BOOM Jackson v5n3 - Power Couples 2013

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Halls of Power, pp 11-13 // This Ain’t Fast Food, pp 53-55 The Art of Twiggy, p 70

// Kids Rock, p 72

FREE // Winter 2012-13

Vol. 5, No. 3

Local Menu Guide, starts p 35

Remembering the Glory Days pp 23-32

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Work. Live. Play. Prosper.

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Work. Live. Play. Prosper.

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“... but urge me not to use moderation in a cause like the present. I am in earnest—I will not equivocate—I will not excuse—I will not retreat a single inch—and I will be heard.,” -William Lloyd Garrison, via Dorothy Triplett, p 69

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JXN

The Capitol

C-SPAN this ain’t. Crazy it is.

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Secret City

Lest we forget: the PoFolks massacre.

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Shop: Highway 80

Got a penchant for heavy metals?

We’ve got you covered (sartorially, that is).

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70

Arts

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Menu Guide

Bare Bones

Paid advertising section

Twiggy’s “assemblages” brood with definite dark undertones.

A conceptual vision for Capitol Street.

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Gas Guzzler

JSU’s Gallery1 displays unique African and African American art.

Hands On

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Progress

The Iron Horse revives (again), plus big changes all over the city.

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Biz

Stay Savvy

Editor in Chief Donna Ladd gives up the creativity tips and tricks.

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Highway 80

Explore the past, present and future of the Highway 80 corridor.

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Vrrooomm

“Be happy; stay Grumpie.”

Resident Tourist Tom Ramsey’s quest for the best gas-station grub.

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Delicieux!

The head chef of Anjou takes our questions.

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Power Couples

Teamwork: The New Black Hot? Yes. Charming? Yes. Determined? Yes. Too bad none of them are single …

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Do-gooders

The Women’s Fund

Educating girls to ensure mature decisions.

Out Of Africa

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Melodies

School Of Rock

Fondren Guitars teams up with some very talented kids.

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As The Crow Flies

A local rapper reflects on freedom, perception and history in hip-hop.

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Cool Too

Afroman isn’t the only one singing Hattiesburg’s praises.

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Events

Oh, the weather outside is … probably humid.

Here’s a sensational winter to-do list.

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Local List

Hometown girl Cara Troiani of Southern Beverage tells us her top 10 faves about the City with Soul.

Editor in Chief Donna Ladd Assistant Editors Molly Lehmuller // Kathleen Morrison Mitchell Art Director Kristin Brenemen Copy Editor Ronni Mott Editorial Writers Marika Cackett // Richard Coupe // Tam Curley Andrew Dunaway // Jacob Fuller // Sonya Lee Natalie Long // Bill Moak // Michael Mohr Ronni Mott // R.L. Nave Tom Ramsey // Briana Robinson Listings Editor // Latasha Willis Interns Dylan Watson // Victoria Sherwood Photography Staff Photographer // Trip Burns Photographer Tate K. Nations Ad Design Andrea Thomas Design Interns Terrence Jones // Ariss King Sales Advertising Director // Kimberly Griffin Account Executive // Stephanie Bowering Advertising Coordinator // Monique Davis Distribution Manager // Matt Heindl Executive Assistant // Erica Crunkilton Bookkeeper // Montroe Headd Publisher Todd Stauffer CONTACT US Letters to the Editor // editor@boomjackson.com Story ideas and pitches // editor@boomjackson.com Ad Sales // ads@boomjackson.com BOOM Jackson P.O. Box 5067, Jackson, MS 39296 p 601.362.6121 f 601.510.9019 Would you like copies of BOOM Jackson for recruiting, welcome packets or other corporate, institutional or educational uses? Call 601.362.6121 x17 or email matt@jacksonfreepress.com.

BOOM Jackson is a publication of Jackson Free Press Inc. BOOM Jackson focuses on the urban experience in Jackson, Miss., emphasizing entrepreneurship, economic growth and city life. © 2013 Jackson Free Press Inc.

Cover photo of Erika and Carlos Tanner

by Tate K. Nations.

Fashion info is on p 66.

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Winter 2012-13

Over the Rainbow

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et’s not sugarcoat it: After a divi- and websites to reach more people. We believe sive presidential campaign, the strongly that media must lead when it comes nation is going through a needed to community progress and that we must nevperiod of healing. And it wouldn’t er exploit negativity and the city’s problems be dishonest to say that a whole lot of that just to get people to pick up our publications. need revolves around racial understanding.

Instead, we celebrate the positive That includes learning what is offensive to throughout our city, featuring faces you may people not like us due not know, introducing to religion, race or socioreaders to each other. economic background.

We never camouflage the

Many people feel negative; we strive in all a bit lost on increasing our publications to tell diversity in their lives stories and report inforbecause they grew up in mation that empowers a non-diverse setting or our readers to solve our went to a school with community’s challenges. kids of the same race

Make no mistake, with a few exceptions. real diversity isn’t only viNow they’re adults, and tal in media businesses like perhaps defensiveness, Editor in Chief Donna Ladd ours. In the 21st century, distrust and false asdiversity is a cornerstone sumptions of “the other” to business success no have set in. matter what product you

Fortunately, many of us have the perfect sell. It provides a way to open new markets, place to change this myopic dynamic: in the to find ideas you might not have considered workplace. Increasingly, our businesses and otherwise and to connect with your widening jobs are becoming more diverse (or at least customer base. should be). As a result, we have the opportu- We urge our readers, and all the businessnity every day to work alongside people with es of Jackson, to embrace diversity and pursue different backgrounds and views and, thus, to it with diligence. It is always a cop-out to say learn from those around us. It’s even better if that you cannot find a qualified person of a you go to work in a place where conversations certain group to fill a position; the enlightened about diversity (and hot-button issues like rac- approach is to find someone amazing and ism, sexism and homophobia) are common- train that person to be a part of your organiplace and easy to have. zation—and start looking for talent in high

We are blessed to have that kind of en- schools and colleges (we even keep an eye on vironment at BOOM Jackson and the Jack- middle schools!). When you do that, you help son Free Press. We are very deliberate about improve your community by giving a mother, constantly developing a diverse work force and a father, a budding professional or even a teenfreelance base—and it has nothing to do with age intern an opportunity that can have ripple “political correctness.” It has everything to do effects in the metro and state. with putting out publications that truly reflect Never shy away from diversity in all levour community and challenge our readers els of your organization. Once you have it, be to learn how delightful “rainbow” lives and sure to do the one thing that is so often missworkplaces really are. ing in the workplace: listen.

Diversity is also good for business. Mixed Your company will be more successful as with our company’s pledge to celebrate the lo- a result. cal in every issue of our publications by using Jackson talent and creativity, our workplace diversity enables our newspaper, magazine Kathleen M. mitchell

boomjackson.com

editor’s note

It’s Best of Jackson season!

If you’re reading this early in December, be sure to go to bestofjackson.com and vote for your favorite restaurants, artists, personalities and local businesses in the metro (until Dec. 12). Then watch for the Jan. 24 issue of the Jackson Free Press to salute 150 of the best Jackson has to offer! And keep your ears open for details on the best party of the year in late January as we award the winners. The secret theme this year? Black, white and red all over. (No, the answer isn’t “newspaper.”)

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contributors

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1. Molly Lehmuller Molly helped coordinate, write, shop for, edit and factcheck for this issue, in addition to assisting at the fashion shoot. She is in graduate school at Millsaps College, and lives in Belhaven with her doting mother.

2. Latasha Willis Latasha Willis, events and production editor, is a native Jacksonian, a freelance designer and the mother of one cat. She shamelessly promotes her design skills at latashawillis. com. She coordinated the event listings.

Exec ut ive

S e a rch

3. Tam Curley Freelance writer Tam Curley loves telling people about her move from liberal California to begin a new life with her hubby and daughter in conservative Mississippi. She is an Arkansas native and enjoys time with her two lab puppies.

D i re ct

H i re

Temp To - Hire

4. Jacob Fuller Reporter Jacob Fuller is a former student at Ole Miss. When not reporting, he splits his time between playing music and photographing anything in sight. He covers the city for the Jackson Free Press and BOOM Jackson.

He wrote progress and biz stories.

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Halls of Power, Then and Now pp 12-13 // Tragic History p 14 Magic Man p 16 // Progress p 18

Cap City T

Work. Live. Play. Prosper.

Trip Burns

he Mississippi capitol building will be buzzing again as the 2013 regular session of the Mississippi Legislature convenes at noon Tuesday, Jan. 8.

Some of the major issues expected to be discussed in this year’s session include Medicaid expansion under Obamacare, charter schools, immigration, bond bills and sales tax.

To view a timetable for processing legislation, including all deadlines, visit jfp.ms/legislaturetimetable.

You can watch both the House and the Senate sessions live via webcast. Visit jfp.ms/legislaturelive for the schedule and webcasts. Subscribe free to jfpdaily.com for daily legislative coverage in your inbox.

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JXN // halls of power Under the Dome House: 122 seats (21 women, 101 men) Senate: 52 Seats (8 women, 44 men) Salary: $10,000 per year plus per diem

Common names: 2 Browns (Cecil and Chris), 2 Bucks (Kelvin and Kimberly, married), 2 Colemans, (Linda and Mary) 2 Huddlestons (Mac and Robert), 2 Rogers (Margaret and Ray) and 3 Evanses (Bob, James and Michael) Number of Funeral Directors in the Mississippi House: 6 (Steve Holland, Earle Banks, Chuck Espy, Clara Burnett, Sonya Williams-Barnes and Tommy Reynolds; all Democrats).

Capitol Factoids Architect: Theodore C. Link of St. Louis, Mo. Construction: January 1901 to August 1903.

Stands on site of old state penitentiary Cost: $1,093,641 (about $25 million current dollars), built with money from a legal settlement against a railroad company for back taxes Dimensions: 402 feet wide, 180 feet to center of the Capitol dome, 242,500 square feet Lights: 4750 original fixtures throughout; 750 in the rotunda Stained-glass windows designer: Louis J. Millet of Chicago President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s federal Works Progress Administration funded a 1939 Capitol grounds beautification project. A $19 million renovation took place between 1979 and 1982.

K

Trip Burns

Bills, bills, bills: In 2011, lawmakers introduced 1,588 bills. Of those, 379 passed the House, 254 passed the Senate and Gov. Haley Barbour signed 231 into law.

‘Lift’ Your Spirits at the Capitol // by R.L. Nave enneth Keys sees a lot of ups and downs in his business.

As one of just two elevator operators in Mississippi (the other works in the Robert E. Lee state office buildings), Keys shuttles legislators, lobbyists, reporters, tourists and other visitors from the main level of the Capitol all the way up to the fourth floor.

“My shoulder hurts at the end of the day,” says Keys, referring to the heavy elevator doors that he manually opens and shuts on every stop.

Keys, who has friendly blue eyes, compares himself to a bartender to whom strangers looking for a willing ear confide their personal problems.

And even though he hears a lot of stuff from the Mississippi power brokers he carries in his elevator car, he avoids from engaging in conversations about the political goings-on of the building.

“Don’t say nothing—that’s the Elevator operator Kenneth Keys knows the ins and outs—and ups and downs—of the Capitol building best way to keep yourself safe,” and its inhabitants better than anyone.

Keys says.

