Creating The Compton Food Culture with Chef Corrin

A Katrina-era detour turned a pre-med student into a chef, and her path led her to The Compton. We sit down with Chef Corrin Ellis, the executive chef behind The Compton’s food and beverage program, to unpack how design, community, and local farms shaped a three-part culinary vision: a Tuscan-style steakhouse (Sestina), an all-day cafe with an Onyx collaboration (Field Notes), and an upscale cocktail lounge with sweeping square views (The Eddie). The Compton and all its spaces open in November 2025.

Check out the website for more info, or to book your stay: The Compton | Official Site. Follow along on IG @TheComptonHotel, and on FB @TheComptonHotel.

A New American Town is here to help you plan your trip to Bentonville, Arkansas. From guides, events, and restaurant highlights. Find all this and more at visitbentonville.com and subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and LinkedIn.

You can listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, CastBox, Podcast Casts, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, and Podcast Addict.

Transcript

Beth Bobbitt 0:10

This is a new American town, and I'm your host, Beth Bobbitt. I'm excited today to speak with Chef Corin, the executive chef at the Compton Food and Beverages. The Compton Hotel will be opening in November and will house a steakhouse, bar, coffee shop, and more. We have a lot to talk about today. Welcome to the podcast. Hi.

Chef Corrin 0:30

It's a pleasure being here.

Beth Bobbitt 0:31

Yeah, thanks for being here. So before we jump in, I'd love to hear just a little bit about your journey. You're originally from LA, moved here from the Dallas area. Maybe some of your background, your culinary training. Can you talk a little bit about how you got here?

Chef Corrin 0:48

Yeah. So yeah, like you mentioned, I'm from Los Angeles. I was actually born and raised in Ingola, California. And kind of just fell into culinary arts. I was a food runner at a really big restaurant and things just kind of clicked. I was like, oh my God, like I've been doing this my whole life, actually, and I didn't know I could make a career out of it. So I looked up some really good places to work and uh decided to train under some really good chefs, and that brought me or took me to Dallas. Um opened restaurants in Dallas over the course of six years. And I was contacted by a recruiter for The Compton, came out to visit Bentonville and fell in love. And here I am.

Beth Bobbitt 1:29

Well, congratulations. This is a big role.

Chef Corrin 1:32

Yeah, thank you.

From Pre-Med To Kitchens

Beth Bobbitt 1:33

Huge. I was doing some snooping and might have seen on LinkedIn that you were at one point pre-med. Yeah. So what what made the the switch for you?

Chef Corrin 1:43

Um believe it or not, this is gonna show my age, but uh I was uh affected by Katrina in college. I was going to school in New Orleans at the time. And um went back home, was trying to figure out life, um and tried different places to work, and that's where I kind of fell into like the culinary.

First Impressions Of Bentonville

Beth Bobbitt 2:07

Wow. So you were actually on track for pre-med and Katrina happened and you were reflecting, rethinking your life choices. Yeah. Wow, that's amazing. So tell us a little bit about kind of first impressions of Bentonville. You said you've been here all of four weeks. Four weeks, yeah. Um when did you first come here and what did you think?

Chef Corrin 2:32

I think uh my first visit was at the end of July. I remember it being like before my birthday. So yeah, I think it was like around July. Um and I went to Blake Street and took the trail to Crystal Bridges. And that walk was just like I love the foliage and we're just walking past people and they would, you know, be very welcoming and smile and say hi and stuff like that, and people riding their bikes, like it was great. And then Crystal Bridges is absolutely amazing. I love art. So everything like art and plants everywhere, I was just like, okay, this feels good. It feels right.

Beth Bobbitt 3:12

Amazing. Yeah. And you've experienced some of the culinary scene, you've been kind of out in different restaurants.

Chef Corrin 3:20

Only a couple. So, yeah, like I said, I went to Blake Street and I ate at Preacher's Son. Um, but I haven't been able to really explore past that too much. Just been working and couldn't get the house.

