This is an article I wrote about the longstanding dairy bar in 2021. The restaurant was swept away by a tornado in 2024.
The iconic Susie Q Malt Shop has stood just outside Rogers’ downtown for almost 61 years. Its name, however, doesn’t come from a popular Creedence Clearwater Revival song.
“Back in the day, they used to have a French fry cutter and it was called Susie Q. And when you would put your potato in there, it would do the curlycue fries” says manager Sheila Edmondson. “And when I came back to take it over, the machine was gone. But we still have Susie Q fries.”
Edmondson, who also goes by the nicknames Boss Lady and Ms. Pinky, runs the distinctive teal and pink edifice that draws in daily crowds. She once worked for JB and Patty Head, before taking on the cafeteria for several years at a local school.
The chipper Ms. Pinky didn’t stay away too long.
“I stopped in here 13 years ago and asked if I could buy the grill so I could open up a restaurant at Rocky Branch Marina. Instead they offered me the Susie Q. and I've been here for 13 years.”
Edmondson and I conducted our lively conversation one Thursday morning, as customers called in and came to the window, and her never-slacking staff continued to flip burgers, make milkshakes, dollop chili onto footlongs and pulled fountain drinks.
Many of those cups bore messages to particular customers.
“We take care of our veterans and our police department, our EMTs, our ambulance, our fire department. We write them a note on their cups that says thank you for your service, or it just says thank you, because some of our vets don't like to be reminded that they have bad memories, so, we just give them a little note that says thank you for everything, and they always seem to tag the Susie Q in it and say thanks, you made my day.”
Everyone gets a smile on their cup. That attitude is very on-brand for the Susie Q, where the ladies behind the glass are always upbeat and bright, sporting tie dye shirts and often dancing along to the soundtrack of music that smoothly drifts from speakers both within and without the building.
“The Susie Q gives me energy. it's all due to this place. It's kinda like an energized place to work at. Can't be slow. It's fast paced,” Edmondson shares as she passes a footlong from the grill station across to one of the other ladies, who ladles on chili before passing to a third woman who shakes cheese and onions onto the dogs. That footlong weiner was first cooked in the deep fryer before being finished on the grill and slid into a mustard-toasted bun.
The mustard is part of the particular flavor a Susie Q burger, dog or sandwich brings to the table… or dashboard.
“It just gives it that flavor, and it's really good,” says Edmondson. “You take the bottom of your bun and you put mustard on it, and we toast it into the bun, and then you put your pickles, onions, lettuce, tomato on it. I always tell (customers), if you don't like mustard, at least try it. If you don't like it, bring it back and I'll buy you another one. Because you can't taste the mustard, it's toasted in there really good.”
The patties are excellent as well.
“Hamburger patties are weighed in the back and pressed with patty papers in between them. And they're stacked, and the grill girl gets to pull them out. So they're already round, so we just put them on the grill and put our special seasoning on them.”
“Do you use any special seasoning?” I ask amid the growing bustle of lunchtime.
“Yes we do!” she replies.
“And are you going to share with me what's in that seasoning” I try.
“No, I cannot - that's a secret recipe!” Edmonson laughs.”
Each day, some 60-80 pounds of hamburger is patted out for burgers. During the height of summer, that amount increases to 120 pounds - making it one of the busiest burger joints in the region.
The flavors of other Susie Q creations, recipes held over from the Head family days, also define the place, like the coleslaw and the potato salad. Edmondson herself flattens and hand-breads the chicken breasts served in the baskets and on some of the sandwiches.
“That’s the Cocka-Doodle Piggie! It’s a big chicken breast with a quarter pound of shaved ham!” she proclaims, as one is assembled on the grill. It’s a massive sandwich, probably more than a pound total. She points out a big burger being assembled. “The Big Daddy is a double cheeseburger with a quarter pound shaved ham and bacon, three pieces of cheese. That's the Big Daddy.”
In addition to the new sandwiches, Edmondson has added portabella mushrooms, sweet corn nuggets, cheese sticks, and fried cheesecake. But all the original menu items are still there.
“The shakes are really thick,” Edmondson shares as she offers a large-bore straw to a customer from a bag to use in his dessert. “We can make you a 50 mile shake. I made a shake the other day for some customers that live in Grove, Oklahoma, for lunch. Their shake made it all the way back to Grove. It was still thick. We can tip a shake upside down ... It's like a concrete, but it's homemade ice cream.”
Customers come back for those beloved fries, burgers, and shakes. They also come for the nostalgia - and for the special way every diner is treated.
“They have a lucky number. Everybody gets a lucky number, and we call out the lucky number and say, we hit the microphone and say lucky number so and so your order is ready. And if they have a call-in, this is a put out window. so they come up here and get their food, too.”
“And why is that so lucky?” I ask.
“Because they're eating here and everyone has to get lucky every once in a while!” she replies.
Coming up June 12th, the nostalgia will be on full display as the Susie Q celebrates its 61st birthday. The Foul Air Klub, a local group of Volkswagen enthusiasts, will host a car show on the premises. There will be live music in the sideyard and you can bet the premises will be packed.
The Susie Q Malt Shop is one of a shrinking number of dairy bars across Arkansas still holding onto the old traditions. It’ll be featured in an upcoming book and television program on Arkansas PBS, Arkansas Dairy Bars: Neat Eats and Cool Treats, premiering in August (you can order the book here).
Edmondson notes the shop would be nothing without her excellent employees, who work together smoothly in the rather tight environs of the small building. But most of all, she thanks the folks who come back, time after time, to enjoy the repasts offered through the window.
“If it wasn't for the customers, we wouldn't be here. So we have to treat our customers with the utmost respect.”
I wish I could say the Susie Q Malt Shop lingers on. It does not. On a May 2024 night, a tornado swept through Rogers, destroying hundreds of homes and businesses, including the Susie Q.
The community was quick to rally around the employees, helping fund a GoFundMe to keep them going. However, within days, it was clear that the Susie Q would not be rebuilt.
The staff would come back with another establishment, Goldie's Grill, but it only lasted a few months before the endeavor was closed.
I was working on The Arkansas Barbecue Traveler and was in the area about a month after the tornado, and was completely turned around when I reached the intersection by Harp's and didn't immediately calculate that the Susie Q was gone. The lot was mostly empty.
All that was left was this one stand of welded-together chairs and table, sitting on a concrete foundation. Every other bit of it was gone.
The restaurant business is a fickle one, especially these days. So much of what we loved in our younger days is gone. The Susie Q Malt Shop holds special memories for so many people. It's hard to find an eatery that hangs on that long any more. I sure miss it.
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