Arkansas Dairy Bars: Neat Eats and Cool Treats, ready for pre-order now.

Coming October 5th, you'll be able to order your own copy of Arkansas Dairy Bars: Neat Eats and Cool Treats, the culinary travel guide to all 94 of The Natural State's currently operating homegrown dairy bar establishments. Here's how to order your copy.

First and foremost, if you can't wait until October 5th, you can go right now to Arkansas PBS and become a subscriber. Members of the Arkansas PBS family get first dibs and will receive the book first. Other options are the DVD of the documentary and the Arkansas food T-shirt. Click here for more details or to watch the entire show.

Scroll down further for how to order direct. 

The Oxford English Dictionary defines a dairy bar as "A snack bar that sells ice cream and other refreshments." Here in Arkansas, it describes a whole selection of restaurants we love. What makes a dairy bar different from other food establishments? It's a location that serves ice cream - and sustenance other than ice cream, like burgers, or hot dogs. It serves these delights from a window at a permanent facility.

Most of Arkansas's dairy bars have long roots into the past, some having been in existence 50 years or more. There are a few younger joints here and there. All of these are classic eateries.

Come travel with me to every corner of Arkansas, to seek out delectable dishes and the stories behind the folks that make them, on this fantastic culinary itinerary of Arkansas dairy bars.

Venture into every corner of the state with this handy guide that takes you to each and every mom-and-pop shop, local favorites that stand at the heart of their communities, beloved destinations where generations return again and again to enjoy nostalgic fare that's absolutely unbeatable. Use the handy edge guide to explore eight regions of The Natural State. Read the history behind these places, and enjoy more than 350 photos and illustrations that will have you hankering for a culinary roadtrip.

As you know, this book is the companion guide to the 2021 documentary of the same name - or, the show is the companion documentary to the book. It's kind of all tied up together.

On October 5th, Arkansas Dairy Bars: Neat Eats and Cool Treats will be released nationwide in hardcover. The paperback version will be released nationwide on November 2nd.

Retail pricing is $39.99 for hardcover and $29.99 for paperback.

If you'd like to order directly from the author, this is the way to do it (since, you know, that author is me!). You can do that in one of two ways.

First way - you can order directly through my Tonti Press shop link.

Second, you can order through PayPal.

Arkansas Dairy Bars book

Paperback $24.99 USD Hardcover $34.99 USD 5 copies in paperback $109.99 USD

UPDATE 10/11/21: If you chose Arkansas Dairy Bars: Neat Eats and Cool Treats as your gift for membership with Arkansas PBS, your book will arrive this week. Orders through this page will arrive the week of 10/18/21. You can still order through this page at the discount rate; I will mail out books as they come in. The book printing industry is a bit gobsmacked with supply line delays and an overload of orders, but the books ARE coming.

UPDATE: Supply line issues, plus a run on books thanks to upcoming price increases, have pushed back book printing by a few weeks. I am on pins and needles waiting to receive any books at all. AS SOON AS BOOKS ARRIVE they will be shipping out. I am dreadfully sorry I did not see that coming, but there's nothing I can do about it except be ready to turn books back out to you as soon as they come in. More details on printing delays here.

Here's the caveat. Book orders will not arrive before October 5th, except for Arkansas PBS subscribers. That's just the way the cookie crumbles, folks - and why it's a premium for these members. It's part of the contracted deal.

However, by ordering through pre-sale, you'll get $5 off the books, whether it's paperback or hardcover. Amazon and the other big box retailers demand a king's ransom in discounts, which means authors in general don't make a whole lot on those sales. I can offer a better price because I'm not having to give those stores the money.

On the other hand - if you are an Amazon Prime member, PLEASE leave a review, even if you purchase the book here. Once a book has received 50 good reviews, it bumps the book up in the algorithm and Amazon pushes it into more recommendations to other readers. It's really an awesome thing to do and helps your favorite authors. Do it for your other author friends as well, please. That's my PSA.

Please know how much I appreciate your business. It helps me continue my research, which means more books and more documentaries. I have some other ideas I'd like to finance, too. 

As always, the reminder: part of why it's a bear making sure I can finance these endeavors is because I do not take money for my reviews or my inclusions of restaurants in my books and other media. My opinions are financially unbiased and no restaurant pays for my influence.