Born and raised in south Jackcame integral as skyscrapers began to proliferson’s Swan Lake neighborhood, Keys began working for the state in 1985. Two years later, ate in American cities, becoming so powerful he left his position as a maintenance man at the that when they went on strike on New York City in 1945 the work stoppage paralyzed the city.

Woolfolk office building to his current position at the Capitol.

One New York Times report described a

Keys operated the elevator as an extra in “great throng of office workers” who “struggled up stairways that seemed endless.” the 1996 screen adaptation of John Grisham’s It was around this time that automatic book “The Chamber,” for which he received a full day’s salary for a minute and a half of work. elevators that passengers could operate them Modern mechanical elevators came on the selves began to grow in popularity.

About every two hours, one of the Capiscene in the 1850s when Otis Elevator Company tol custodians takes over for Keys so he can developed an elevator with a safety mechanism take a break. to prevent the car from hurtling to the ground if

“I take the stairs every chance I get,” the lift cable broke.

The operators who ran these elevators be- he says.

Meet Your Legislators jfp.ms/legislators To contact the legislature during session, use one of these numbers: House Docket Room: 601.359.3360

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Winter 2012-13

Senate Docket Room: 601.359.3229 Legislative Reference Bureau: 601.359.3135 Senators During Session: 601.359.3770 Representatives During Session:

601.359.3770 Bill Status During Session: 601.359.3719 boomjackson.com

COURTESY MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF ARCHIVES AND HISTORY

Old Capitol Factoids

If Walls Could Talk // by Donna Ladd

Jackson is nicknamed “Chimneyville” due to the chimneys left standing after Union soldiers burned much of the city three times. They left the Old Capitol, right, intact.

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n the state with arguably the craziest, and most disturbing, history in the nation, the original Capitol building might have the most stories hidden in its walls and columns. The Legislature did some whack stuff in there, and businessmen liked to hold private slave sales in front of it. That’s tough history to face, but if you want to understand an enigma like Mississippi, there’s no better place to start than the building at the corner of State and Capitol streets.

Start with John Ray Skates’ “Mississippi’s Old Capitol: Biography of a Building” (Mississippi Department of Archives and History, 1990).

It details the saga of building and renovating the original Capitol and the “new” one we use now: a long history of funding issues, building problems, a war and bad karma to complicate it all.

The original Capitol was authorized after state officials moved the seat of government here from Natchez, at the time one of the wealthiest spots in the U.S. due to slavery and its riverfront perch. Jackson, once backwoods, became the place to set up shop after the Choctaws were forced to cede much of their land to the state under the 1830 Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek.

The Constitutional Convention of 1832 mandated that the Legislature and the High Court of Errors and Appeals (the Supreme Court) move to Jackson. A makeshift capitol was first set up at the corner of Capitol and President streets. Then, in 1833, Gov. Abram Scott decided to finance a capitol building with money from the sale of freshly carved-out town lots. The Legislature appropriated $95,000 for the Capitol, as well as $10,000 for a “suitable house for the governor.”

The new state architect, John Lawrence, came from Nashville (a two-week horseback trip) in October 1833 with plans for a Gothic Revival state house. On Nov. 28, 1834, Masons laid the cornerstone with an evening ball to follow at the Work. Live. Play. Prosper.

Planters’ Hotel on the south side of Pearl Street near the Capitol Green. But work was soon suspended due to bank issues, and several state officials, including then-Gov. Hiram Runnels, had to take out personal loans to fund the early construction. On Oct. 9, 1935, Runnels fired Lawrence and hired William Nichols, a Bath, England native.

Nichols vowed to make the Capitol the “architectural embodiment of the new state constitution,” as Skates writes. “The Constitution of 1832 was constructed to solidify such Jacksonian principles as legislative supremacy over the executive and judicial branches, the election of all public officials, including judges, and universal suffrage for white males.”

The design called for legislative chambers to dominate the top two floors of both sides of the building and to dwarf the modest governor’s offices down on the first floor. The people—or at least white men—could keep an eye on the lawmakers from large galleries in each wing. A large portico in front of the building faced west down Capitol Street, inviting the people to use the building (which they often did for community events).

In 1836, the Legislature also proceeded with plans to build another important state building: a state penitentiary a few blocks over.

In October 1849, the Capitol was the site of

• The limestone for the building came from a quarry near Mississippi Springs, then a resort east of Raymond.

• Gov. Runnels got a state contract in 1836 to supply 1,500,000 bricks at $8 per 1,000.

• In a problem the state still suffers, it could not recruit enough skilled workmen in the state and had to hire from outside.

• After an 1838 tour of the Capitol’s progress, Southern Sun editor A.R. Johnston stated that Mississippi was “a rich state, and the state house should reflect that wealth.”

• The Old Capitol cost about $400,000 when all was said and done—a huge amount in that era.

• The 1868 and 1890 state constitutions were crafted in the Old Capitol.

• After the Capitol was completed, businesses sprang up along Capitol and State streets.

“West Jackson” was a cluster of businesses around the railroad depot.

• After the Capitol, University of Mississippi trustees hired William Nichols to design the university campus, including the Lyceum.

the first public debate in the South over secession over concern that slavery might be illegal in California and recently acquired Mexican territories.

The men re-affirmed the rights of slaveholders, but did not vote to secede to protect the “institution of slavery—the greatest material interest of the world” in the Capitol until Jan. 7, 1861.

During the Civil War, even though the victors burned much of “Chimneyville” (three times), they spared the Capitol, governor’s mansion and City Hall. But not the state penitentiary, which Union soldiers nearly destroyed.

In 1900, legislators voted to build a new Capitol on the site of the penitentiary, where it still stands now. The Old Capitol was renovated in 1916 and used for state offices until 1959. In 1961, it was restored as a state historical museum. It closed again after Katrina damage in 2005. The Legislature again allocated funds for renovation, and it re-opened in 2009 as a museum.

See jfp.ms/oldcapitol for more details.

‘As I First Saw It …’

“I

came to Jackson in April 1855. I was then a lad of 21 … Jackson was then an exceedingly quiet city, and it not yet as lively as I hope it will be. It had a white population of 2,700 and a black or slave population of 950, and there were eight free negroes and mulattoes in the city. Its realty was estimated at $784,000, and its property and poll-tax was $8,200 …

‘Cheapside’ was then the headquarters for dry goods and groceries, and Pearl Street went by the then very appropriate name of ‘Greasy Row.’ The newspapers were: The Flag of the Union, Mississippian, Mercury and True Witness … The Mississippian was published by Barksdale & Jones. … (The Mississippian) was printed at the corner of Capitol and President streets in a building that was the former State Capitol …”

— J.L. Power, Daily Clarion-Ledger, Dec. 14, 1895 13

JXN // secret history AP Photo/Rogelio Solis

Jackson police, SWAT team members, firefighters and area law enforcement members wait for the fire department to extinguish the flames and smoke engulfed abandoned PoFolks restaurant at the Ellis Isle Shopping Center Friday, April 12, 1996, before searching for a gunman who wounded seven and killed one.

Tragedy on Highway 80 // by Marika Cackett

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Winter 2012-13

als—all in all, about $50,000 worth. With no steady income, investigators were puzzled as to how he could amass such an arsenal.

Yet, as investigators dug deeper into his life, they discovered a more startling truth: Shoemake was an anti-government white supremacist, enamored with such works as Adolf Hitler’s autobiography “Mein Kampf,” and “The Turner Diaries,” a novel published in 1978 depicting a white supremacist revolution that ends in the genocide of minority Americans.

Investigators found a letter Shoemake wrote to a friend, but never mailed, where he writes: “black is the problem. It’s in their genes. … They will never forgive whites for all the supposedly terrible treatment we did to them. The bottom line is: Separation or annihilation.”

The Clarion-Ledger reporter who survived the shooting, Pam Berry, now works for Jackson State University. After she was released from the hospital, she spoke to a group of survivors and others.

“Don’t hate, and don’t take what happened to me and make it worse,” Berry, who is African American, cautioned her listeners. “Hate poisons everyone. We shouldn’t let sicknesses like Shoemake spread to the rest of us. We can heal a city and we can heal each other. There are far more of us than there are of them.”

Fast-forward 16 years, and today the site of the PoFolks massacre is part of the New Horizons church complex. The Highway 80 corridor, which has seen decades of decline, is now the focus of the City of Jackson and the Jackson Redevelopment Authority’s series of development projects. The city hopes to breathe life back into a community that had once been a vibrant center of commerce and life in the city.

AP Photo/Rogelio Solis

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Vietnam Army veteran who never really adjusted to life after combat, Larry Shoemake, 53, lived with his mother in Jackson after his three failed marriages. Shoemake was well educated and had once worked as a camera operator for the local educational television station in Jackson. He even scored a small role in “Mississippi Burning.”

But the residents of the Highway 80 corridor remember him for another reason.

On April 12, 1996, Shoemake holed up in an abandoned PoFolks restaurant on Ellis Avenue with assault rifles, a pistol, shotgun, a jug full of gasoline and more than 20,000 rounds of ammunition and began shooting into the surrounding neighborhood. When the smoke cleared, one person was dead and six people were injured, including a Clarion-Ledger reporter. All of the victims were African American. Shoemake was white.

During the more than 40-minute assault, Shoemake set the gasoline ablaze and, as flames engulfed the restaurant, he took his life.

Police later determined he fired at least 100 rounds before killing himself.

When police searched his home, they discovered 15 different makes of rifles, along with other weapons, ammunition, military manu-

Mae Johnson, of Jackson, right, is comforted

by Sack and Save grocery store customer service representative Evonne Dukes, as she shows the shot out rear window of her family car, while her husband, Robert Johnson, left, ponders their narrow escape through a shower of bullets, that raked the shopping center Friday night, April 12, 1996.

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JXN // now you see it trip burns

Robert Day

Peekaboo

As a magician, Robert Day doesn’t have a work bag so much as a trunk—make that several trunks. Inside, Day keeps everything he needs to amaze, surprise or entertain. Here are just a few of the tricks up his sleeve:

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Numbered shells Teapot Pens Skull Silver rings

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Paper hat Mirror Rope Kerchiefs in various colors

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Coins Key Crystal ball and silk pillow Popcap gun

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Sword box Sword Top hat Bottles Candle

19. Wands 20. Flowers Can we peek inside your work bag?

Write editor@boomjackson.com.

Courtesy scott morgan

Hands On

Big and Bold Urban Development // by Scott Morgan

A

trip burns

s an architect and planner from a city Gallatin Street, at an elevation change that offers that has not always been focused on, a unique opportunity to develop a big project.

I would suggest constructing a very tall consistent with, deliberate about or dedicated to coherent planning, I have building right at this junction. From anywhere looked for ways within the scope of individual downtown on Capitol Street, it would have building projects to suggest and encourage the the same visual prominence as the Old Capilarger orders of neighborhood, district and city. tol. It’s the introduction of west Jackson from With that in mind, I can downtown: What’s that think of no site in Jackover there? It’s west son or Mississippi that Jackson. OK, let’s go is more compelling for check it out. development/redevel A tall building, opment than the high properly sited at this ground near the south location, would be a corners of Capitol and strong visual terminus Clifton streets. These to the downtown part corners occur just beof Capitol Street, opNot much to look at currently, this yond the first bend in posite the Old Capitol, empty lot is calling for a tall building to Capitol Street west of with long axial views draw folks to west Jackson.

