Willie’s Wagon Wheel

Yeah, it does kind of feel like a truck stop. Big parking lot, easy access. It is located a short…read moredistance south of I-40 and just a few blocks west of 540 in an industrial area. It is conveniently and inconspicuously attached to the "no-tell" hotel, aka Motel 6. You know, the place where they keep the light on for you! Wake up, wander down the hall, sober up with a fresh hot cup of coffee and a big breakfast. The restaurant is highly rated by travelers and the locals. We were headed home and purposely held out for breakfast until we hit Van Buren. It was worth the wait. I had my usual breakfast. Check the pictures. It was perfect and the gravy.....This is what country sausage cream gravy is supposed to look like and how it is supposed to taste. It was the best. My wife went with the short stack and thick crispy bacon. A very enjoyable breakfast. Great service. It is a big roomy restaurant, that gets busy early in the morning and around lunch time. Hours are limited 6am-2pm. Patrons rave about the lunch offering too. The place ain't fancy, but the food is delicious.

The outside is a bit sketchy but there were lots of cars in the parking lot so we decided to give…read moreit a try. Gravy biscuits were good. I asked for onions and peppers in my hash browns and they did it. The omelette was good and so was the bacon biscuit.

Breakfast options of all kinds!

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The Hive

5.0(2 reviews)

3.9 mi

What a great lunch! I stopped at a new restaurant (to me?) in historic downtown Van Buren,…read moreArkansas "The Hive." I chose a chicken salad croissant. The croissant was flaky, fresh and tasty. The chicken salad was very fresh and flavorful. It was very creamy - so if you don't like a heavy creamy base - it might not be for you - but it was great for me! I also had a broccoli cheddar soup. It was outstanding. It was hot and the broccoli had substance but was not hard or rough. The consistency of the broccoli was just right! I was offered a sleeve of Ritz crackers along with my soup and silverware. I washed it down with a seltzer and really enjoyed my meal! I would recommend a stop for soup or a sandwich or any of the many snacks/grab and go products offered!

Stopped at the sandwich place while waiting for a Christmas play at the Opera House by chance. Glad…read morewe did. My niece and opted for the baked potato bar. The potato was perfectly salted and buttery. The toppings included pulled pork, nacho cheese, and many more. My wife and MIL ordered a turkey sandwich with Swiss, arugula, and cranberry sauce on ciabatta bread. Everything was fresh and tasty. Service was very friendly and the four of ate for 25 dollars. Outstanding lunch and was very happy the line at the sports bar across the street was long.

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D's Family Restaurant

3.8(26 reviews)

4.3 mi

Great home cooking. Had a "small" salad that was more than enough. Everything looked great.read more

Called in to pick up and bring home to eat. $38.50. Bacon cheeseburger half raw. Did not eat…read more Ordered tator tots. Got flimsy sort of cooked french fries. Did not eat. Was told about switch when picked up and paid for. Ckicken fried steak. Soup which we didnt get. Was offered extra slice pie . Had already ordered 2 slices pie. Did not eat any pies. Tried one and it tasted like it sat out all day. Called and told them I want a refund. Unable to drive and my daughter refuses to go back for any reason. Was esting there about once a week. Will not eat there any more. Will go to willies on 64.

The outside sign.

D's Family Restaurant - Great little diner right off the highway! Service was outstanding. Homemade salad dressing! Had the 1/2 chili burger with all the fixings.

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Great little diner right off the highway! Service was outstanding. Homemade salad dressing! Had the 1/2 chili burger with all the fixings.

Olive Coffee Company - Alma

5.0(2 reviews)

4.0 mi

First time here, on my last day in Alma and it was some of the best coffee I've had in a while!…read moreBeing a Starbucks barista myself, this was delicious. Sad I didn't discover it until my last day, but safe to say I'll be back next trip!!! Staff was very friendly and welcoming, Along with the cleanliness of the store and the ambiance was great! 10/10. Also the food items are made to order and are so good.

