BLACKBERRY MARKET: A GEM IN ARGENTA

Great coffee shops are not accidental. They are skillfully curated. It takes a tremendous amount of intention to get the formula right.

Because we go to coffee shops for an experience, an atmosphere. Any restaurant faces a tall order when it comes to creating an atmosphere.

But coffee shops cannot compromise. Coffee shops are a bastion of contentment. A good one will invite you in for a cup of coffee—a great coffee shop will insist that you have another.

Coffee shops are that rare sanctuary where we dispense with the idea of turnover. It’s simply enough to sit and enjoy a drink by yourself or with friends without any other motives.

It’s a complete contradiction to how we exist daily, rushing between work and home. It’s a disruption to an unending cycle of busyness. To just sit with a cappuccino and watch traffic slip by lazily. How simple, how reassuring. It takes a tremendous amount of work, awareness and passion to offer that experience to others. That is exactly what Blackberry Market in Argenta does with unusual grace.

I sat down with co-owner, Peter Loibner, to ask him what makes Blackberry so special. After all, Blackberry Market advertises very little.

Virtually all their traffic has been word of mouth. While it is difficult to hide as a restaurant in Argenta, Blackberry has an unusual amount of momentum already for only being open since December of 2022. What’s the secret?

My suspicion is that they are committed to doing the right things and doing them with contagious gladness.

Between Peter’s extensive background in coffee and his wife, Whitney Loibner’s, culinary talent, the Blackberry Market has a diverse menu that embodies their ‘fast-casual’ approach.

They offer a range of breakfast items, salads, and sandwiches, as well as sides and a healthy host of bakery items.

My personal bakery item favorite is the Market bar, which is perhaps an unintentional ode to Almond Joys—a generous mix of coconut flakes, large chocolate chips and cranberries mixed on top of a graham cracker crust.

Peter mentioned to me that he felt the bakery was an important component to fill a need that he identified in Argenta.

The Blackberry Market salad is also a personal favorite of mine. A bed of fresh leafy greens sustains a refreshing mix of blackberries, goat cheese and delectable spiced pecans with a blackberry vinaigrette drizzled on top. I highly suggest pairing the salad with their rosemary lavender tea for a meal that feels like a mild Arkansan spring day on a plate.

Peter’s sister, Anna Davidson and her husband, Bob Davidson, opened the first Blackberry Market in the Chicago suburbs ten years ago.

It’s been Anna and Bob’s dream to bring Blackberry Market back to North Little Rock where they grew up. Peter and Whitney are the catalyst that made that dream possible, fortunately for the rest of us in the community.

The space itself is of course worth mentioning. It is spacious, but spaciousness alone isn’t what makes the space special.

There are at least five different seating areas that I have been able to spot, each of them contain their own unique atmosphere and ambience.

The façade was restored by the landlord prior to Blackberry opening and hosts a couple of patio tables to watch the Argenta traffic flow by.

The front of the café offers tables for four with a beautiful grand window to look outside that creates the perfect setting for a group brunch accompanied by Blackberry’s own cocktails, such as the Blackberry Mule.

The back of the lower floor has diner-style booth seating that feels intimate, but not isolated. And the upper floor has a few couches for more casual guests to sit down and enjoy a conversation, with a few tables for isolated study groups. (I’ve seen UA Little Rock students actually working on projects there at least a couple of times).

I believe what truly makes Blackberry so special is that it possesses versatility without sacrificing direction.

It is approachable and upbeat. The staff is always friendly and accommodating; you can always see Peter and Whitney always buzzing back and forth throughout the café but they are never too busy to greet familiar faces.

They’re open unusually late for a café too. Their hours are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. So what are you waiting for?

My final suggestion is finishing the rest of this month’s issue of the Forum with a cortado at what could be your new favorite coffee shop in Argenta.

BY BRYAN HERNANDEZ