Greater Bentonville Chamber of Commerce issued the following announcement on Mar. 25.
We are featuring all of our awardees from our 2022 State of the Chamber, presented by Walmart Sam's Club and Ritter Communications.
This award recognizes special contribution made to the community and requires a minimum of 20 years of residency in the Bentonville Area.
This recipient had many loves in his life: His family, his passion for food and his desire to make a difference in the world.
He started his career when he was 15 years old as a dishwasher and soon worked his way up as an apprentice cook, which is where it all began, a love for food and the restaurant industry!
In the mid 80’s he opened his first restaurant in Minnesota, PT’s Pit BBQ.
He and his wife Betty came to Arkansas in the early 90’s to run a restaurant for a business partner, and so, The Station Café was born!
Cecil Turner loved the city of Bentonville, loved the square, and his patrons. He was a man with special gratitude for the good work done by our First Responders AND city workers, and was determined to win the community over with his sense of service and gratitude. In sum, Cecil was an astute businessman that made a real difference in his community.
Some things that kept a smile on his face – anticipation of First Friday which helped draw foot traffic to the square, and the joy he received by providing free ice cream cones to the children and seeing their big smiles! He enjoyed shopping and prepping food on Sundays and he never turned a patron away. If a potential customer showed up at 6 am, yet The Station didn’t open until 7, the doors would open, and the hungry patron would be greeted to enter.
In memory of Cecil Turner
(Award accepted by sons Jim & Don and daughters Michell & Rhonda)
Original source can be found here.
Source: Greater Bentonville Chamber of Commerce
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