Weekend in Bentonville Part I

My initial response was confusion then curiosity when I was asked to travel to Bentonville, Arkansas. The only thing I knew about Bentonville was that it is the home of Walmart HQ, which was not a huge selling point for me. Learning that it was also home to some awesome museums, farm-to-table restaurants, and fabulous shops quickly changed my attitude. So, we packed some snacks and hit the road for the five hour drive from Memphis to Bentonville!

After checking in, the first stop was Onyx Coffee Lab. Onyx is the kind of place where you spend as much time exploring coffee offerings and snapping photos for the ‘gram as you do people watching and relaxing. The space is the perfect mix of industrial, rustic, and Brooklyn hipster. No detail was spared!

The smell of coffee in the street lets you know that you’re headed in the right direction. It also smells just as good inside. I ordered a cappuccino with almond milk this first visit and planned to try the Onyx Shake next time. Yes, I was already planning a second visit. I knew this place was going to be good!

We picked up a few things from their retail space, including a bag of coffee beans. The baristas were super knowledgeable about the coffee — asking about our coffee brewer and recommending how to grind and brew the beans. We decided it was best to just have it ground in the store and they were happy to do it.

The town square was a short distance from Onyx and was almost too nostalgia-inducing for words! It made me think of Stars Hallow. Any Gilmore Girls fans here? Holler at me!

The square has a fun range of shops and restaurants, the Walmart Museum, and 21c Museum Hotel just outside of it. I popped into Blue Moon on the Square and picked up some adorable tea mugs and this dress, which will be perfect for my upcoming Vineyard trip.

After spending more time than planned in the square, we headed to 21c to have lunch at The Hive and check out the museum. I knew better than to start exploring on an empty stomach and The Hive did not disappoint.

The veggie burger was majestic! There must have been some sorcery involved with that deliciousness —a spicy patty with herb aioli and jalapeño cabbage slaw.

The patty was so good that I pulled it out of the bun to eat with just the slaw. I would request the aoli on the side.

Either way, the burger is not to be missed. It was especially good with the sweet and spice fries. Oh, and the cocktails are exactly how I like them: strong and delicious!

After sufficiently stuffing our faces, we headed into the museum. I highly recommend blocking out at least two hours to take your time viewing the art and reading artist statements. Some of my favorite finds were pieces by Mickalene Thomas, Steve Mumford, and Hank Willis Thomas.

We ended the night with a high dosage of gorgeous at Pressroom. They managed to pack a gorgeous space, with beautiful servers, and food as delicious as it was looked!

I had so much fun that I will end here and write a separate post with the rest of my Bentonville finds. In the mean time, check out of all my travels here.

Let me know below if there’s anything I should check out on my next visit!