Skylark Cafe is a charming historic craftsman style house that has been lovingly updated to create a unique and beautiful dining experience in the Ozark Mountains.
Our story began 10 years ago, here’s a bit of our journey.
Leslie, Arkansas
The Beginning
2009
Joy purchased 401 High street in 2009 at the age of 20.
She grew up working in her parents cafe and swore she would never run a restaurant.
Skylark came about as a glimmer of light suggested in a dark time by her sister and despite the original intention of a bookstore called “our house” things just sort of evolved as they were meant to be and still do to this day. Skylark Cafe opened in December of ‘09 after a summer of ripping up carpet, floors, walls, ceilings and painting almost everything with help from just about everyone.
Joy’s career in front of house came to an end about a week after opening when she realized that she was too much of a control freak to let other people run the kitchen of her restaurant, and thus worked her first kitchen shift which coincidentally never ended.
She credits her grandma and mom for what must’ve been inherited cooking skills along with good tastebuds, tenacity and a lot of help from Vicki Lewis (who grew up in the house and sold it to her) for surviving the early years.
Austin, Texas
The Honeymoon
2014
Joy & Denver met when they were hired by a manager named Sergio to wait tables at Carino’s off 1-35 in Austin about a month apart in early 2008.
Joy was serving as an intern for a non-profit dedicated to at risk children and Denver was beginning his education at le Cordon Bleu.
After culinary school Denver worked in various kitchens from Vail Colorado to Oklahoma City to a brief jaunt with his own BBQ truck all while Joy was working her never ending kitchen shift.
In 2014 after 8 years of friendship Denver & Joy eloped on the beach in Florida and moved back to Austin while Joy’s sister , Sara, took over Skylark.
While in Austin Denver worked at the Westin Hotel and Joy worked at Sandra Bullock’s (now closed) Bess Bistro.
After a year of honeymooning, eating, cooking and serving all of the best things Austin had to offer, they decided to come back to Arkansas and bring some of their most loved experiences and flavors with them.
Leslie, Arkansas
The Family
2016-present
Oliver was born on February 24 2016 and Isla Kay was born on September 24 2017.
In August of 2018 Denver & Joy opened Oliver’s Bistro on Main Street in Mountain View. They spent two years investing in that lovely space featuring European influenced menu items with an ambiance inspired by the upscale effortlessness of Bess Bistro. When COVID-19 struck America & small businesses in particular, Joy & Denver took 3 months to reconsider their life and businesses and decided that the best path was to streamline and focus on Skylark and their family.
After two years of being short staffed and spread thin, they combined their wonderful teams of amazing people and expanded Skylarks seating and service into what it is today.
Our story is still evolving, we aren’t finished yet. We have grand plans that we still cant wait to execute when the time is right, thanks for following along.