This place is 5 stars all around! We stopped on a roadtrip for some coffee here, they happened to…read morehave the seasonal throwback menu out so I was able to get a pumpkin cream cold brew! Yum!! My husband got a black coffee and said it was great too. I highly recommend this coffee stop!!! The staff is super friendly!

Community

Vanilla latte

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Build your own breakfast sandwich

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store

3.2(81 reviews)

4.0 mi

Great Food! (Perfect over easy eggs)…read more Great Service! (Server Hallee was friendly and attentive) Clean inviting Ambiance! (Great table lanterns, very cozy) Minor issue with black ants due to the summer season and location. The manager quickly came and addressed the issue offering to move our table. Much better than previously reviewed five years ago!

I'm a regular at this location. I also purchased food for my family for tomorrow to pick up as well…read moreas several plates for people that I work with who will be at work tomorrow. I am a bit shocked tonight to write this post... But this was the worst experience I have had at this Cracker Barrel or any Cracker Barrel in a long time maybe ever. The food was not on, and the service was not on. Sometimes you experience a little blip in one or the other area, but rarely both and not usually spectacularly poor in both ways. Blah and bland would be great terms to use. Just downright blah. And disappointing. To top it off, I purchased meals using my app or at least my rewards information. It appears that none of that information has been loaded onto my app, despite having purchased the meals to the tune of 800+ dollars 4+ days ago. When I inquired as a store, what could be done pretty much there were shoulder shrugs. I could've asked for a manager and maybe I should have just didn't have it in me to fiddle with it tonight. The follow up - aka, the next day... I picked up 47 take away meals and was pleased with the service and the food, etc. I am grateful they were there and open to help take care of us for dinner on Thanksgiving day. No to go silverware was provided - though I did ask.

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Hot sauce!

Airedale Diner

3.7(13 reviews)

4.3 mi

Terrible food... Terrible service…read more.. Terrible ambiance... Will never go back... Period. Sell back to D's...

Driving cross country you never know what you're gonna come across food wise. I stopped for gas and…read moregoogled diners. A diner came up and I think they've renamed but they're a diner and they have barbecue. I opted for a two item combo and a half iced tea and half sweet tea. A waitress for 11 years in diners. And deli. I don't like to be high maintenance. I just asked for everything upfront. They were so friendly and helpful. And then my food came OMG! I think I have four meals worth of food. They used to really great barbecue sauces not their own. And from the ribs I think they do a dry rub. I would make a chain out of this place if they're making money off of what they serve me, OMG

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Paul's Bakery

4.2(29 reviews)

3.3 mi

I can't say good enough things about this bakery. I am new to the area and had no idea which bakery…read moreto choose for my gender reveal cake. I had a big task, have a custom cake be made for Valentine's Day... with 2 days notice. I actually had called and visited all the other bakeries in the fort smith area and all said there was no way they could do it in that amount of time. This must have been fate cause Paul's bakery was my last call and I'm soooo glad all the other bakeries turned me down. Paul's bakery made the most GORGEOUS cake that far exceeded my expectations. Not to mention, was sooooo good. I even asked for a custom filling that wasn't on their list and they happily made it. I appreciate their kindness and willingness to make my gender reveal possible. When I went in to order the cake, all the staff was very sweet and welcoming. I also got sucked into their variety of cookies, cupcakes, and donuts. I couldn't leave with some extra goodies. Got several cookies and they were amazing!!

The staff was rude and not helpful, made us feel like we were a pain just being thereread more

Party supplies

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Party goods

Chapters On Main Bookstore & Coffee Shop

4.7(26 reviews)

3.9 mi

What a cool old-fashioned bookstore and coffee shop! They also offer specialty items and some…read moreclothing options too. It is conveniently located across from the historic train depot in downtown Van Buren, Arkansas. The store boasts, many historic and hard to find books, as well as a great selection of novels and books that you would find in any modern bookstore. The coffee shop offering some food items is very good and quite an enjoyable place to sit down for a break for coffee, and/or refreshments. I really like the feel of the basement when you descend the stairs into the cozy space filled with books in every corner. It's just my kind of spot!

