!”), they are integral to the small towns’ overall health, bringing communities together.
Many small towns across the country are slowly becoming ghost towns as younger generations flock to bigger cities, but Arkansas residents still rally around their local businesses. For an authentic taste of “The Natural State,” drop by the local dairy bar after a Friday night high school football game. Just be sure to save room for ice cream!
All photography provided by Kat Robinson.
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