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October 31, 2025 13 mins

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.

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Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Beth Bobbitt (00:10):
This is a new American town, and I'm your
host, Beth Bobbitt.
I'm excited today to speak withChef Corin, the executive chef
at the Compton Food andBeverages.
The Compton Hotel will beopening in November and will
house a steakhouse, bar, coffeeshop, and more.
We have a lot to talk abouttoday.
Welcome to the podcast.
Hi.

Chef Corrin (00:30):
It's a pleasure being here.

Beth Bobbitt (00:31):
Yeah, thanks for being here.
So before we jump in, I'd loveto 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 abouthow you got here?

Chef Corrin (00:48):
Yeah.
So yeah, like you mentioned,I'm from Los Angeles.
I was actually born and raisedin Ingola, California.
And kind of just fell intoculinary arts.
I was a food runner at a reallybig restaurant and things just
kind of clicked.
I was like, oh my God, likeI've been doing this my whole
life, actually, and I didn'tknow I could make a career out
of it.
So I looked up some really goodplaces to work and uh decided

(01:13):
to train under some really goodchefs, and that brought me or
took me to Dallas.
Um opened restaurants in Dallasover the course of six years.
And I was contacted by arecruiter for The Compton, came
out to visit Bentonville andfell in love.
And here I am.

Beth Bobbitt (01:29):
Well, congratulations.
This is a big role.

Chef Corrin (01:32):
Yeah, thank you.

Beth Bobbitt (01:33):
Huge.
I was doing some snooping andmight have seen on LinkedIn that
you were at one point pre-med.
Yeah.
So what what made the theswitch for you?

Chef Corrin (01:43):
Um believe it or not, this is gonna show my age,
but uh I was uh affected byKatrina in college.
I was going to school in NewOrleans at the time.
And um went back home, wastrying to figure out life, um
and tried different places towork, and that's where I kind of

(02:05):
fell into like the culinary.

Beth Bobbitt (02:07):
Wow.
So you were actually on trackfor pre-med and Katrina happened
and you were reflecting,rethinking your life choices.
Yeah.
Wow, that's amazing.
So tell us a little bit aboutkind of first impressions of
Bentonville.
You said you've been here allof four weeks.
Four weeks, yeah.
Um when did you first come hereand what did you think?

Chef Corrin (02:32):
I think uh my first visit was at the end of July.
I remember it being like beforemy birthday.
So yeah, I think it was likearound July.
Um and I went to Blake Streetand took the trail to Crystal
Bridges.
And that walk was just like Ilove the foliage and we're just

(02:54):
walking past people and theywould, you know, be very
welcoming and smile and say hiand stuff like that, and people
riding their bikes, like it wasgreat.
And then Crystal Bridges isabsolutely amazing.
I love art.
So everything like art andplants everywhere, I was just
like, okay, this feels good.
It feels right.

Beth Bobbitt (03:12):
Amazing.
Yeah.
And you've experienced some ofthe culinary scene, you've been
kind of out in differentrestaurants.

Chef Corrin (03:20):
Only a couple.
So, yeah, like I said, I wentto Blake Street and I ate at
Preacher's Son.
Um, but I haven't been able toreally explore past that too
much.
Just been working and couldn'tget the house.

Beth Bobbitt (03:34):
Yeah.
Understandable.
You've been very busy trying toget this new amazing hotel
open.
Um so for those that don'tknow, it's gorgeous.
It's coming up, you know, inNovember for the opening.
It's located in the heart ofBentonville.
Very bike forward, modern.

(03:55):
Can you tell us a little bitabout kind of the feel of the
space?

Chef Corrin (04:00):
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 dandelionseeds.
Like everything is very um it'sjust beautiful and like
natural.
So uh fell in love with everybit of that, and it's actually

(04:22):
pouring into like how I want toapproach like the food at The
Compton because I wanteverything to be very like
organic and local and supportthe city.
Right.

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And now back to the episode.

Beth Bobbitt (05:12):
And so talk a little bit about the individual
restaurants and coffee shops andhow they're unique and how they
work together.

Chef Corrin (05:23):
So um we have our Tuscan steakhouse um called
Sestina.
That is our um our nighttimefiner dining um food outlet.
Really excited.
Fresh pastas made in-house, umlocally sourced product, like I
said, and um that's gonna bereally, really, really fun.

(05:44):
Uh that we're open from five toten and then five to eleven on
the weekends for that.
Um, field notes is our all-daycafe and um some amazing coffee.
I think we're partnering withOnyx with that.
Um we'll have a special Onyxblend that we're doing.
We're partnering up with them.
Um upstairs we have an upscaleuh cocktail lounge called the

(06:07):
Eddie.
Um and um the crystal room,which is like our super VIP
Yeah, outlet.