Beth Bobbitt 3:34

Yeah. Understandable. You've been very busy trying to get this new amazing hotel open. Um so for those that don't know, it's gorgeous. It's coming up, you know, in November for the opening. It's located in the heart of Bentonville. Very bike forward, modern. Can you tell us a little bit about kind of the feel of the space?

Chef Corrin 4:00

Um, so there's a lot of like greenery, and we have like bike valet and stone, and um our chandelier in the lobby is made out of dandelion seeds. Like everything is very um it's just beautiful and like natural. So uh fell in love with every bit of that, and it's actually pouring into like how I want to approach like the food at The Compton because I want everything to be very like organic and local and support the city. Right.

Sponsor Message: Visit Bentonville

Concepts: Steakhouse, Cafe, Lounge

Speaker 4:33

Hey, I'm Wes Oliver with Visit Bentonville. Planning your next corporate event or meeting? Forget stuffy conference rooms. Our Unconventional Convention features unique downtown meeting spaces that blend productive work sessions with Bentonville's incredible arts, culture, and outdoor experiences. From mountain biking breaks to world-class museum visits, your team will actually want to attend. Ready to break the mold? Contact our sales team at visitbentonville.com or call 479-271-9153. Let's make your next meeting unforgettable. And now back to the episode.

Design Inspires The Food Vision

Beth Bobbitt 5:12

And so talk a little bit about the individual restaurants and coffee shops and how they're unique and how they work together.

Chef Corrin 5:23

So um we have our Tuscan steakhouse um called Sestina. That is our um our nighttime finer dining um food outlet. Really excited. Fresh pastas made in-house, um locally sourced product, like I said, and um that's gonna be really, really, really fun. Uh that we're open from five to ten and then five to eleven on the weekends for that. Um, field notes is our all-day cafe and um some amazing coffee. I think we're partnering with Onyx with that. Um we'll have a special Onyx blend that we're doing. We're partnering up with them. Um upstairs we have an upscale uh cocktail lounge called the Eddie. Um and um the crystal room, which is like our super VIP Yeah, outlet.

Beth Bobbitt 6:17

Love it. And then there is a coffee shop.

Chef Corrin 6:21

That's Field Notes.

Beth Bobbitt 6:23

Oh, that's Field Notes. Okay, yeah. So that's the one that's opening during the day. Um yeah, tell us a little bit about the concepts for the menu.

Chef Corrin 6:33

So um Tuscan forward for um Sestina. So Italian, but we still wanted to speak to the steakhouse, so um, steakhouse concept. Um fill notes is gonna be more of like a grab and go quick order, fast casual type of feel. Um and also have like some vegetarian and vegan bites um be available for uh the locals to just walk up. There's gonna be an outside counter as well where people can order from. So that's gonna be really nice. And uh, we want the Eddie to be like a like a cocktail hour but upscale. It overlooks the square, there's glass everywhere, so it's really, really beautiful. Um live trees in there, so it's gonna be really nice.

Beth Bobbitt 7:23

So, what's been you talked a little bit about some of the local connection. Um what's the inspiration behind these menus? And do you have any signatures you can preview for us?

Chef Corrin 7:36

Um inspiration would probably be to stay true to the original concept. Um but make it for Biddenville by using local farms and trying to say um use a sustainable product. Um is very important out here and it it being from Los Angeles it it means a lot to me as well.

Beth Bobbitt 8:06

Um what menu items or oh uh what are you excited about?

Chef Corrin 8:16

Probably the fruit de mar risotto.

Beth Bobbitt 8:19

Tell us more.

Chef Corrin 8:21

Hungry already. Um so um you know fruit de mar is um uh translated to the fruit of the sea. So very uh seafood forward and still have the skill and technique of risotto and making sure that that's nice and creamy and all the different flavors just kind of blending well together.

