Conversation and jazz filled the air at the Brick Room Events center on Jan. 17 in Downtown Conway, Ark. where nine local restaurants gathered together at the Winter Brunch Showcase hosted by D&C Events Services.

During the two hours the event consisted of, it established the company as a staple in Conway’s community as well as highlighting local businesses. 

“We’re always trying to do things … to involve us in the community,” D&C owner Charles Frost Jr. explained. “That includes the clients as far as guests that want to come out and enjoy the community, but also small businesses … doing things that create experiences for our community is one of our missions.”

This was the first time D&C is hosting this event meaning they would have to low ball estimates on the expected number of guests.

“Right now, we’re anticipating like 50 to 100, it being our first event that we’re wanting to do annually,” D&C Client and Vendor Relations Specialist Zoe Madrid said the Tuesday before the event. “It’s kind of difficult when you don’t have a comparison from the year prior.”

This goal was met with Frost reporting about 65-70 guests meaning that the company had successfully met their expectations.

The event is based off of an annual event called the World Food Tour.

“We do every single year a World Food Tour where we bring in different restaurants from around the world and showcase different items from around the world,” Frost said. “And that has been very successful. And we didn’t have anything really going on for the winter, and so we were like ‘what can we do around this time?’ And after the success of the other thing, we’re like, ‘let’s just do a brunch version of that,’ and that’s how the Brunch Showcase came to life.”

The restaurants present included Secret Nook: Coffee and Books, Ed’s Bakery, The Patio Cafe, Don Pepe’s Gourmet Burritos and Tacos, Brick & Forge Taproom, Shadracks Coffee, Bob’s Grill & Cafeteria, Cross Creek Sandwich Shop and Blue Sail Coffee with each company offering different samples from their brunch menus and/or drink options. Brick Room Events also served drinks at the bar.

The jazz band featured currently does not have a name but included Jalen Flood on alto saxophone, Audre Robenson on bass guitar, Jay Jones on keyboard and Xavier Acklin on drums.

“Frost is a good guy. He’s always been there. Every time he puts on an event, he gives it his all,” Flood said. “We’re just happy to be able to cater to him.”

Acklin stressed the importance of the event.

“So if you take a Dallas type vibe, Houston, Texas, even a big city like Tampa, Fla. and just kind of condense it down, this is what is going on here in Conway,” said Acklin. “You don’t find this often, so that’s why I hope we can get more people involved, because this is what Conway needs.”

In order to get information related to the band, you can follow the instagram account @jj_flood_.

D&C’s next event will be their annual Romance on Bourbon, where they will showcase a New Orleans inspired four course meal featuring zydeco music.

Romance on Bourbon will be on Feb. 12 from 6:30-9:00 p.m. and tickets for the event can be purchased on Eventbrite.