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Winter 2012-13

to that building from the upper floors, looking east across the trains. It would be a natural extension of recent downtown redevelopment, and a natural link between west Jackson and downtown. By virtue of its siting alone, such a building would be one of the most prominent in Mississippi. It would also be an important part of the district around Poindexter Park that has seen some redevelopment but needs more to achieve critical mass.

Pay attention here to some height, density, walkability and residency/mixed use, and Fondren would have nothing on this district.

Scott Morgan practices architecture and planning in Mississippi. He recently collaborated with James Polk and Annette Fortman Vise on the Phase I Master Plan for revitalization of the Twin Forks Rising district of Hattiesburg. Learn more at scottmorganarchitect.com. boomjackson.com

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Signon upthe for situation text alertsofatloved alerts keep you posted entergymississippi.com “REG” to 368374. ones in other areas. Sign or uptext for text alerts at Keeping you informed.orThat’s The Power entergymississippi.com text “REG” to 368374. of People.

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17

JXN // progress

Improvements All Around Iron Horse to Break Ground

Courtesy Wier Boerner

struction and infrastructure plans. The plans for

In late October, developers finalized fundthe development are changing almost constantly, ing and prepared to break ground on the project as Duckworth and contractors tweak designs.

Duckworth will need some help from the that will bring back one of the city’s most beloved restaurants and live-music venues with some state and the city for infrastructure improvemajor additions. ments for The District at Eastover to become a

Iron Horse Building, LLC, under the leader- reality. He said the downstream sewer lines beship of lead developer Joseph Simpson, will soon tween the property and Lakeland Drive will need begin construction on the new Iron Horse Grill, a upgrades to handle the increased waste. MDOT once-popular restaurant, bar and live-music venue near downtown that burned twice before closing its doors in 1999. Simpson and company are adding what could become one of the city’s most popular attractions to the site: the Mississippi Music Experience Museum and a Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame, as well as a retail and information center for An artist’s rendition of the planned reconstruction of the Iron the Mississippi Blues Trail.

Horse Grill shows an updated look for the space.

IHB’s estimates that the 12,000-square-foot restaurant and music venue will employ between is working with the developers to make some up70 and 120 workers. The focus of the Iron Horse grades to access points around the property, as Grill will be on the food, first and foremost, while well as taking down the Frontage Road retaining the stage will host both big-name and local musiwall. Duckworth said MDOT has agreed to his requests, but they haven’t finalized anything. cal acts three nights a week.

“It’s one thing to say, ‘Yeah, we’ll do this.’ It’s

The Jackson Redevelopment Authority and another to actually have it in writing,” Duckworth the city of Jackson approved funding for the projtold BOOM Jackson. ect in the form of $2.5 million in urban-renewal

The only public funding TDLDC is pursuing bonds and $1.5 million in New Market Tax Credfor the project is tax-increment financing, or TIFs. its. IHB closed on those funds in late October.

TIFs allow developers to use future increases in Groundbreaking takes place on December 10, property taxes to pay off debt accrued during with a proposed August 2013 grand opening. construction.

Duckworth said he hopes to break ground District at Eastover Inches Ahead on the first phase of construction in the summer

Ted Duckworth and Breck Hines, the prinof 2013. From there, it will take between two and cipals of The District Land Development Comfive years to complete the project. pany, had big plans when they purchased the former home of the Mississippi School for the Blind on the Interstate 55 North Frontage Road from Two-Way Capitol Street Coming the state in February. Now those plans are slowly The car culture ushered in a common bond moving forward. among downtown areas across the country: one TDLDC is proposing “The District at Eastoway roads that allow quicker, easier entrance to and exit from city’s most urban areas. ver”, a grand mixed-use development that will

Jackson is now following a recent national include 500,000 square feet of retail, hotel, restautrend in urban development to prevent people rant, office and residential space. from hurrying out of downtown areas. So Mayor

The development is still in the planning Harvey Johnson Jr. and the Jackson City Council phase. Duckworth told BOOM Jackson that he is have approved a plan to turn Capitol Street back working with engineers and contractors on con18

Winter 2012-13

// by Jacob D. Fuller

into a two-way thoroughfare in the heart of the city, between Gallatin and State streets, in hopes that the change will bring more business and consumer traffic to the street.

The city began construction on the project in November. The first phase will consist of water- and sewer-line improvements beneath Capitol Street between Gallatin and Lamar streets.

The city will also put in new lighting, signage and bike lanes along the street.

The city will use part of a $6 million bond it received from the state in 2010 for water and sewer emergencies on the Capitol Street improvement project.

Further funding includes a $2 million grant from the Mississippi Development Authority and $3.5 million in federal earmarks that require a 20percent match from the city.

Water and sewer work will likely continue through the winter. Crews will begin repaving and relining the streets next spring. The city aims to complete the project in early 2014.

UMMC Paves Way for Major Development

The state’s largest medical school made progress on its long-term plan this year when contractors began removing trees and medians on Lakeland Drive to make way for a new entrance to the University of Mississippi Medical Center campus. Crews have also begun construction of a new heart center near the middle of campus.

Once crews complete the entrance road, which UMMC hopes will happen by mid-January, 2013, the school will begin construction on a new, state-of-the-art School of Medicine to the tune of $63 million. The building will provide instructors and students a place for learning and study outside the on-campus hospital, something the school doesn’t currently have, Jack Mazurak, spokesman for UMMC, told BOOM Jackson.

“Following that, we’ll likely start on a new research building.”

The Cancer and Biomedical Research Center will be the first part of an entire research park on campus that will include the cancer research facility.

With both the School of Medicine and the research center going where parking lots currently stand, parking on campus will get tight quickly. That’s why UMMC also has a parking garage in the plans for the near future.

“We really want the campus to be a point of pride for public universities here,” Mazurack said. boomjackson.com

// by Jacob D. Fuller

W

hole Foods has begun building its first location in Mississippi.

The nation’s largest natural and organic grocery chain broke ground on a new location at Highland Village in northeast Jackson Nov. 8. Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. and Jackson City Council members Margaret Barrett-Simon and Quentin Whitwell joined Guy Boyll III of Highland Village, Whole Foods’ south region President Omar Gaye and representatives from contractor White Construction Company to ceremonially move the first dirt on the project. It is set to open in fall 2013.

The Austin, Texas-based grocery chain carries only foods with no artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners or hydrogenated fats. It also boasts a selection of locally grown foods.

WS Development, a Chestnut Hill, Mass.based retail developer, recently bought a controlling share in Highland Village.

“Whole Foods Market offers shoppers the highest quality, best-tasting and freshest foods in an inviting setting,” WS Development Director of Corporate Marketing David Fleming stated in a

Ron Blaylock, WS Development

Market Breaks Ground

press release. “Each store is unique and is designed to meet the needs of the neighborhoods where they live and work. ... Whole Foods Market is dedicated to both serving and becoming a part of its communities, offering locally City and Highland Village leaders break ground on sourced products wherever possible the new Whole Foods Market, to open fall 2013. and education about healthy eating.”

Some have a different take on Whole Foods’ approach, though. Stacy Mitchell, major chain grocers like Kroger or Walmart, but a senior researcher for the Institute for Local Self- that the company also seeks to put locally owned Reliance in Washington, D.C., has done extensive organic grocers out of business.

In Mitchell’s hometown of Portland, Maine, research on Whole Foods since 2007.

Mitchell said in February that the grocer uses three organic markets either went out of business or Whole Foods bought them out after the organlocal farmers and products as a marketing tool to ic megastore moved to town. get customers in the door. Once there, Mitchell said

Whole Foods south region spokeswoman shoppers will find that local products are far more expensive and difficult to locate than Whole Foods’ Darrah Horgan told BOOM that the chain changown brands. es competition, while coexisting with other gro “Whole Foods uses local goods for wallpacers. “It’s been proven in other markets that we’ve per,” Mitchell said. “Then they’ll price it substangone into where there’s lots of competition,” Hortially higher than other products.” gan said. “It’s ... better for the consumers, because

Mitchell conceded that Whole Foods does it helps everybody as far as prices and availability of the products.” a better job of carrying local goods than other

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Work. Live. Play. Prosper.

19

BIZ trip burns

Bamboozled // by Richard Coupe

R

ricane Katrina, and Mendrop returned to Mississippi. But he credits the beginning of his magnificent obsession with bamboo to a woman who had seen his skill with building wooden trellises and asked if he had ever tried to make them from bamboo. He researched bamboo for six months before building anything, and then he was hooked.

“Why bamboo?” I ask.

Mendrop ruefully smiles and replies: “This is another tangent in my life. I have always loved plants and, for a while, garden roses were my passion. They still are, but bamboo has so much to offer Mississippi.” He launches into a well-practiced spiel: “This could be a cash crop that is perfectly suitable for our climate,” he says. He points out that growing bamboo requires little in the way of input, unlike more traditional crops such as cotton or corn.

“No fertilizers or insecticides are needed and, after starting, not much water is needed to sustain them.”

The Mississippi State graduate recites many little-known facts about bamboo. Thomas Edison used a filament made from bamboo in his first light bulbs. Termites will consume bamboo only as a last resort. It is stronger than pine, and when cured will not absorb water.

“And,” Mendrop adds, “if you have a nosy neighbor, plant clumping bamboo, and in three years you

Rob Mendrop is passionate about what bamboo could do for the state.

won’t be able to see them!”

Mendrop says he will continue his quixotic quest to educate Mississippians on the wonders of bamboo.

“It won’t happen in my lifetime,” he says. “But maybe someday.”

I consider this and then remember an incident that had occurred at my own house this past summer. My wife’s two sisters and brother happened to be in town,

and the oldest sister decided that they needed to reenact a Christmas picture from the early 1960s of the four of them in their pajamas.

The reenactment took place at our house because we had inherited the same bamboo chair used in the 1960s picture. The bamboo chair looks the same some 50 years later.

You know, maybe Mendrop is onto something.

BU ST Ka rl R

o Fa ve ts um Pa o ul Ry an M an Na sp te la Si i St lve up ning r id ity Ad Fe Ch o at bo ri he W s Ch rs o r Pu m en istie nd itr in R hi Of M y ne fic itt s e to Ro Eq n es ua Ho mne an lit ne y y d Sc yB Cr i en os oo Da ce s Bo vid an es Pe o d Ba m tr “M at ra oc aeu h ck kin s O ba Gr gbir “H m ou dL a om po an e e n la ” Se nd D ce “M anie ” ss io o l ck n Dr in Crai ag g Em gbir on be d La Co tatt dd ne o al ” in M os g in B i-p soc M in g P3 ia “F ar l ift s y S tisa ns Fil ha h ec de s o ip ab f i n Ho Da Grey riz ets ” ta on t Ca Min Mo al th ss i in rm et ng str on te ipe U t ap Ba s nd ng es e les rwe Pi V ert nt ar e ica Fre “T l b rest nc he hT old Bo ips ok strip e of Mo s rm on ” Wa tch es Na il A rt

BO OM

ob Mendrop is as passionate about bamboo as any Ole Miss tailgater in the Grove is about football. He grows it. “You can eat it, wear it, build with it and make bamboo vinegar, charcoal, paper and cattle feed,” he says. He talks rapid-fire like an evangelist or a salesman afraid you’ll walk on before he can convince you of the horrors of hell or wonders of his product. He is easily recognizable as he walks into a coffee shop, carrying a stick of bamboo as well as several enormous coffee table sized books about the plant.

