What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/1004183
featured dining guide story Advertorial Feature by dave woods | nwa democrat-Gazette 42 What's up! july 15 - 21, 2018 Penguin Ed's celebrates quarter century providing quality service, great food E d Knight knows why Penguin Ed's Bar-B-Que is so popular with his loyal customers. "No. 1 is the quality of the service," he said. "No. 2 is the quality of the meat, and No. 3 is the affordability. We priced ourselves at the lower end of what you would pay at other area barbeque establishments." Those three points, Ed believes, have made his three Fayetteville Penguin Ed's locations successful. "I think that philosophy is what carried us through the rougher years," he said. "No amount of good food is going to overcome bad service. We really care about what people think." To ensure proper quality and service, Ed and his wife regularly eat at their establishments, read and respond to comment cards and send in secret shoppers to get an unbiased opinion. "In my earlier days I would almost badger people until they would tell me the truth," Ed said, laughing. "I am never afraid to ask a hard question." Ed shared a story to demonstrate his philosophy. One day, early in Ed's bar-b-que career, he was sitting in his office, a boot in the dining room of his first brick–and-mortar restaurant, after working a kitchen shift. "One day I saw a couple get their food," he recounted. "I took a quick look and it just wasn't a really good looking plate. They say… 'you eat with your eyes.' I went over and said, 'let me replace that. That doesn't look right.' The couple declined Ed's offer and assured him everything was fine. "Again, I asked, but didn't push it," he added. "I regretted not replacing their order. A little later that day, I was out in town shopping and again ran into the same couple. I questioned them again. For whatever reason they felt free to tell me the truth then."