Culture, Leadership, And Hiring

Beth Bobbitt 8:41

I think that's not be doing this at lunchtime. It's terrible. It sounds amazing. I'd like to go back. What does this role mean to you personally? Um You've worked at a lot of restaurants. I have. What's special about this one?

Chef Corrin 9:00

That's a great question. Elevating the food scene in Bentonville, I think, is what means the most to me with this project and being in a position to um kind of cultivate from the ground up like this uh great culture, this team aspect. Um where it's not, I mean, I came up in like a French brigade type of environment, and you know, the culinary scene is not so rugged anymore. And just finding that finesse and still being a leader, but holding high standards and elevating the the mindset of those who are interested in culinary arts and then bringing that skill set to those who are not only interested but very passionate about what we're doing.

Beth Bobbitt 9:41

Yeah.

Chef Corrin 9:41

I think that's the biggest thing for me.

Beth Bobbitt 9:43

Very cool. Yeah. Can you take us kind of backstage into the kitchen? Like what's happening right now in preparation?

Chef Corrin 9:51

Oh man. Um, so now right now we're installing like uh pasta extruders and heat lamps. And I walked in today and they were testing out some of our equipment. So that was really cool to see some equipment that was actually like on during the construction process. Um we have some some great equipment in in that space. I mean, tilt skillet, um, glass chillers where you can slide a whole speed rack inside. There are multiple walk-ins and freezers and all the things. I mean, you name it.

Beth Bobbitt 10:22

Top of the line, everything, I'm sure.

Chef Corrin 10:24

Ugh, gorgeous. 12 burner jade range. I mean, it is it's amazing. And then knowing that we're gonna do uh wood fire for the grill is also really fun and exciting as well. Awesome.

Beth Bobbitt 10:39

So you talked a little bit about this, but what have been some of your first reactions to Bitonville, the culture and the culinary scene in general?

Chef Corrin 10:50

I think a lot of it is for me is feels. Um it is just like warm feeling when I got here. It was almost like a confirmation from the inside out. Like, of course, you know, for chefs, being um in a position like an executive chef of an opening hotel is is huge. But for me, it was the location of where this is happening, um, which makes me want to pour back into the city and pour back into the town because of what they gave me. Yeah. Unbeknownst to I guess everyone around all the warm feels, um, all like the things that make my inner child happy. Yeah. Love to hear that.

Build-Out Details And Equipment

Beth Bobbitt 11:30

That's amazing. So are you hiring? What's left to do before the grand opening?

Chef Corrin 11:39

Um, yeah. I right now our kitchen staff, I think we are fully staffed up, but I mean, I'm still open to have interviews with people who are interested. Um and uh I know that Front of House is still looking for some people as well. So we are definitely still hiring at the moment. Um I'm also partnering with um Brightwater for an apprenticeship program so that I can bring in some students and get them in the kitchen and start training them as well.

Beth Bobbitt 12:10

Wow. It's huge. It's getting real for sure. We're excited. How do folks follow along? I assume there's a social media presence, website, all of that.

Chef Corrin 12:20

Um I'm honestly not sure. Right now, we'll find that.

Beth Bobbitt 12:24

We'll find that and add it in there. Anything else you want to share about any of the restaurants or the hotel?

Warmth, Community, And Next Steps

Chef Corrin 12:32

No, I'm just really, really excited to open and and bring this experience. Like the entire management team, our leadership team is very excited to get the doors open so that everybody can experience what we've been very eager to be a part of.

Beth Bobbitt 12:47

Yeah. And I'm hearing that there is a lot of excitement out there to see the space and experience and dining food and drinks. So um yeah, stay tuned. We'll have to follow up with another episode once you've opened. Yeah. Well, thanks, Chef Corin. Thank you.

Chef Corrin 13:05

Thank you for having me.

Beth Bobbitt 13:07

Don't forget, Visit Bentonville is here to help you navigate things to do, where to eat and stay, and what's going on in our New American town. Check out the show notes, follow us on social, sign up for the newsletter, and check out our website at visitbittenville.com. Thanks for listening.