The 59-year-old native Mississippian lives in Edwards, but grew up in Vicksburg and spent many years in Los Angeles, followed by time in New Orleans as the city horticulturist and then with his own landscaping company.

Mendrop works as a recreational therapist for the Mississippi State Hospital, but that’s just his day job. Bamboo is his life. He has created a non-profit organization to apply for grants so that he can educate the uninitiated into the wonders of bamboo. “You can work in a bamboo T-shirt all day and then go to a meeting and look presentable, because it breathes, and you won’t sweat. It feels like silk,” he gushes.

The landscaping business in New Orleans dropped off after Hur-

20

Winter 2012-13

boomjackson.com

Creativity = Success // by Donna Ladd

other with little imaginative and unique ideas popping up. “[I]t gets tricky when we start making money based solely on our ability to imitate the creative work of others,” he warns.

“How about you? Are you willing to bravely pursue your own voice, carve your own niche in the marketplace and avoid the temptation to go for quick success?” Henry challenges. If so, he urges readers to “pour yourself into practices” that will help you innovate and unlucky passions.

Are you ready to break out and be unpredictable? Wonderful. But here’s the thing: Effective creativity is not about sleeping all day, being lazy or constantly hungover, working in wild and crazy spurts, or being so “artistic” and left brain that you can’t figure out what to do next.

Henry warns that anyone who has to work 15-hour days—“working in crisis,” many call it— to catch up their work because they procrastinated or couldn’t focus on tasks at hand are drowning in “mediocrity.” That is, as success guru Steven Covey warned, we should always strive to work on “important, but not urgent” work instead of freaking out constantly just to keep up.

Henry’s “Accidental Creative” approach is about developing habits and practices that allow you to find your inner creative and bring it out in your workplace and employees. It’s really about using your left brain to enable your right brain to actually get something cool done.

How Do You Work?

1. Drifter: fragmented, moment to moment, lacks focus, purpose. Not creative.

2. Driver: overly focused on outcomes; refuse to redirect. Not creative, either.

3. Developer: strong sense of purpose, priorities; see each task as an opportunity for new ideas. Strive to be this.

Surround Yourself with Executers “Nametag Scott” Ginsberg warns that each of us is the average of the five people we text message most frequently. Eek. That is, if we’re surrounded by focused people who can execute, we probably do, too. If not, well, you know. (hellomynameisblog.com)

“The enemy of art is the absence of limitations.”

Courtesy Portfolio

I

t doesn’t matter whether you work in a large office or at home by yourself, a regular dose of creativity will make you and those around you more effective. Not only that, but it will benefit your business, help you keep innovating and maybe even help you grow your success beyond your wildest dreams.

We’re not just talking about obvious artistic expression like Jackson Pollack dripping paint on a canvas. And we’re not just talking to those of you who aspire to more artistic in your personal lives. Every person, no matter how left or right brain, can benefit from more creativity—and more fun and play—in your workday.

— Oscar Wilde

Todd Henry, author of the wonderful book “The Accidental Creative: How to Be Brilliant on a Moment’s Notice” (Portfolio/Penguin, 2011, $25.95), argues that, especially in the new information- and innovation-based economy, successful entrepreneurs need to be able to “create on demand.” He also warns that “cover bands don’t change the world.”

Thus, we must always work to be original.

Henry argues that many businesses are already “cover bands”—that is, they copy each

How to be astoundingly innovative and productive while remaining calm and focused? You, and your company, need to learn to be organized and systematic, thus allowing the space for creativity. Henry wants you, your culture and your employees to “be obsessed with execution.”

Here are some tips.

F.O.C.U.S. Learn to focus deeply—to take what Todd Henry calls “quick, focused dives” and emerge with good ideas. You don’t want to play “priority ping-pong,” constantly bouncing from one thing to another without clear thought or completion. Do one thing at a time and get into the flow.

Fun = Good Business

I

Courtesy Rodale Books

s your workplace fun? Do you help your customers have fun? Do you enjoy working there even when work is crazy hard?

If not, pick up “Fun Is Good: How to Create Joy & Passion in Your Workplace & Career” (Rodale Books, 2005, $15). In this marketing/working/living guidebook, marketing whiz Mike Veeck shares the “fun” expertise of his father, legendary baseball owner Bill Veeck (who invented exploding scoreboards and other craziness). In the book, Veeck inspires both business owners and workers with a long list of “lessons from Dad.”

Work. Live. Play. Prosper.

1. It’s all about the customer.

2. It’s not about you. You must take an interest in others.

3. Keep it clean: from your desk to the office refrigerator to the entire property.

4. Laugh at adversity and failure.

5. Never lose your childhood curiosity.

6. Money has little relationship to enjoying life.

7. Be color-blind, gender-blind, age-blind, experience-blind.

8. Hustle. Then hustle harder.

9. Volunteer to speak whenever you can to tell your company’s story.

10. Life a life of creativity. Pursue knowledge from books and people instead of money. Have hobbies. Take risks. Ask “why not?” and then go for it.

21

watercolors • prints • books • gifts 307 Jefferson St. • Clinton, MS Tues-Thurs: 10-6 • 6019258115 www.wyattwaters.com

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boomjackson.com

HIGHWAY 80 FIGHTS TO SURVIVE //by Jacob D. Fuller

CITY TRIES TO SAVE CORRIDOR The decline of the Highway 80 Corridor was far from an overnight process, though. Metrocenter Mall’s slide began in 1999, when Gayfers left one of the four anchor buildings vacant.

The year before, in 1998, Nina Holbrook

and several area business owners created the though. Over the next couple of years, smaller Metrocenter Area Coalition. Holbrook was the stores began to leave the mall and in the fall of regional manager of Metrocenter Mall at the 2009, Belk closed. Only Burlington and Sears time. She and the other MAC founders started remained as anchors.

Developer David Watkins had big plans the coalition to try to stop the mass exodus from the Highway 80 Corridor they saw coming, as to recreate Metrocenter Mall in 2010. The procustomer numbers dropped and tenants began packing up.

Despite noble intentions, the coalition has been losing the battle for the Metrocenter area for 14 years now. Holbrook and MAC have fought for more city and county involvement in the area since 1998, but haven’t been satisfied with the government efforts.

“The current goals ... is to get the administration of the city and the county An aerial view from the mid-20th century shows the intersection involved to do better of Highway 80 and South State Street. code enforcement, better police, so that we can get rid of the crime perception we have posal included Jackson Public Schools moving into Metrocenter, an office complex including in that area,” Holbrook said.

The mall still boasted three major depart- a drugstore in the former Belk building and a ment stores, Dillard’s, McRae’s (later bought by water slide in the mall.

JPS turned down the chance to move to the Belk) and Sears, with plenty of smaller stores between, until 2004, when Dillard’s announced mall, and the rest of Watkins’ plan fell through soon afterward. In June 2012, Watkins split ties it would soon close the mall’s south anchor.

A bit of hope sprang up in 2007, when Burl- with mall developer Retro Metro, which owns ington Coat Factory opened in the lower floor of the former Belk building, officially ending his the former Gayfers. The hope was short-lived, involvement in Metrocenter.

COURTESY MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF ARCHIVES AND HISTORY

H

ighway 80 has run through the city of Jackson for nearly a century. The Automobile Club of Savannah, Ga., created the highway in 1914, known then as the Dixie Overland Highway, as an ocean-to-ocean thoroughfare from Tybee Island, Ga., to San Diego, Calif.

The idea was to create a more connected America in the spirit of the first pioneers.

By 1925, states agreed to change interstate roads to numerical names, and the Dixie Overland Highway became U.S. Route 80 from Georgia to Dallas. Prior to Interstate 20’s final approval in 1971, Highway 80 served as the main east-west thoroughfare in the capital city.

For decades, the Highway 80 corridor was a bustling economic center in west and south Jackson. In 1978, it became the home of the state’s largest shopping mall, Metrocenter Mall. Whether Jacksonians wanted to shop, eat or see a movie, Highway 80 was their destination.

Today, the vision is much bleaker. Metrocenter Mall has lost all of its major anchor stores and the movie theater is long gone. Many of the restaurants have closed or moved to a new location. Puckett Machinery, one of the region’s biggest employers that has called Highway 80 home for more than 60 years, will soon move east to Flowood.

Highway 80, see page 24 Work. Live. Play. Prosper.

23

HIGHWAY 80, FROM PAGE 23 TRIP BURNS

Since 2010, the City of Jackson has led the way in trying to keep Metrocenter from joining the growing number of totally abandoned shopping malls across the country. In 2009, the city bought the former Dillard’s building. In 2012, it hired an outside consultant to find a tenant, but to date the building is still empty.

In what Jacksonians may one day look at as the final nail in Metrocenter’s coffin, Sears closed its doors in 2012. Only Burlington Coat Factory and a shrinking number of smaller stores remain in the mall.

So the city pushed even harder to keep the building occupied. In late October, six city departments began their move into the former Belk building, which Retro Metro owns and now leases to the city. Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. and the Jackson City Council hope the presence of nearly 300 employees from the Jackson Police Department, water and sewer, parks and recreation, public education, government TV

Caterpiller machines are at home, for now, at Puckett Machinery on Highway 80.

studio, and human and cultural services departments will help draw new stores and retain the current occupants in the once-thriving mall.

The city is also building a new JATRAN administration and maintenance headquarters on Highway 80 that will house dozens of

employees and bring more traffic and potential shoppers.

Holbrook thinks the city needs to do more.

“Until they clean it up, and get the business owners to take more pride in the buildings that they’ve left, sold or walked away from ... through code enforcement, then we’ll have a hard time,” Holbrook said. “We are still very much dedicated to doing that.”

MAC got some help in their fight to clean up Highway 80 last year when the state Department of Transportation provided the group with a $1.3 million grant to plant new greenery along the corridor.

Along with the help of the Hinds County Board of Supervisors, MAC used the funds to improve the aesthetic value of the corridor.

GO 80, BUT GO SLOWLY The city’s biggest push to save the corridor came in 2010, when it received a $400,000 grant Highway 80, see page 26

LET IT RAIN //by Jacob D. Fuller

E

TRIP BURNS

new inspiration, to teach a new generation of kids how to do TV weather. dward St. Pe’ created WeatherVision, originally named NaIt’s rewarding.” tional Weather Network, in 1985 as a radio service. Then in JSU President Carolyn Meyers said Hoard brought her the idea 1990, WeatherVision became the nation’s first provider of outto bring WeatherVision to the university. “I knew who (St. Pe’) was,” sourced, localized television weather forecasts. It now offers she said. “I was very impressed with him.” She added: “It’s a wonderful weather forecasts to more than 100 TV and radio stations and websites. learning opportunity for our students and all the students after them. It Now St. Pe’ is also using his expertise and top-of-the-line weather changes and enhances our program. We are about building deep quality studio to help others learn the art and science of meteorology. in all our programs. This enables that in meteorology.”

