One of three inaugural inductees to the Arkansas Food Hall of Fame in 2017 (along with Jones Bar-B-Q and Lassis Inn), Adams was famous for her Delta-style tamales and made-from-scratch “half-and-half” pies. She opened her Chicot County restaurant at 714 St. Mary St. in 1985.
Proclamation for Rhoda Adams Day in Arkansas
WHEREAS: Rhoda Adams of Lake Village, Arkansas, born February 17th, 1938, was the owner and cook at Rhoda’s Famous Hot Tamales and Pies. She passed away on August 16, 2023;
WHEREAS: Adams attracted visitors from near and far to her restaurant. For five decades, she served her special tamale recipe to the world, sometimes out of the back of her car, and at her own restaurant beginning in 1985;
WHEREAS: Adams was one of the inaugural inductees of Arkansas’ Food Hall of Fame in 2017. She was also the frequent subject of travelogues and other media profiles, bringing tourists to her small Delta town;
WHEREAS: Adams was a loving member of a big family and the proud grandmother to nearly 140 grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren; and
WHEREAS: Adams was a Delta icon who helped build up her community through a strong spirit and fantastic food. It is fitting and right for Arkansas to honor her and her decades of contributions to the state and her culture.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, Governor of the State of Arkansas, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the laws of the State of Arkansas, in tribute to the memory of Rhoda Adams and as an expression of public sorrow, do hereby proclaim August 26, 2023 as
“RHODA ADAMS DAY IN ARKANSAS”
and urge the citizens of Arkansas to remember Rhoda Adams and her contributions to our state.
IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of Arkansas to be affixed this 25th day of August, in the year of our Lord 2023.