Beth Bobbitt (06:17):
Love it.
And then there is a coffeeshop.
That's Field Notes.
Oh, that's Field Notes.
Okay, yeah.
So that's the one that'sopening during the day.
Um yeah, tell us a little bitabout the concepts for the menu.

Chef Corrin (06:33):
So um Tuscan forward for um Sestina.
So Italian, but we still wantedto speak to the steakhouse, so
um, steakhouse concept.
Um fill notes is gonna be moreof like a grab and go quick
order, fast casual type of feel.
Um and also have like somevegetarian and vegan bites um be

(07:00):
available for uh the locals tojust walk up.
There's gonna be an outsidecounter as well where people can
order from.
So that's gonna be really nice.
And uh, we want the Eddie to belike 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'sgonna be really nice.

Beth Bobbitt (07:23):
So, what's been you talked a little bit about
some of the local connection.
Um what's the inspirationbehind these menus?
And do you have any signaturesyou can preview for us?

Chef Corrin (07:36):
Um inspiration would probably be to stay true
to the original concept.
Um but make it for Biddenvilleby using local farms and trying
to say um use a sustainableproduct.

(07:58):
Um is very important out hereand it it being from Los Angeles
it it means a lot to me aswell.

Beth Bobbitt (08:06):
Um what menu items or oh uh what are you excited
about?

Chef Corrin (08:16):
Probably the fruit de mar risotto.

Beth Bobbitt (08:19):
Tell us more.

Chef Corrin (08:21):
Hungry already.
Um so um you know fruit de maris um uh translated to the fruit
of the sea.
So very uh seafood forward andstill have the skill and
technique of risotto and makingsure that that's nice and creamy
and all the different flavorsjust kind of blending well
together.

Beth Bobbitt (08:41):
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 youpersonally?
Um You've worked at a lot ofrestaurants.
I have.
What's special about this one?
That's a great question. Elevatingthe food scene in Bentonville,

(09:03):
I think, is what means the mostto me with this project and
being in a position to um kindof cultivate from the ground up
like this uh great culture, thisteam aspect.
Um where it's not, I mean, Icame up in like a French brigade
type of environment, and youknow, the culinary scene is not

(09:25):
so rugged anymore.
And just finding that finesseand still being a leader, but
holding high standards andelevating the the mindset of
those who are interested inculinary arts and then bringing
that skill set to those who arenot only interested but very
passionate about what we'redoing.
Yeah.

Chef Corrin (09:41):
I think that's the biggest thing for me.

Beth Bobbitt (09:43):
Very cool.
Yeah.
Can you take us kind ofbackstage into the kitchen?
Like what's happening right nowin preparation?

Chef Corrin (09:51):
Oh man.
Um, so now right now we'reinstalling like uh pasta
extruders and heat lamps.
And I walked in today and theywere testing out some of our
equipment.
So that was really cool to seesome equipment that was actually
like on during the constructionprocess.
Um we have some some greatequipment in in that space.

(10:12):
I mean, tilt skillet, um, glasschillers where you can slide a
whole speed rack inside.
There are multiple walk-ins andfreezers 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'regonna do uh wood fire for the
grill is also really fun andexciting as well.
Awesome.

Beth Bobbitt (10:39):
So you talked a little bit about this, but what
have been some of your firstreactions to Bitonville, the
culture and the culinary scenein general?

Chef Corrin (10:50):
I think a lot of it is for me is feels.
Um it is just like warm feelingwhen I got here.
It was almost like aconfirmation from the inside
out.
Like, of course, you know, forchefs, being um in a position
like an executive chef of anopening hotel is is huge.
But for me, it was the locationof where this is happening, um,

(11:13):
which makes me want to pourback into the city and pour back
into the town because of whatthey gave me.
Yeah.
Unbeknownst to I guess everyonearound all the warm feels, um,
all like the things that make myinner child happy.
Yeah.
Love to hear that.

Beth Bobbitt (11:30):
That's amazing.
So are you hiring?
What's left to do before thegrand 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 tohave interviews with people who
are interested.
Um and uh I know that Front ofHouse is still looking for some
people as well.
So we are definitely stillhiring at the moment.
Um I'm also partnering with umBrightwater for an

(12:04):
apprenticeship program so that Ican bring in some students and
get them in the kitchen andstart 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 mediapresence, 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 shareabout any of the restaurants or
the hotel?

Chef Corrin (12:32):
No, I'm just really, really excited to open
and and bring this experience.
Like the entire managementteam, our leadership team is
very excited to get the doorsopen so that everybody can
experience what we've been veryeager to be a part of.

Beth Bobbitt (12:47):
Yeah.
And I'm hearing that there is alot of excitement out there to
see the space and experience anddining food and drinks.
So um yeah, stay tuned.
We'll have to follow up withanother 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 NewAmerican town.
Check out the show notes,follow us on social, sign up for
the newsletter, and check outour website at
visitbittenville.com.
Thanks for listening.
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