The service celebrated its move to the Jackson State UniverJessica Foxworth, a senior meteorology student at JSU, spoke at sity Digital Media Center at the Mississippi e-Center Sept. 13. There, the opening celebration. She said JSU has produced one in every four WeatherVision will not only provide weather forecasts to more than 100 African Americans who hold a bachelor’s degree in meteorology. markets daily, it will also help teach JSU students the broadcast side of “Since creation (of JSU’s meteorology department), they have typimeteorology. cally only had one track. That is research,” Foxworth said. “Students “JSU will tie our meteorology program, the only one of its kind for that were interested in broadcast typically historically black universities in America, went to other institutions that had broadwith WeatherVision activities,” David Hoard, cast programs. “ JSU vice president for institutional advanceSt. Pe’ said teaming up with Jackson ment, said at the opening celebration. “There State takes the company to another level. “I will be internships, class work, and there will want to do more,” St. Pe’ said. be a media lab right here in the facility for “I want to do things that we haven’t acour students.” complished yet. I do think that it’s a natural St. Pe’ said joining JSU gives his comtransition for us to be somehow now inpany new meaning. He operates in a comvolved with education in the university.” mercial broadcast world but teaching stuSt. Pe’ moved his radio station, WLEZ dents his trade does gives WeatherVision a 100.1, to the e-Center as well. He said the deeper purpose.

Edward St. Pe’ moved his outsource station will offer students the opportunity to “(We’re) sort of like almost sleep-walkmeteorology company, WeatherVision, and his get hands-on experience in radio producing through it at this point, we’ve been doing radio station, WLEZ, into the Jackson State tion and even on-air broadcasting. it so long,” St. Pe’ said. “This gives us a bit of e-Center earlier this year.

24

Winter 2012-13

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TRIP BURNS

from the U.S. Economic Development Administration, and provided a $100,000 match to prepare an Economic Development Strategy for the Highway 80 Corridor, called go80.

The purpose of the plan was to help retain businesses and attract new development to the corridor, but neither element has seen much success, yet.

The city hired the Central Mississippi Planning and Development District as lead agency on the go80 plan. The plan, which city Director of Communications Chris Mims called a “blueprint” for the area, came in three phases: land use and infrastructure inventory, concept and economic development plan, and marketing plan.

In September 2010 the city unveiled the plan. It included high hopes and sweeping changes to the area including industrial parks, residential areas, parks and bike trails. It proposed turning the former home of the Showtown West drive-in theater into a neighborhood with a shopping area and park.

The city also revealed plans for an auto park or an equipment-sales destination based around Puckett Machinery, which has called Highway 80 home since 1941.

By now, much of the plan has already been dashed or reworked, and the area has seen little other implemented. The auto and equipment park plan lost its core when Puckett Machinery announced in the summer of 2012 that it would move to Flowood in 2013 after 71 years on the corridor.

The go80 marketing plan, which the city advertised in local outlets, including BOOM

Pop’s Saloon is a chill place with an eclectic crowd all week long.

POP ON IN // by Natalie Long

Highway 80, seen from near Lynch Creek, lacks private investors to strengthen its infrastructure.

Jackson, for a short time, has disappeared.

The quarterly newsletter and website for go80 haven’t updated since fall 2010.

Mims told the Jackson Free Press in November that the plan is not lost, though. The city has implemented an overlay district and zoning ordinance changes for the area, which will require new businesses in the area to comply with more strict zoning and building ordinances. The overlay district also calls for a mixed-used development, walking trails and public green space along the corridor.

Implementing the plans will require developers to invest in the area. As proven developers eye other areas of Jackson, Mayor Johnson and the city council seem to be the only people willing to take interest in the corridor so far.

CORRIDOR FOLLOWS THE MALL Stores, restaurants and other businesses along the Highway 80 corridor have gone

RETURN OF THE SQUARE?

// by Tam Curley

t used to be where Jacksonians shopped. But by 2010, only three businesses were housed in Jackson Square Promenade. A majority of the shopping center remained abandoned for at least 20 years Although Jackson Square has dwindled, when now-owner Jesse Wright decided to invest in Jesse Wright is confident it can return.

South Jackson’s future.

Today the comeback is happening, and, “in three, five or 10 years, south Jackson will be different,” says mall Manager Kenneth Johnson. The center has gone from 3 percent to 65 percent occupancy, with a skating rink, churches and restaurants attracting new customers. Johnson says crime, once associated with the Square, is down, thanks to a strong relationship with Hinds County Sheriffs Department, which has a substation there. A theater and event space are in the works for the mall.

In the end, Johnson says he and owner Wright will provide a one-stop shop for residents who normally travel to Ridgeland and other surrounding areas for their retail needs, keeping Jackson money in Jackson.

TRIP BURNS

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TRIP BURNS

HIGHWAY 80, FROM PAGE 24

P

op’s Saloon (2636 S. Gallatin St.), is in the West Capitol Street Historic District. Known back in the day for its disorderly conduct, Pop’s Saloon has redeemed itself from its once-wild and rowdy days and turned into a venue that offers live music from local and regional acts Thursday through Saturday. Stop on by those nights if you feel like Texas Two-Stepping or doing oldschool line dances like The Freeze and The Tush Push. Wednesday nights offer a karaoke contest, and Sundays there’s a nine-ball pool tournament starting at 7 p.m. for all you hustlers out there. Cheer on your favorite team during Monday Night Football with $1.50 mugs and two-for-one domestic beers during the game. Call 601.961.4747 for upcoming events and band performances.

much the same way as Metrocenter Mall.

The corridor, located between the Interstate 220, just east of Metrocenter, and State Street intersection is peppered with vacant buildings that distract from the recent $1.3-million greenery improvements.

Crechale’s, a popular dinner destination on Highway 80 for 42 years, announced in October 2012 that it will move to Flowood in 2013. Owner Bob Crechale said the restaurant will move by the end of next summer.

Besides being Crechale’s neighbor, Puckett Machinery has been one of the corridor’s biggest employers. When it moves to Flowood in June, the capital city will lose about 200 jobs and some major tax income.

The traffic on Highway 80 and Puckett Machinery’s lack of a large, easily accessible entrance/exit for large trucks were major factors in the company’s move. Flowood made a big investment to give Puckett what they wanted, spending $700,000 to build CaterpilHighway 80, see page 28

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HIGHWAY 80, FROM PAGE 26 WARD SCHAEFER

Metrocenter Mall was once the cornerstone of the Highway 80 corridor. Now many of its stores are vacant.

lar Drive, an road that will give truck drivers far more convenient access to Puckett Machinery’s new location than what they have now.

While the city departments’ moves to the corridor will add more potential shoppers and diners to the area, the drain of private-sector jobs and businesses must stop and reverse its trend if Highway 80 will ever again become the economic center it once was.

With all the negatives along the Highway 80 Corridor, there are multiple groups who are refusing to give up. Along with the city and MAC, West Central Jackson Community Improvement Association, headed by state

//by Molly Lehmuller

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

HIGHWAY 80, REVISITED

Sen. Alice Harden, is working to return the area around the corridor to its former glory as an entertainment, shopping, business and even residential destination.

The city’s go80 plan is still in the works.

Though the marketing campaign is done, the city is working to move forward with other aspects of the plan after the new JATRAN facility is up and running and the departments complete their move into Metrocenter.

Despite all the city and community groups’ work, it may take business owners and developers to save the area. Pretty soon, there will be plenty of empty land to invest in.

Part of the old Dixie Overland Highway, the 80 corridor in Jackson used to be the place in town to spend the weekend.

I

n the 1960s and ’70s, the Highway 80 corridor in southwest Jackson was a kid’s paradise. During the day, you’d walk through the woods near Raymond Road is now to the Flamingo Hotel and pay a few cents to swim in its pool. The boys might play baseball or “war” at Battlefield Park or Hughes Field. A hot day would often end with a bike ride to Dairy Queen or the Dog ‘n’ Suds for a frosty-topped root beer.

Hungrier folks could find fried chicken and vanilla malts at the late radio announcer Jobie Martin’s restaurants. The older kids might work at Miller’s Discount Store on Ellis Avenue stacking records or developing film—and maybe buying tickets to concerts in New Orleans or Memphis there with their paychecks—or sacking groceries at Gibson’s. Those not blessed with taxable employment would mow lawns or wash cars for pocket money.

On a Friday night, the place to be was the Shoney’s (yes, the chain buffet—this was the first in Jackson) in Westland Plaza. The streets were thick with young adults, teenagers and kids looking to hang out or see a movie at a drive-in like the Rebel or the Varia. High schoolers cruised in junkers or someone’s father’s vehicle, waving and calling out to one another on warm summer nights. From Ellis Avenue to the highway to West Capitol, younger kids wove in and out of bumperto-bumper traffic on their bicycles. The Plaza had a soda fountain, a 28

Winter 2012-13

seafood restaurant and other distractions to offer, and, once a year, a traveling company would set up a week-long amusement park with rides and games in the parking lot. For a time, the super-slide now towering annually over the Mississippi State Fairgrounds sat at the corner of Ellis and Highway 80.

Back then, the corridor was on the edge of town, with Highway 80 unrolling into the vast rural dark of the county. The area that now makes up Metrocenter Mall wasn’t even in Jackson, but sat in the tiny community of Van Winkle, which was later absorbed by the city.

By the ’80s, the corridor was beginning to show its age, but for kids and teens, the Metrocenter was the place to be. For southwest Jackson high schoolers, the height of maturity (and nervous tension!) was getting dropped off at the mall for a date—people-watching could have been its own league sport at Metrocenter. Lunch would be at Widow Watson’s in the mall for cheese soup or Mississippi mud pie. Local department stores like Gayfers and McRae’s stocked the fine fashions teens (and their parents) demanded. Diamond Jim’s arcade was a hangout hotspot, and Service Merchandise sold just about everything, from jewelry to guitars. If you had any money left, dinner at House of Wong, the Green Derby or Crechale’s would be a weekend highlight.

See readers’ Highway 80 memories at jfp.ms/80. boomjackson.com

Work. Live. Play. Prosper.

29

Grumpies, Gear and Good Times // by Molly Lehmuller, photos by Trip Burns

V

isiting The Kickstand (2233 Highway 80, 601.948.2453, 1.800.360.BIKE, thekickstand.com) is a little like finding yourself at a museum mixed with an old-fashioned general store. Owned by brothers Charles and Lee Clark since 1996, the shop is filled with racks of motorcycle gear and supplies—it is, after all, a tire and accessory depot for amateur and longtime riders alike.

But a quick glance toward the ceiling introduces another genre altogether: Antique guitars, left over from the building’s days as Morrison Brothers Music, hang above, surrounded by posters of famous motorcyclists and races. Giant Christmas ornaments, appropriated from an old holiday display in Madison, dangle from the workshop ceilings. There are taxidermy specimens, Mississippi memorabilia, an espresso maker, mannequins dressed in vintage racewear, a collection of coffee mugs.

A church pew salvaged from the Clarks’ mother’s church in rural Hinds County rests in the back of one room; sundry goods (older than the building they rest in) and an old marquee from their family’s long-gone country store are at home on the shelves. License plates, framed photos, road signs and dozens of motorcycles of every vintage line the walls and shelves.

The Kickstand carries riding apparel, helmets, repair kits, tools, filters, levers, antifreeze and the rest of the typical outfitting and maintenance paraphernalia one would expect at a larger auto repair chain. But unlike the superstores, this family-owned establishment encourages loitering, long stories and touching the merchandise.

The Kickstand also serves as a small-repair shop and consignment store for bikes, and a place to swap stories and tips. The brothers dedicated one corner of the shop for their retired regulars, or “Grumpies”—after “Grumpy Old Men” fame—to hang out and shoot the breeze.

