Date: August 30, 2024 | Story: Virginia Brown | Photography: Rett Peek | Styling: Angela Alexander |
Community is the key ingredient at Little Rock’s Boulevard Bread Company
For nearly 25 years, the corner bakery on Kavanaugh Boulevard has connected the Little Rock community over warm croissants, steaming coffee, and homemade meals. Co-owner Christina Basham, who grew up in Nashville, made her way to San Francisco, where she entered a thriving food scene, just after college. Having worked in restaurants to support herself through school, Christina thought that she might like to open one someday.
In 2000, that dream became a reality when she opened Boulevard Bread Company, a farm-to-table concept, with her husband at the time. “I feel like we were one of the first places in Little Rock to do that,” Christina says. “Being out in California, that’s what restaurants did: They sourced from local farmers.”
The customers kept coming. Christina recalls that it was a 24-hour operation. “The bakers came in at night, when the closers were closing down, and there was always a crossover,” she says. “In the morning, the bakers would still be baking, and the morning front people would be coming in. It was wonderful—all of that fresh bread and the pastries and cookies—it smelled so good!” They also established a wholesale business, which grew over time and, today, provides other local restaurants, like Brave New Restaurant, Big Orange, and The Root Cafe, with signature breads.
Customers came to rely on the fresh bakery staples and coffee for their morning rush, and the healthy, homemade meals for lunch and dinner. As the business grew, especially on the wholesale side, they needed more space. They expanded to a few other locations, and added on to the Heights Bistro, which originally offered a full dinner service. In 2013, they moved the baking operation to the South on Main (SoMa) neighborhood. That satellite location, which offers a simplified menu, is still in operation, in addition to a café at Baptist Health Medical Center.
As they did from the start, Boulevard still uses local and regional farm products. Go-to farmers range from Barnhill Orchards, where they source summer strawberries and blueberries, and other fresh goods, to Armstead Mountain Farm, Dunbar Garden, and Arkansas Heart Hospital, among others. “They are the backbone of our food, and we try to give them support and show love to all of them,” Christina says.
Customer favorites include the smoked turkey sandwich with pepperjack cheese and avocado on a baguette and the grilled chicken salad, topped with oranges, grapefruit, and salted almonds. Nightly takeout dinner specials follow a schedule—meatless Monday, chicken on Tuesday, and the like. “People tend to go for the staples and comfort food,” Christina says, noting popular picks like chicken piccata and Gabrielle’s lasagna, a straight-from-Italy secret recipe. “To be able to get something that’s healthy, homemade, and not have to rely on fast food is one more way we provide a service,” she says.
In 2009, Christina purchased the restaurant from her ex-husband and teamed up with longtime employee Sonia Schaefer, who studied at the French Culinary Institute in New York and is the heart of the kitchen operation. Next year, as they celebrate 25 years in business, Boulevard plans to open another location in the renovated Main Library downtown, another way to connect with locals. “We depend on the community and they depend on us. We’ve seen little kids move off to college and come back and start families of their own, so now, generations of families all come in together,” she says. However, she notes they never get complacent. “We are always plotting and planning to figure out how to make things better and easier for our customers.”
Above: A dash of nutmeg, turmeric, cayenne pepper, and a cinnamon stick give this butternut squash soup a comforting kick. Scroll down for this recipe.
Garlic and rosemary-marinated French-cut pork chop with whole-grain mustard cream sauce recipe is below!
Boulevard’s Sonia Schaefer (left) and Christina Basham teamed up in 2009. “We’ve always been friends,” Christina says. “We couldn’t have done it without each other, and Sonia is a huge contributor to our success.”
Boulevard opened in 2000 and offers sandwiches, salads, and soups, plus fresh-baked breads, pastries, and takeaway homemade meals.
RECIPES
Butternut Squash Soup
SHOP
Soup
3 onions, diced
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
3 celery sticks, diced
2 tablespoons salt
½ cup olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
2 tablespoons garlic, sliced
4 lbs. butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and diced
1 gallon vegetable stock
2 cups heavy cream
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
crème fraiche, for garnish
toasted pumpkin seeds, for garnish
harissa, for garnish (see below)
Harissa
¼ cup toasted cumin
¼ cup toasted fennel seeds
¼ cup toasted coriander, ground
¾ cup chili paste
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup olive oil
¼ cup lemon juice
1 pinch cayenne
PREPARE
Place onions, carrot, celery, salt and olive oil in a large stock pot over low heat and sweat for 20 minutes. Add ginger, garlic, butternut squash, and vegetable stock to pot and simmer for 20 minutes. Place in a food processor or use a hand blender to blend until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and simmer until flavors are well blended. Strain cinnamon stick out of mixture and garnish as desired before serving.
To make harissa, mix all ingredients together. Add to soup for garnish. Will keep in a sealed container for five to seven days.
Garlic and Rosemary-Marinated French-Cut Pork Chop with
Whole-Grain Mustard Cream Sauce
SHOP
Pork Chop
1 cup garlic
1 cup + 1 tablespoon olive oil
⅛ cup fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon ground fennel seed
1 lemon (zest and juice)
½ tablespoon toasted juniper berries
salt and pepper, to taste
4 pork chops
Whole-Grain Mustard Cream Sauce
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
6 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
½ yellow onion, sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup white wine
¼ cup whole-grain mustard
2 cups heavy cream
salt and pepper, to taste
PREPARE
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place garlic and 1 cup of olive oil in a skillet or saucepan and simmer for 10 minutes on low heat. Allow to cool. Blend garlic and olive oil mixture, rosemary, fennel seed, lemon zest and juice, and juniper berries together in a food processor to form a marinade paste. Generously salt and pepper four pork chops and rub with marinade. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Heat tablespoon of olive oil in an iron skillet on high heat, sear pork chops for 3 minutes on each side and then put in the oven for 4 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 145 degrees. Allow to rest for 5 minutes.
To make cream sauce, place peppercorns, thyme, bay leaf, yellow onion, and olive oil in a large skillet over low heat and sweat for 15 minutes. Add white wine and reduce the mixture by one-third. Whisk in mustard and heavy cream and continue to reduce on low for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and strain through a fine mesh sieve. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour over pork chops and serve immediately.
