Vagabond Coffee Bar – J.W. Gericke

In this week’s edition of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas podcast, we’re at the Vagabond Coffee Bar in Bella Vista talking with co-owner/operator J.W. Gerike and his awesome story, but before we talk to him?!? FOOD NEWS!! We’re heading into the final weekend of Fayetteville Restaurant Week Art of Wine is this Friday and bigger than ever! The Muse is a new cocktail bar in downtown Fayetteville. If you’re a good salsa-maker, do I have a competition for you at Brewski’s! Longtime Herman’s Ribhouse stalwart has opened Possum Creek Bistro food truck There’s a new restaurant at Prairie Creek Marina. We’ll tell you about Yaya’s Waterside! Bella Vista has a new bottle shop! We’ll hear from the owner of the Little Bear Café. Dum & Grill is up and rolling in Bentonville. There will be 2 new restaurants in the new Visionaries building in Rogers. Bites & Bowls is downsizing in Springdale. Los Compas Margaritatown is going back to their roots... soon. Kung Fu Tea’s location in Rogers is for sale. A pizza place on Dickson Street has shut down. Happy anniversary to La Favorita in Siloam, The Blind Bear in downtown Springdale, and Pizzeria Ruby in Johnson! Speaking of Pizzeria Ruby, in this week’s Flavors Flashback, we go back to our podcast with them last October where they talked about getting the doors open 5 years ago. Sidenote for you, there’s some salty language in this Flashback, so earmuffs for the kids!!!. Speaking of Covid, that changed the career trajectory for JW Gerike. By trade, he was a physical therapist in Ft. Worth, but Covid hit, and his hours weren’t conducive to family life. Hear him talk about why he picked coffee. What were his first steps? Have you seen his 1979 Peugeot Coffee Van? Funny story about how he acquired that. At least he can laugh about it now. Speaking of, once getting established, he got some pretty cool gigs in Texas, including supplying coffee on a movie set. You won’t believe which one. And then, the move to Bella Vista. How did they find it, and why did they make the move? And finally, after a very popular trailer at Tanyard Creek, they open a storefront. Some great stories coming your way in this edition of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas podcast!