Chris New, longtime manager at Vino’s, has died

Chris New, the longtime general manager at Vino’s Brew Pub in Little Rock, died Monday following a short illness. He was 52. 

New was born on Oct. 12, 1973, and grew up in Benton. A handful of years after falling in love with Vino’s as a teenager, he took a job there as a server. The gig stuck, and New eventually went on to become general manager. His tenure at Vino’s, where he worked until his death, lasted more than 25 years. 

According to an oral history of Vino’s that the Arkansas Times published in 2022, one of the reasons New loved the spot was because of how diverse its patrons could be. “It’s always been super cool to think that you could go in there, especially at a Friday happy hour, and there would be the table of suits, maybe some lawyers or politicians, and right next to them would be the stinkiest train-hopping punk rock kids,” he said. “You just give people the same service no matter what they look like.”

That attitude of kindness and inclusion extended far beyond the workplace. In New’s obituary, his longtime partner Tricia Larson described him as having “an easy way with people. He made friends quickly, could strike up a conversation just about anywhere, and had a gift for making people feel comfortable, welcome, and at home. … Chris was also an excellent dog dad, a committed, supportive, and loving partner, and the kind of friend people knew they could count on. He was a good time, a good sport and, most importantly, a truly good friend. The lives he touched will forever be a little brighter — and a little funnier — because he was part of them.”

Henry Lee, the owner and co-founder of Vino’s, remembers New as someone who “worked well with everybody” as he took on more and more responsibility at the restaurant and venue. “He became kind of the face of Vino’s,” he said. “Most of [the employees] didn’t even know who I was, truthfully. It was Chris that they dealt with on a day-to-day basis and it struck a few of them really hard. I can tell, just by being around them, that it’s a bit of a somber mood compared to what we normally are there, which is pretty free and loose about everything.”

Mandy Keener, New’s close friend and neighbor, said she counts him as “one of the best people I’ve ever known. … I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone say a bad word about him.” (Keener is the creative director for the Arkansas Times.)

Keener also mentioned New’s love of camping, politics and history. “He was a voracious reader with wide-ranging curiosity, equally at home with a book about Middle Eastern geopolitics or a rock-and-roll biography,” his obituary reads. “He became an avid Green Bay Packers fan and enjoyed kayaking, being outdoors, and the adventures he always wished he had made a little more time for.”

A memorial service for New will be held at Saline Independent Methodist Church in Benton (306 S. Main St.) on Saturday, Oct. 10, at 11 a.m. Vino’s will be closed all day in his honor.