LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) - Little Rock began its journey in becoming a fine dining destination in 1975. Offering Little Rock a taste of Europe, restaurant Jacques and Suzanne began on the 30th floor of the First Commercial Bank Building.
That June, Jacques and Suzanne Treton had a vision to bring European cuisine to Arkansas.
"The professional people and government people could come up to a really fancy place and show it off," said Paul Bash. "I think that's what inspired him and got him going on the whole adventure."
"Of course he was trying to create something on top of the building that will be substantial with a view, and it was big deal then for folks to come up and see the view of all of Little Rock," added Ed Moore.
But with all the luxury and planning, the Tretons only stayed for a few months. That's when Bash and Moore stepped in to takeover and kept the business open for a decade.
Bash said part of the formula was not only the décor and ambience, but also included recruited European staff. Louis Petit was the first maître'd. You may recognize his name because he later owned Maison Louis and Cafe Prego, which is still open today under different ownership. The first kitchen staff included chefs Andre Simon, Michele Depreux, and Denis Seyer, whom Bash considers the best chef Arkansas has ever had.
"It was very good it was sophisticated; the food was great; the staff was so enthusiastic; we had the fire when we came in here. We were fired up, so it was a great experience," described Bash.
That experience ended 11 years later on January 30, 1986.
Over its long 40-year history, the legacy of Jacques and Suzanne has inspired no fewer than a dozen restaurants—some still operating today. One of those restaurants is Graffiti's, which has been open since 1984 and is one of the longest operating restaurants from the Jacques and Suzanne lineage.
"October 15, 1984—a Monday night—we invited a few folks from here, and 150 or 160 people showed up," Moore began to say.
"We were totally not expecting that at all, and it went that way for the rest of the week," finished Bash.
With the opening of Graffiti's, Moore, Bash, and Denis Seyer began a second venture with a little taste of Jacques and Suzanne's.
"There's more than just a little taste. We created some recipes up… We put together an Italian vinaigrette recipe," Bash listed. "That's still the salad dressing recipe Graffiti's uses, along with our Caesar salad dressing, along with cappuccino tort, the garlic bread—so there are a number of things."
Bash and Seyer developed the menu, which still features a majority of those exact items today.
Paul McGhee eventually bought the restaurant, but it is currently under Patrick Dayer's ownership.
Thank you to the Little Rock Club which allowed THV11 to go back in time and borrow the original site of Jacques and Suzanne.
