Tuck in those napkins and bring on the fried chicken!
Cadillac Jack’s, Mountain Home’s newest chicken spot, just celebrated its official ribbon cutting ceremony with the Mountain Home Chamber of Commerce at The Dels “West End Social” facility yesterday afternoon.
“Cadillac Jack’s is basically hand-breaded, homemade chicken tenders made well. Made right. We do everything in house,” said Jared Rose, restaurant and hospitality director at The Dels. “We have crinkle cut fries, Texas toast, coleslaw, mac and cheese, and the main caveat being 12 flavors of dipping sauces.”
The brainchild of Mark Bertel and John Sutton, the opening of Cadillac Jack’s was first announced during the Chamber’s annual banquet.
When coming up with the idea, Bertel and Sutton decided to brand their chicken restaurant after Sutton’s nickname “Cadillac Jack.” The idea was a success, and the new restaurant, which is still missing Bertel’s promised Cadillac car on the roof, has been enjoying a steady flow of customers since soft opening in April.
“We’re trying to find a Cadillac to put up on the roof of the building, so [Sutton] can sit up there and take pictures,” said Bertel during his speech at the Chamber banquet in February. “It’s going to be in and out, quick food, very affordable, and I think it’ll be something that we need in Mountain Home. I’m really excited about Jacks.”
And simple it is.
Cadillac Jack’s offers four combo platters ranging from three pieces of chicken tenders to 10. Each platter comes with a piece of Texas toast and well-seasoned crinkle fries along with a choice of sauces.
Sauces at Caddy Jack’s include Jack’s Sauce, Bee-Bee-Q, Samurai Jack’s, Honey Mustard, Lemon Honey, Pineapple Pow, El Dorado Ranch, Garlic Butter, Sriracha Suga Sauce, Escalade Sauce, Honey Chipotle and Angry Jack’s.
Kids meals include two chicken tenders, one sauce, fries and a kid cup. For those looking for something other than French fries, mac and cheese and cole slaw is available. Prices range from $10 for a three piece platter to $21 for a 10 piece platter.
Caddy Jack’s is currently doing take out and to go orders alongside its dining room service. The restaurant can hold over 100 people for those looking to do events. Jared Rose said Caddy Jack’s would be coming to Door Dash and Meals Now in the near future.
“It’s the brainchild of our owner Mark and our head chef, John Sutton. They both have always wanted to do something in the domain of homebreaded chicken tenders and this is what they did,” said Rose. “Our classic Jack’s sauce is probably our most popular, along with honey mustard, BBQ, ranch, stuff like that, but we also have very specific specialty sauces, like a Sriracha sugar or Pineapple Pal. Our Samurai Jack, which is like a Thai infusion.”
A Mountain Home native, Bertel founded The Dels Corporation in 2018. His very first project was fixing up a mobile home. Since then, his construction company has expanded to be one of the most visible in the Mountain Home area.
Bertel has also served on the Food Bank of North Central Arkansas’s board and currently serves on the board of Mountain Home’s Chamber of Commerce.
His wife, Kelsey Bertel, is the owner of Cove Coffee, downtown Mountain Home’s only sit-in coffee house. Like her husband, she is also in the process of expanding her coffee business to new locations throughout the Ozarks.
Together, the couple has become one of the major drivers in the push for the revitalization of Mountain Home, alongside other young entrepreneurs like Rapp’s Barren owners Russell Tucker, Chris Gordon, and Kyle Swallow. Cadillac Jack’s marks the couple’s fourth venture into the food service industry. They are also the proud owners of Cove Coffee, Rio Burrito, and Scoop Ice Cream, which just celebrated its ribbon cutting ceremony last week.
The Dels Corp is this year’s winner of the Mountain Home Chamber of Commerce’s Outstanding Business of the Year Award. The Bertel’s have invested over $11 million into Mountain Home since founding The Dels Corp in 2018. They currently employ 46 people in Mountain Home, and an additional 104 jobs for independent contractors.