Lined with couches and easy chairs, papered with the Grumpies’ letters and photos, stocked with motorcycle magazines, the Grumpie Room evidences the easy brotherhood of the motorheads who frequent The Kickstand. The family-style atmosphere extends down to the youngest Grumpie—Lee’s grandson Dominik, or KB, the Kickstand Baby—who has his own playroom in one of the old Morrison Brothers 30

Winter 2012-13

boomjackson.com

Quirky motorcycle repair shop The Kickstand is an old-school business that banks on personal relationships and close-paid attention. Right: Owner Charles Clark enjoys having the youngest “Grumpie,” his grandnephew Dominik, around the shop.

recording studios. Lee, a semi-retired professional racer, collects and restores rare and vintage bikes in his spare time.

Lee explains that this type of business is quickly becoming unique.

“We get letters from people thanking us.

There’s not too many shops like this anymore .… (Stores like Walmart) do their grocery store mentality—they don’t even have chairs, they Work. Live. Play. Prosper.

want you walking out the door,” he says. “We’re just the opposite. We want people to come in, sit down, hang out all day if they want to.”

The Kickstand stays involved with its community, supporting local law enforcement and providing gear to the small-engine repair class at Jim Hill High School’s vocational program.

The Grumpies gather at The Kickstand every Wednesday at 6 p.m. for their Social and Sup-

per Club, to “enjoy food and fellowship,” and welcome all newcomers, no matter their age or experience.

“That’s one thing about motorcycles: You could be living in poverty or a millionaire, but it is a common bond,” Lee says.

31

Shopping on 80

T

B.

//by Molly Lehmuller

here’s gold in them thar hills … and bronze … and silver…

Check out some of the hidden sartorial treasures to be found on the Highway 80 corridor.

A.

1. BLACK AND BRONZE CLEO TANK DRESS, $20, Gordon’s Urbanwear, 1408 Ellis Ave., facebook.com/gurbanwear 2. STUDDED LEATHER PURSE, $44, M&A Boutique, 1400 Ellis Ave., Suite 3, 601.355.0066 3. HANDMADE BRONZE BELT BUCKLES, M&A Boutique A. Round buckle, $6.49 B. Green stone buckle, $3 C. Ichthys buckle, $10.49 4. CINDERELLA GOWN IN ROYAL BLUE, $179.99, Joy Collection, 1222 Metrocenter Mall, 601.354.3390 5. METALLIC SCARVES, $3.99 each, Joy Collection 6. MISS 21 FEATHER AND MIXED METAL EARRINGS, $8.99, Joy Collection 7. FLAME STITCH CLUTCH, $14.99, Joy Collection 8. RAY-BAN “NEW CLUBMASTER” SUNGLASSES, $149, Sunglass Shop, 1250 Metrocenter Mall, Suite 101, 601.352.4990 9. WRAP-BAND WATCH, $14.99, Joy Collection 10. SEQUINED BUSTIER, $19.99, Signature’s, 1270 Metrocenter Mall, 601.940.0318

32

Winter 2012-13

boomjackson.com

C.

FONDREN resale shop 534 East Mitchell Ave. • Fondren Tue. - Sat. • 10 - 6:30 601.672.6693

7TIGMEPM^MRK MR 'YWXSQ ERH %RXMUYI 0MRIRW

;IHHMRK (VIWWIW (VETIV] 0IEXLIV 7YIHI 2SVXL 7XEXI 7XVIIX .EGOWSR 17

661 Duling Ave. Jackson • 601.362.6675

Trish Hammons, ABOC

)EWX 'ETMXSP 7XVIIX 7YMXI .EGOWSR 17

www.customoptical.net

The Funkiest Clothes in Fondren!

[[[ OSPFWGPIERIVW GSQ

Gifts & Stationery -bridal registry-

Fondren Village 2941 Old Canton Rd.•Jackson, MS 601-366-3675

Work. Live. Play. Prosper.

33

FONDREN

Want in your mailbox?

Subscribe for Only

$12*!

To sign up visit boomjackson.com/subscribe/ or call 601-362-6121 x11. * $12 covers shipping and handling for four quarterly issues of BOOM Jackson magazine.

34

Winter 2012-13

boomjackson.com

WINTER

IN THIS ISSUE: Aladdin Another Broken Egg Babalu Bravo!

Broad Street Burgers & Blues Cherokee Inn Cool Al’s Crab’s Seafood Shack Fernando’s Fajita Factory Fenian’s

pg. 41 pg. 36 pg. 41 pg. 45 pg. 45 pg. 42 pg. 48 pg. 50 pg. 42 pg. 46 pg. 43

Five Guys Hal & Mal’s Haute Pig Hickory Pit Hilton Jackson Interim Islander Jaco’s Tacos Koinonia Local 463 Martin’s Mellow Mushroom

pg. 37 pg. 46 pg. 38 pg. 38 pg. 43 pg. 37 pg. 46 pg. 50 pg. 48 pg. 40 pg. 48 pg. 47

Menu Guide (pages 35 -50) is a paid advertising section.

2012-13

Mr. Chen’s Ole Tavern Pan Asia The Penguin Pizza Shack Ruchi India Sal & Mookie’s Table 100 Underground 119 Vasilios Walker’s Wing Stop

pg. 45 pg. 44 pg. 39 pg. 47 pg. 44 pg. 48 pg. 45 pg. 37 pg. 49 pg. 48 pg. 40 pg. 47

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TO LEARN MORE ABOUT EAT HERE brands, visit

Jackson Menu Guide

M37

(a very high-class pig stand)

BBQ Plates

(All plates are served with your choice of two of our delicious sides: garden salad, slaw, potato salad, American fries, baked beans or Brunswick stew, cool months only, and Texas toast)

BBQ pork shoulder (smoked with hickory wood for 12 hours, then pulled and lightly chopped) BBQ beef brisket (smoked with hickory wood for 12 hours, then pulled and lightly chopped)

Jackson’s Best BBQ JFP’s Best of Jackson

2003 • 2006 • 2008 • 2009 • 2010 • 2011 • 2012

Sandwiches

Extra Fixins

BBQ Chicken (chopped w/ slaw relish) Garlic Bread ............................. .85 ..................................................... 4.95 Brunswick Stew w/ homemade BBQ Pork (chopped w/ slaw relish) cornbread: 1/2 pint - 4.95, pint - 8.25, ..................................................... 4.95 1/2 gallon - 26.40, gallon - 49.50 BBQ Beef (chopped w/ slaw relish) Assorted Potato Chips ........... .95 ..................................................... 5.25 Onion Rings ............................ 3.55 Smoked Ham (lettuce, tomato & mayo) Fries (fresh cut taters) ................. 3.25 ..................................................... 5.75 Regular or Sweet Potato with cheese ................................ 6.95 Small Garden Salad .............. 3.85 Smoked Turkey (lettuce, tomato & mayo) (Come Back, Ranch, or Raspberry ..................................................... 5.75 Vinaigrette) with cheese ................................ 6.95 Chef Salad ............................. 10.75 Hamburger ............................. 4.35 (topped with cheddar and swiss (lettuce, tomato, mayo, mustard, cheese, boiled egg, smoked chicken or pickles & onion) with cheese ....... 5.50 smoked ham & turkey, with a choice Double Hamburger ............... 5.45 of Come Back, Ranch or Raspberry with cheese ................................. 7.25 Vinaigrette) Po-Boys your choice of Pork, Chicken, Beef, Ham or Turkey (lettuce, tomato, mayo & Ruffles) ........................... 9.50 with cheese ............................... 10.75 Grilled Cheese ........................ 3.75 extra cheese ................................ 1.25 Special Sandwich Platter ...... 8.55 (BBQ Chicken, Pork, Beef, Ham, Hamburger, or Turkey Sandwiches.

Choice of two fixins: garden salad, slaw, tater salad, home fries, sweet potato fries, onion rings or baked beans)

BBQ Plates Choice of 2 of our delicious fixins: garden salad, slaw, tater salad, home fries or baked beans and Texas toast!

BBQ Pork (chopped) ............. 11.75 BBQ Beef (chopped) .............. 12.25

Tater Salad, Cole Slaw, Baked Beans, BBQ Sauce: single - 2.25, 1/2 pint - 2.95, pint - 4.59, 1/2 gallon - 16.80, gallon - 29.95

Half smoked chicken (served dry or wet when basted with our mild bbq sauce) Queenie’s half chicken (smoked and hand rubbed with our dry rub) BBQ chicken (pulled off the bone of our smoked chicken and lightly chopped) Combination plate (served with 1/2 chicken of your choice and 1/2 slab of ribs, wet or dry and four sides of your choice; enough for two) Special Sandwich Platter Choice of smoked chicken, pork, beef, ham, turkey or hamburger and two of our sides

Salads

Homemade Pies Lemon or Pecan ..................... 4.35 Hershey Bar ............................ 4.95 Carrot Cake ............................. 4.50 Coconut Cake .......................... 4.95

We also sell Whole Pies!

CHEF Salad, mixed greens, tomato, egg, swiss cheese, cheddar cheese, and your choice of ham and turkey, smoked chicken, pork, or beef w/ your choice of dressing (ranch, comeback, blue cheese, honey mustard, raspberry vinegarette, or oil & vinegar) Small CHEF

Po-Boys

Party Packs Serves 10 Adults .................. 44.95 (2lb. pork or beef or 2 whole chickens; 2 pints beans, 2 pints slaw & 6 slices of Texas toast or 10 buns) 1/2 Party Pack ....................... 23.75

Pork Ribs (wet or dry) Rib Party Pack (serves 4) ....... 52.15 1/2 slab ..................................... 14.95 (2 slabs ribs, 1 pint beans, 1 pint slaw, 1 whole slab ................................ 25.95 pint potato salad, 4 slices of Texas toast) BBQ Chicken (1/2 cluck) .......... 11.95 Combination (1/2 cluck, 1/2 slab) . .................................................. 22.75

St. Louis style ribs (slow smoked with hickory wood and hand rubbed with our dry rub or served wet when basted with our mild bbq sauce) Half slab Whole slab (enough for two people and served with your choice of four of our sides)

Po-Boy Choice of pork, beef, chicken, ham, or turkey and one of our sides* (Dressed with lettuce, tomato and mayo) Club Po-Boy Smoked ham and turkey grilled with melted cheddar and swiss cheese and choice of one of our sides (dressed with lettuce, tomato and our special comeback dressing) Sausage Po-Boy Smoked pork susage dressed with grilled onions, bell peppers and mustard, and one of our sides*

We sell BBQ Pork, Beef, Ribs, Chicken, Ham & Turkey by the pound.

Ask About Our Catering!

