HEADLINER OF THE YEAR

Small business owner wins honor

Although he normally likes to stay in the background, out of the spotlight, this year’s Headliner of the Year award winner is a familiar face to everyone in the community. Small business owner Bob Halsell and his sister Becky Westbrook are household names.

The duo, whose family founded the Dixie Pig restaurant 100 years ago, are owners of a Blytheville landmark.

Recently honored by Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the brother/sister team operates one of the oldest family-operated businesses in Mississippi County. And, perhaps more importantly, they invite everyone to pull up a chair and become a part of the family.

The Dixie Pig in Blytheville actually created the world’s “pig sandwich” and its special sauce in 1923 and its mouthwatering flavors and heavenly aroma have been drawing crowds of hungry people ever since.

The tradition all began in a little log cabin with a sawdust floor. Ernest Halsell, originally from Pontotoc, Miss., called his first place the Rustic Inn, the forefather of the Dixie Pig. It was not until the city’s population began to grow and business was booming that Halsell moved his restaurant to a larger stone building in 1930.

According to a 1938 menu which still hangs on the restaurant wall, the Rustic Inn specialized in steaks and hickory cooked barbecue. The already famous pig sandwich, served with a vinegar slaw and special homemade sauce, was 15 cents and cold buttermilk was 5 cents.

Ernest sold the Rustic Inn and opened the Dixie Pig at its current location on North 6th Street in 1950. By this point, Ernest’s son Buddy had joined the family business. Of course, he had been working in the restaurant since he was born. Buddy and his five siblings, Annie Lee, Ernestine, Melvin, Roy and Johnny, all grew up working at the Rustic Inn.

As the third generation came along, not much changed. Current owner Bob Halsell can’t remember a time when he did not work at the family restaurant.

“I am thankful for my dad who taught me everything,” Bob said. “He was tough on me and made me work hard. That’s why I am who I am today.”

Proud of his family heritage, Bob said it’s also very rewarding to be a part of so many people’s family traditions. The same families have been eating at the Dixie Pig for generations and when many return home for visits their first stop is at the restaurant.

Part of the attraction is just the feeling of home generated by the restaurant’s comfortable, nostalgic atmosphere. Yet, do not be mistaken. The distinctive hickory smoke of the 73-year-old pit draws you in and the yummy homemade blue cheese dressing keeps bringing you back.

Becky was raised, with her brother Bob, in the restaurant. She said her father Buddy loved being in the business. “He rarely closed the doors. Through ice or snow, he was always here.”

Buddy also loved the customers and they loved him. “Through thick and thin, he was a jokester,” she smiled. “Daddy loved talking to the customers and when they came in everyone had to see Buddy.”

Not much has changed over the years... today they come to see Bob and sample those same family “secret recipes.”

Congratulations my friends on your continued success and dedication to the community of Blytheville. You have already earned your place in the history books, but the next chapter is still being written.