What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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featured dining guide story Advertorial Feature by DAVE WOODS | nWA DEmOcrAt-GAzEttE Penguin Ed's celebrates more than a quarter century of quality service, great food 25 years and still smokin' 42 What's up! auGust 19 - 25, 2018 I n July, Ed Knight and his crews at Penguin Ed's Bar-B-Que restaurants celebrated 25 years of serving up top quality smoked meats to Northwest Arkansas bar-b-que fans. It's been a long time coming. From smoking meat under a tent at a busy intersection, to a trailer, to a brick and mortar location; and then back to a trailer again before finding a permanent location, Ed said it's all been worth it. And he knows why Penguin Ed's has stood the test of time. "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 unbiased opinions. "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 booth 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."