Here’s the Beef Po-Boy Smoked beef brisket, sliced thin, piled high and topped with melted swiss cheese and caramelized onions, then dressed with lettuce, tomato, and sweet mustard; includes choice of one of our sides Add your choice of cheese to any Po-Boy

Sandwiches

(All sandwiches may be served on a regular bun, wheat bun, rye bread or Texas toast) Your choice of cheese, American, Swiss or cheddar may be added to any sandwich

Smoked chicken (pulled and lightly chopped then topped with slaw relish) Smoked pork shoulder (pulled and lightly chopped then topped with slaw relish) Smoked beef brisket (pulled and lightly chopped then topped with slaw relish) Smoked ham (grilled and served with lettuce, tomato &mayo) Smoked turkey breast (grilled and served with lettuce, tomato and mayo) Loaded hamburger (served with lettuce, tomato, pickles, grilled onions, mayo and mustard) Loaded double hamburger (served w/ lettuce, tomato, pickles, grilled onions, mayo and mustard) Grilled cheese (your choice of cheeses) GINNY PIG, our signature sandwich (smoked ham grilled with Swiss and cheddar cheeses and served on grilled garlic toast with lettuce, tomato and our special comeback dressing) The ultimate club sandwich, (smoked ham and turkey grilled with swiss and cheddar cheeses on garlic toast and served with lettuce, tomato and our special comeback dressing)

Dessert

(All of our desserts are prepared right here in our kitchen)

Our famous Hershey Bar pie Lemon pie

Pecan pie Heated and served a la mode Coconut cake

Carrot cake Heated and served a la mode

1856 Main St. • Madison 601.853.8538

M38

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Jackson Menu Guide

M39

PATIO SEATING - PRIVATE DRIVE-IN DINING ROOM LARGE WINE LIST - CATERING SERVICES

DINNER MENU

Monday - Saturday, 5:30pm - Until Starters

Crispy Sweetbreads White Truffle Risotto, Shiitake Mushrooms, Madeira Wine Sauce Crispy Fried Lobster Skewers Tortilla Salad, Smoked Tomato-chipotle Vinaigrette Bbq Fried Oysters Warm Brie, Apple Slaw Tuna Crudo Grilled Avocado, Basil Vinaigrette, Sriracha Breadless Jumbo Lump Crab Cake Charred Tomato Lemon Butter Walker’s Tamales Fresh Pico De Gallo, Chipotle Sour Cream, Sweet Corn Sauce Portobello Fries Spicy Horseradish Comeback Dressing Flash Fried Calamari Jalapeno, Garlic & Ginger, Hot & Sour Dipping Sauce Walker’s Sea Salt Chips Blue Cheese, Bacon Lardons, Green Onions Steamed Mussels White Wine, Tomato, Basil, & Truffle Fries

Salads

Asian Three Way spicy seaweed, squid salad, thai chili crusted tuna, crispy wontons Roasted Corn & Apple Salad Field Greens, Cherries, Feta Cheese, Red Onion, LemonHoney Vinaigrette Heirloom Tomato & Watermelon Salad Arugula, Spiced Pecans, Crispy Red Onions, Goat Cheese, Basil Vinaigrette Walker’s House field greens, sweet peppers & crumbled blue cheese in a creamy garlic peppercorn dressing Classic Caesar hearts of romaine, parmiagiano reggiano, garlic croutons B.l.t. Wedge iceberg wedge, applewood smoked bacon, tomato, red onion & blue cheese in creamy buttermilk dressing

Main Courses

Cast Iron Grassfed 12 Oz New York Strip Truffle Fries, Toasted Garlic Spinach, Brandy Peppercorn Compound Butter, red wine sauce Oven Roasted Seabass Crispy Polenta, Shaved Fennel-Red Onion Relish, Bouillbaisse Broth Three Little Pigs 14 oz.

Grilled Pork Chop, Crispy Pork Skins, Confit Pork Belly Sweet Potato Puree, Mississippi Greens, Grilled Peach Chow Chow, Wine Sauce Grilled Quail Pepperjack Cheese Grits, Roasted Corn Salsa & Chipotle Glaze Gulf Grouper ParmesanSaffron Risotto, Cucumber & Greek Olive Tapenade, Fire Roasted Pepper Coulis Everything Crusted #1 Tuna #1 Sushi Grade Tuna, Spicy Cheese Grits, Chipotle Glaze, Tomato Relish Crab, Artichoke & Parmesan Crusted “Gigged” Flounder Sauteed Shallot Spinach, Charred Tomato Lemon Butter Pan Seared Jumbo “Drypacked” Sea Scallops Shrimp & Feta Risotto, Heirloom Tomato Salad, Crispy Capers Spicy Homemade BBQ Shrimp & Grits Smoked Corn, Andouille, Red Onion, Sweet Peppers Lamb Porterhouse Crispy Goat Cheese Potato Cake, Brussels Sprouts & Celery Root Salad 8 Oz Hereford Filet Aged Minimum Of 45 Days, Baconcheddar Mash, Sauteed Asparagus, Crispy Onions Veal & Lobster Kathy All Natural Free-range Veal, White Truffle Risotto, Sauteed Asparagus, Creamy Madeira Wine Sauce Redfish Anna With Lump Crab Meat Garlic Mash, Thin Beans, Charred Tomato Lemon Butter Dinner Reservations Welcome.

Walkers Also Serves Lunch Monday Through Friday.

3016 NORTH STATE ST • FONDREN DISTRICT 601.982.2633 • WALKERSDRIVEIN.COM

Dinner Menu

MONDAY - SATURDAY, 5:30PM - UNTIL

first bites

#1 Tuna Tartare (sushi-grade) with sliced avocado, crispy wonton chips, and a soy-wasabi vinaigrette

big plates

Blackened Chicken Penne with sweet peas, grape tomatoes and fresh herbs in light parmesan cream

Tamales with a sweet corn sauce, fresh pico de gallo and a chipotle-lime sour cream

Rock Shrimp Angel Hair Florida rock shrimp w/red onions, heirloom tomatoes and basil in a garlicky herb butter

“Breadless” Jumbo Lump Crab Cake w/grain mustard lemon butter

Pan-seared Sunfish on a crawfish green onion mash with a corn and chorizo salsa and a charred tomato vinaigrette

Shrimp “Corn Dogs” with a tortilla salad and a mango-grain mustard dipping sauce 463 Stuffed Grape Leaves with truffled black-eyed pea hummus and a curried mint tzatziki sauce Fried Green Tomato Napoleon with crawfish tails Crispy “Kung Pao” rock shrimp in housemade Asian BBQ sauce Portobello Fries with spicy comeback Slow Roasted Duroc Pork Belly Sliders with sliced apple, sriracha aioli and a homemade onion-chile jam

pizzas

Chargrilled over an open wood grill and finished in the oven.

Florida Rock Shrimp & Fried Green Tomato with Wright Dairy truffled cheese, mozzarella, and Duroc bacon lardons on a Romesco sauce Spicy Thai with fresh mozzarella, roasted pork, and cilantro-sriracha slaw on a crunchy peanut sauce Greek with artichoke hearts, Greek olives, caramelized red onions, and feta on an arugula pesto BBQ Chicken with corn, cilantro, caramelized onions, pepper jack and smoked gouda topped with crispy tortilla strips

salads

The House iceberg and romaine, sweet peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, red onion, and Alabama goat cheese crumbles in a lemon-Dijon vinaigrette 463 Caesar romaine and garlic croutons tossed in basil-Caesar dressing Tart Apple & Arugula Salad with endive, blue cheese, candied pecans, and shaved red onions tossed in a sweet onion dressing

Redfish 463 with sauteed crabmeat, garlic mash, thin beans and a charred tomato-lemon butter Pan-seared Jumbo Shrimp on pepper jack grits with a corn, sweet peppers, tomatoes, red onion, and chorizo lemon butter Apricot-Teriyaki Glazed Grilled Salmon over sesame spinach, with shiitake mushrooms and soy lemon butter Everything-crusted #1 Tuna sushigrade tuna on spicy cheese grits with a tomato relish and chipotle glaze Grilled Jumbo Sea Scallops on shrimp and feta risotto with an heirloom tomato, bacon, grilled red onion and asparagus salad in a basil lemon butter sauce Pan-seared Duck Breast on a wild mushroom risotto with a roasted tomato, carmelized onion and wilted arugula salad in a blackberry-port wine reduction The “Original” Honey-Rosemary Fried Chicken all natural chicken breast in a Mississippi honey-rosemary glaze with pecorino polenta and thin beans Dr. Pepper Braised Beef Short Ribs in a braising liquid with redskin mash, fresh asparagus, crispy onions and a horseradish crème fraiche Spice-crusted Flank Steak sliced 12 oz. prime with toasted garlic spinach, Manchego shoestring fries and a chimichurri sauce 8 oz. Filet wood-grilled Hereford beef filet with bacon-cheddar mash, fresh asparagus and crispy onions Super Kobe Burger 12 oz. Wagyu beef with applewood-smoked bacon, provolone, lettuce, tomato, Dijon mustard, mayo and grilled onions Burger 463 12 oz. Hereford beef with smoked gouda, BBQ aioli, lettuce and tomato topped with shoestring onions

The Wedge iceberg lettuce with ovendried tomatoes, Duroc bacon lardons, feta, topped with buttermilk ranch

reservations welcome

lunch served mon. - fri.

bar open all day

private dining & catering

121A COLONY CROSSING • MADISON, MS 601.707.7684 • LOCAL463.COM

Walker’s Drive-In and Local 463 are owned and operated by Derek & Jennifer Emerson.

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2.95 5.49 3.75 4.49 4.49 4.49 4.49 7.59 7.59 8.59

Add meat on your salad for 3.00 Add feta on your salad for 1.00

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Jackson Menu Guide

(ARDY 3TREET (ATTIESBURG 4EL &AX

M41

T

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Best Burger

ES DB

Best of Jackson 2011 & 2012

New Blue Plate Special $8.99 1 Meat, 3 Veggies, Bread and Drink

- We Cater Parties & Special Events -

We Give You Choices Meat Choices: Ground

Beef, Ground Turkey, Chicken Breast

Bun Choices: Wheat, White,

Texas Toast

Burgers

The BnB Burger

BnBs’ famous burger just the way you like it!

With lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles, mayonnaise, mustard & ketchup.

Lea & Perrins Burger

A marinated burger in Lea & Perrins sauce. Dressed with lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles, mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup & feta cheese.

Hwy 51 Bacon & Blue Burger Topped with applewood smoked bacon & crumbled bleu cheese. Served with warm bleu cheese sauce.

The County Line

Starters

Salads

Homemade Chili House Salad Hwy 61 Bacon & Blue Burger Salad Caesar Salad

Appetizers

Wheat Wraps

Buffalo Chicken Philly Cheese Steak

Sandwiches & Other Stuff

BnB’s BLT Quesadilla Sausage Dog Philly Cheese Steak Sonic Boom Pickin’ Chicken Tenders Lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles, mayonnaise, mustard & ketchup, topped w/ fried jalapenos & hot Hot Dogs Fried Bologna Sandwich pepper jack cheese.

Applewood bacon, cheddar cheese & 1 fried onion ring.

Build your own! Pick your meat, toppings & bread. (premium toppings are extra)

Winter 2012-13

Po-Boys

Steamed Buckets:

Redfish Tilapia Snapper Mahi Mahi Scallops Shrimp Shrimp And Grits Fried Seafood Platter *Soft Shell Crab

Something Sweet

Melt-A-Way Brownie Southern Pecan Pie a-la-mode IBC Root Beer Float

Bits-N-Pieces Bucket-O-Shrimp Stone Crab Jonah Crab King Crab Dungeness Crab Snow Crab Combo Bucket

Happy Hour

5:00 - 6:30pm 2-For-1 Mixed Drinks $2 House Wines $2 Draft Beer

6954 Old Canton Road, Ridgeland, MS Mon - Fri 11-2 & 5-10 • Sat & Sun 11 - 10

Sun - Thurs 11AM - 10PM | Fri & Sat 11AM - 12AM 1060 E County Line Rd | Ridgeland, MS 39157 601.899.0038 | www.burgersblues.com M42

Shack Grilled Half Dozen Raw Dozen Raw Rockafellar Crab Baked

Seafood

Sides

Oysters

Fried Calamari Gulf Redfish Cakes Surf-N-Turf Cheesy Fries Gator Bites Crab Dip Oyster Shrimp Redfish Grouper

Fresh-Cut Home Fries, never frozen Tater Tots Pineapple Express Idaho Potato Chips Topped with grilled pineapple, grilled onions & a bit of Onion Rings BnB’s secret sauce.