This spot is billing itself as a bookstore with coffee, but actually, it's a coffee shop with some…read morebooks. Books look as if they have not been restocked in quite some time. If you do find something, you have to stand in line with the folks ordering coffee and wait for the coffee to be made before you can pay for your book. Tedious.

Lots of books

The entrance

Chapters On Main Bookstore & Coffee Shop

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Sunlight In & Out Donuts

5.0(1 review)

3.8 mi

Bacon egg sandwich croissant tasty. Serves kolaches/sausage pastry, variety of donuts, automated…read morecapuccino, drip coffee, cold drinks...colorful yellow purple blue with modern chairs and booths. Owner happy to serve you...offered to heat croissandwich...shared hope to see Greek sandwich, spinach feta crepes or croissants or rustic artifical bread someday and both a small to medium green smoothie & berry banana with a low glycemic sugar alternative: coconut sugar, monkfruit sugar, date syrup or dates...J Honestly if can team up with either rustic artisans whole grain bread loaves and serve Pho Cao's classic beef veg noodle soup be a great stop on a winter evening...Pho Cai maybe you can form a partnership for some midweek soup hours...Maybe even authors readings, MOTH storytelling, poetry slams, famiky friendly comedy, board game nights, Segue, American Legion, curated acoustic...as these newer businesses grow. Breakfast and lunch options just got easy to access adjacent to Dollar Tree, Dominoes, dry cleaner, beauty products, clothing and shoes Hwy 59 Fayetteville Rd 6a-2p Daily Jan 2025 north of I-40. Clean fresh dine in or out spot...

Bar stool chairs...cold drinks

Booth seating

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Cold beverages

Archie's Diner & BBQ

2.6(8 reviews)

5.8 mi

Decided to give this place a shot since it was close. Ordered the brisket burger with onion rings…read more Lady on the phone sounded surprised someone was ordering something and gave me a "it'll be 10 minutes I guess" and hung up. Walked in the diner and the guy working was nice enough but he kept having to tell the cook how to make the burger. The burger itself was very dry and overcooked. It's supposed to have bacon jam and mayo on it. Nope. No sauce in sight. They also omitted brisket and replaced it with some of the fattiest pulled pork I've ever eaten. Onion rings were heavily battered but not an ounce of seasoning was used. Incredibly bland and let down by this experience.

Absolutely the worst food I ever had anywhere. First of all the waitress was wearing dirty clothes…read moreand looked dirty. My friend and I wanted only water. We were given bottles of water from Sam's and were charged $3 each for it. It was not listed on the menu nor were we told about the $3 charge until we paid the bill. I ordered eggs and potatoes and bacon. The eggs were overdone and had black on them like they were fried in a dirty pan. The potatoes dripped with oil and looked old like they were re-heated several times. My friend ordered a hamburger and fries. The fries looked like the potatoes I had...greasy an old. The hamburger was paper thin and the bun was so squashed it looked like someone sat on it. Food tasted horrible. I will NEVER go back there again.

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3 reviews that are not currently recommended

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James Ross M.

3

9

10

8 years ago

This is an amazing place to eat. It looks like a little country restaurant but they have everything from steak, sandwiches, salads, to sandwiches, to seafood. Highly recommend for a good breakfast lunch or dinner.!!! read more

Beth E.

50

23

0

4 years ago

Are here last week. I've been here a couple of times. I was happy to get biscuits and gravy for lunch. They serve breakfast anytime and I really like that. read more

Dustin W.

79

1

7 years ago

Very good food and great environment. Would give 5 stars if the gravy was made from scratch.

Willie’s Wagon Wheel - southern - Updated October 2026

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