Monticello Live

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When we started our small restaurant we were greeted with excitement and encouragement. But just like anything else, the new does wear off after a bit.

We were new at this so we knew we would make mistakes along the way. We started looking at our competitors in town and out of town.

We quickly realized those that served alcohol seemed to not be struggling as much as others.

On invite night back in November one of the poll questions was, “Would you be opposed to responsible sales of alcohol on premises?” Responsible being the key word.

The overwhelming majority said yes. When it became clear the new had worn off a bit, we decided to pursue our alcohol permit.

Let me make this point very clear. We are not a bar. We still want to be a family restaurant for people to bring their kids. If we get this permit, we will not encourage nor allow individuals to drink in excess.

We are simply a restaurant trying to survive, serve good food, and if a guest so desires an occasional beer, wine, or cocktail with a meal then we want to provide them with that option.

We just want to continue to serve the citizens of our great community for years to come.

Commercial Bank & Trust is proud to announce a strategic initiative to unify sister bank, First State Bank of Warren, into the Commercial Bank operation effective June 24, 2024. Given the proximity of locations, unifying as one bank under the Commercial Bank charter will aid customer access and convenience. Customers will have access to a total of eight banking offices and nine ATMs in the southeast Arkansas communities of Monticello, Warren, Hermitage and Hampton.

Both Banks were purchased by Bennie Ryburn, Sr., more than 50-years ago, and have operated as separate and distinct banks since that time. Todd Smith, president of Commercial Bank and First State Bank of Warren was asked about the reason for the change and described it this way, ‘Joining the two banks together will remove back-office redundancies and allow us to offer greater convenience, and better products and services such as enhanced technology for customers. It will also allow our staff to spend more time with customers and less on administrative duties that act as a barrier to service. It’s a win-win for the communities we serve because no staffing, philanthropic-giving or community development will be reduced. We will eliminate the structural red tape of operating with two names.’ (more…)

MLive just spoke with the owner of the property located at the northwest corner of Highway 425 South and Old Warren Road to ask the question that has Monticello buzzing,  “What’s going in at that location?”

He told us that he recently purchased an additional property , in addition to the land he already owned, and is preparing the site to be more attractive to a potential franchise or business.

Sorry, folks. No announcement yet.

A new Dollar General store is being built in Wilmar, with groundwork starting to take place, now. (more…)

The Mayors Office hosted an eclipse planning meeting Monday where local City and County officials, first responders, School Resource Officers and UAM staff discussed preparations for the upcoming April 8 Eclipse event.

The meeting coordinated and addressed all local vital services and potential issues locally that could occur, such as diminished cellular phone service that could occur due to the large number of people videoing the event statewide and the expected increase in traffic to and from the park of totality in Central Arkansas.

“We expect travelers passing through Monticello in route to the event and coming from the event. We want to make sure that we do our part to ensure increased traffic, anticipate increased purchases of fuel by those travelers and other areas that could affect our town are covered”. (more…)