Scott McGehee: Proprietor of the Year Arkansas Food Hall of Fame | Arkansas Food Photographer

You may not know his name, but if you live in Arkansas, chances are you’ve eaten at one or more of his restaurants: Big Orange, Local Lime, Heights Taco & Tamale, Lost Forty Brewing and ZAZA Fine Salad & Wood Oven Pizza Co.

Scott McGehee is the executive chef behind Yellow Rocket Concepts restaurants which are some of the most popular in the state. McGehee was recently named Proprietor of the Year by the Arkansas Food Hall of Fame.

I spent an afternoon in early March photographing McGehee for a recent feature in Arkansas Living Magazine, published by the Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas. You can read the current issue of Arkansas Living here.

Scott McGehee is the executive chef behind Yellow Rocket Concepts

I met McGehee at Big Orange Burger in Little Rock’s Midtowne district. We had a relatively tight schedule and a lot to photograph. I wanted to photograph him at three different locations without taking up too much of his time. He told me he allocated three hours for the photo shoot and I was thrilled to have this much time. If you know Scott, he goes at 90-to-nothing.

We started with a portrait of him at the bar and then moved on to photographing a trio of their signature burgers and a bowl of their famous cheese dip. Cheese dip runs in his blood and in his family…literally. His father, Frank was the co-creator of white cheese dip and was a partner in Little Rock’s Blue Mesa Grill and Juanita’s.

A trio of burgers from Big Orange (from left): the Smashed Avocado Turkey Burger, theFarmer's Burger and the White Truffle & Pecorino.

From Big Orange, we headed to Heights Taco & Tamale Co. for a taste and preview of their offerings.

Lastly, we headed over to ZAZA Fine Salad & Wood Oven Pizza Co. ZAZA is my personal favorite. I could eat the ZAZA Italian Sausage Pizza ALL DAY. EVERY DAY. I wanted to get a few cooking shots in additional to the portraits and styled food photos so McGehee donned his apron and whipped up a classic Pizza Margherita.

There is no better way to cook a pizza than in a wood-fired oven. Period. Go ahead, argue your case.

For fans of his restaurants who live in Northwest Arkansas, your wishes are coming true. Bentonville Taco & Tamale Co. is coming soon. The menu will feature an Ark-Mex menu designed by McGehee. The menu is also expected to include fan favorites. The new restaurant will be located on the Bentonville Square at 101 W. Central Ave., and is projected to open in fall 2020. This restaurant marks the 10th restaurant location for Yellow Rocket Concepts.

One last note, I can say with honestly, Scott McGehee is a really nice guy. And he is generous. Extremely generous. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, McGehee vowed not to lay off any of his employees by working hard to maintain curb-side pickup at all restaurant locations. McGehee also has been providing meals almost daily to area healthcare workers.

Commercial Interiors | Project With Evo Business Environments | Delta Dental | Arkansas Commercial Photographer

Before the world ended with the big COVID-19 mess, I kicked off 2020 with two great projects for my friends at Evo Business Environments.

The first feature is their project for Delta Dental of Arkansas. The second is with RockDental Brands and that will be featured in another blog coming soon.

Delta Dental of Arkansas is a dental insurance provider for individuals, businesses as well as those on Medicaid programs with the focus that each person gets the right care for themselves and their families. My own dental insurance is with DDAR and I cannot be more pleased with the cost and benefits provided by DDAR….but I digress.

Delta Dental of Arkansas entryway and foyer is filled with natural light and contemporary furnishings.

The Delta Dental of Arkansas headquarters are located in Sherwood, Arkansas and it’s five minutes from my house. I drive by it all the time. In September of 2018 they broke ground on a newly expanded headquarters which I photographed for them. Delta Dental is a client too — and awesome one at that.

The plan was to expand the current headquarters, move everyone in, vacate their current building for revamping and a complete renovation and redesign and then once everything was finished have a new, larger campus for all their employees. The renovations of the existing building is scheduled to be complete in late summer/early fall 2020.

Yet again, Evo continues to impress with their ideas, style and design. No two project I’ve photographed for them have been the same.

Commercial Interiors | Project with Evo Business Environments | Karen E. Segrave

I once again have the opportunity to work with EVO Business Environments on two recent projects for the Arkansas Federal Credit Union. The first project was photos for their IT headquarters located in Jacksonville, Arkansas.

Every other IT department I’ve ever been in was closed off, dark, boring and completely devoid of any atmosphere. AFCUs redo was just the opposite.

A warm and inviting foyer seamlessly flowed into the main work room that features open air cubicles, a common sitting area, and privacy work stations for phone calls.

My favorite part of the building was completely random, abstract and unique wall murals and graphics located in just about every work area. The murals were not directly part of Evo’s redesign. They were found by the VP of marketing for AFCU. My favorite (third in next series) was the gorilla in the main space holding up a bright, pink stick mask.

My last project of 2019 with EVO was AFCU’s newest branch located in Hot Springs. This new construction location boasted a very non-bank look.

Tons of natural light, neutral tones and a bright and airy common space flowed into the teller counters that weren’t your typical bank vibe. 

Several offices were off to the left and featured a farmhouse glass doors on a metal tract and with privacy diffusion panels