Sweet Potato Tater Tots Mini BnBs Sweet Potato Fries BnB’s famous burger, mini style! Lettuce, tomato, Garden/Caesar Salad onions, pickles, mayonnaise, mustard & ketchup.

BnB Freestyle Burger

www.crabsseafoodshack.com

BnB’s Famous Fried Pickles Loaded Ranch Dip Onion Rings MoJo Mushrooms Fried Cheese Sticks Homemade Buffalo Chicken Bites

Gotta have one with a little bit of everything! Lettuce, tomato, sautéed onions, pickles, mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, mushrooms, jalapeno peppers, chili & your choice of cheese.

Smokehouse BBQ Burger

View Full Menu At

601-956-5040

jxnmenus.com

Phone 601-948-0055 Fax 601-948-1195 fenians@bellsouth.net KITCHEN HOURS

Mon-Thur 11am-11pm • Fri 11am-Midnight Saturday 4pm-Midnight • Sunday 4pm-11pm

Plate lunch specials each weekday. View Fenian’s complete menu selection at www.FeniansPub.com

Appetizers

Irish Favorites

Scotch Egg A traditional Celtic

Add a salad for just $2.99.

Chili Nachos $4.99 & $7.99

Old Fashioned Shepherd’s Pie Tender minced beef, carrots,

staple. (Allow 15 min.) $4.99

Chicken & Chips $5.99 Fish & Chips $6.99 Spicy Drummers Regular (5) $9.99 Large (9) $12.99

Grilled Sausage & Cheese Platter Cubed Pepperjack, Swiss

and Cheddar cheeses, served with a half-pound portion of grilled sausage. $8.99

Guiness® Stout Cheese $4.99 Batter Fried Dill Slices $3.99 Cheese Sticks $7.99 Basket O’ French Fries $2.99

Salads House Salad $3.99 large $6.99 Add a grilled chicken breast $2.99 Chef Salad $7.99 Cobb Salad $9.99 Caesar Salad $6.99

Ploughman’s Potato baked potato fi lled with tender roast beef, corned beef, chili or chicken, shredded cheese, topped with the works $8.99 Corned Beef and Cabbage

with homemade mashed potatoes, beef gravy and toasted Rye. $9.99 Red Beans and Rice $9.99

Grilled Tilapia A lightly

Soups & Stews

Fenian’s Pub Burger classic

Homemade Vegetable Soup

burger w/choice of cheese. $7.49

cup $2.99 bowl $4.99

Add mushrooms, bacon, jalapenos, chili, or Stout Cheese $.99 each

cup $3.99 bowl $7.99

The Bookmaker roast beef on

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo Traditional Irish Stew cup $3.99 bowl $8.99

Desserts Irish Bread Pudding $3.99 New York Cheesecake $4.49

a toasted hoagie with Cheddar cheese w/Au jus. $8.99

Molten Brownie $4.99

Reuben $8.99

Call ahead and take home a hot meal for supper!

Cheese Steak $9.49

HEART Y FOOD. STOUT LIBATIONS. A HUNDRED THOUSAND SALUTATIONS.

Chopped Rotisserie Chicken Cobb Chopped Greek Salad Chopped Orange-Strawberry Salad Ham or Smoked Turkey PoBoy Smoked Chicken BLT Pulled Pork Sandwich Mediterranean Wrap

Breakfast To Go Sunrise Quesadilla Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Sandwich Ham & Biscuit Hilton Breakfast Buffet Continental Breakfast Croissant Tray Hilton Jumbo Cinnamon Roll Tray Fresh Fruit Tray

Brenda’s Home Cooking Fried Chicken Shrimp Crawfish Etouffee Red Beans, Rice & Sausage Chicken Tetrazzini BBQ Pulled Pork Chopped Steak Roasted or Smoked Chicken Momma’s Meat Loaf Chicken Fried Steak w/gravy Roasted Turkey Cajun Fried or Smoked Turkey Roasted Prime Rib

Beef Boxty $9.99

Served with a choice of french fries, coleslaw, potato salad or fried okra

with Cajun comeback dressing. $8.49 add bacon $.99

Executive Boxed Meals

Boxty is an Irish potato pancake and a specialty of the northwestern part of Ireland.

Veggie Boxty $8.99

Grilled Chicken & Cheese

Orders must be placed 48 hours in advance.

Delivery charges will apply.

Irish Boxties

Sandwiches

Jackson Menu Guide

TO

601-957-2800

seasoned tilapia fi llet served with coleslaw and a baked potato topped with butter, sour cream and chives. $8.99

Reuben Boxty $9.99

ham, American and Swiss $8.99

Pick Up • Delivered • Catered

peas and onions baked in a casserole under a mashed potato parmesan crust. $9.99

Add a grilled chicken breast $2.99

Pub Club Deli-sliced turkey &

Announcing Chef Brenda’s To Go

Sides Brenda’s Cornbread Dressing Sweet Potato Casserole Broccoli-Rice Casserole Baked Macaroni and Cheese Sautéed Squash Candied Yams Collard Greens Real Mashed Potatoes Squash Casserole Lima Beans Field Peas w/snaps

Cookies, Pies, And Cakes

Follow Us On

Karo Pecan Pie Lemon Ice Box Pie Mississippi Mud Pie Apple Pie Chocolate Cake Caramel Cake

M43

Voted Best Pizza 2009-2012 Best of Jackson

HAPPY HOUR 4  6 PM

Belhaven Location: 601-352-2001 North Jackson Location: 601-957-1975 SPECIALTY PIZZAS

Chicken Curry Delight Double Cheeseburger Cajun Joe Turkey Club Supreme Carnivore Veggie Deluxe Hawaiian BBQ Pork or Chicken Shrimp, Spinach or Chicken Alfredo Chicken Fajita Three Cheese Thai Chicken The Greek Mexican Fiesta Margarita Chicken Cordon Bleu Andy’s Buffalo Ranch Chicken

SUBS

Italian Submarine Philly Cheese Steak Meatball Roast Beef Dip Italian Sausage

ON A BUN

Joe’s Sloppy Joe BBQ Pulled Pork or Chicken Buffalo Ranch Chicken

DELI SANDWICHES Smoked Turkey Turkey Club Roast Beef Ham Vegetarian Ultimate Chicken Salad BLT

BUFFALO WINGS Flavors: Southwest Garlic Ranch, Garlic Parmesan, Lemon Pepper, Traditional BBQ, Citrus Chipotle, Honey Mustard, BBQ, Traditional Hot, Fire Starter, Teriyaki, & Spicy Thai

SALADS

Asian Chicken Salad Chef Antipasto Garden Caesar Chicken Caesar Chicken Salad

SIDES Bread Sticks • Cheese Sticks • Side Salad

BELHAVEN: 925 East Fortification Street

(In the former FabraCare Building, between Kats & Fenian’s)

NORTH JACKSON: 5046 Parkway Drive • Colonial Mart Shopping Center (behind Great Harvest Bread Company off Old Canton Road)

M44

Winter 2012-13

jxnmenus.com

Mr. Chen’s Best Chinese Food In Jackson!

-Best of Jackson 2012-

Mr Chen’s Lunch Specials

(Served with Egg Roll and Steamed or Egg Fried Rice)

Chicken with Broccoli $6.50 Mongolian Chicken $6.50 Kung Pao Beef $6.50

Noodles

Szechaun Beef Stew Noodle Soup $6.95 Pork Noodle Soup $6.95 Wonton Noodle Soup $6.95

Cold Plate

Seaweed Salad $4.95 Roast Duck $6.95 Braised Beef Shank $$6.95

Soup and Clay Pot

Egg Drop Soup (for 2) $3.95 Tofu Oyster Soup (for 2) $6.95 House Clay Pot $14.95 5465 Frontage Rd. I-55 North Jackson, Mississippi (Next to Cowboy Maloney’s) Sun. - Thur. • 11am - 9pm Fri. & Sat. • 11am - 9:30pm 601-978-1865/1866

Jackson Menu Guide

M45

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Best Live

Music Venue!

10 Years Running!

-Jackson Free Press, Best of Jackson-

featured on (QVDODGDV

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Man V. Food 2012 Season

“Let ‘em Swim!“

MONDAY - FRIDAY

Blue Plate Lunch with corn bread and tea or coffee

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You can view our entire menu at fernandosfajitafactory.com.

We also offer catering.

As well as the usual favorites!

Seafood Gumbo, Red Beans and Rice, Burgers, Fried Pickles, Onion Rings and Homemade Soups made daily. *Fridays: Catfish Plates are $9.75

$4.00 Happy Hour Well Drinks! visit HalandMals.com for a full menu and concert schedule

601.948.0888

200 S. Commerce St. Downtown Jackson, Mississippi

Winter 2012-13

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601.366.5441

1149 Old Fannin Road â&#x20AC;˘ Brandon, MS 601.992.6686 5647 Highway 80 East â&#x20AC;˘ Pearl, MS 601.932.8728 Open 7 Days A Week

M46

$SSHWL]HUV ,VODQGHU &UDE &DNHV &UDZĂ&#x20AC; VK 5ROOV 6DXVDJH &KHHVH 3ODWWHU 3ULQFH (GZDUG ,VODQG 0XVVHOV 7XQD 7DU7DU $OOLJDWRU 7DLO &DODPDUL 0H[LFDQ )ULHG ´2NUDÂľ )ULHG 3LFNOHV &UDZĂ&#x20AC; VK 7DLOV

www.IslanderOysterHouse.com Jackson, MS 39211 - Maywood Mart

jxnmenus.com

“1st Place Best Wings 2009-2012” Best of Jackson Awards

JACKSON RIDGELAND JACKSON CLINTON (601) 969-6400 (601) 605-0504 (601) 969-0606 (601) 924-2423 952 N. State St. 398 Hwy 51 N 1430 Ellis Ave. 1001 Hamptead Blvd.

.FMMPX

Order online - www.wingstop.com

COMBO MEALS

Wing Combo Meals are sauced and tossed and served up with Specialty Dip, Fries, and Beverage.

REGULAR WINGS

10 PIECE (1 flavor)...........$8.99

BONELESS STRIPS

3 PIECE (1 flavor)..............$6.99 5 PIECE (1 flavor)..............$8.99

INDIVIDUAL WINGS REGULAR & BONELESS

10 PIECE (up to 2 flavors) ....................................................$6.59 20 PIECE (up to 2 flavors) ...................................................$12.99 35 PIECE (up to 3 flavors) ...................................................$21.99 50 PIECE (up to 4 flavors) ..................................................$29.99 75 PIECE (up to 4 flavors) ..................................................$44.99 100 PIECE (up to 4 flavors) ..................................................$59.49

BONELESS STRIPS

4 PIECE (1 flavor)..............$4.99 7 PIECE (2 flavors)...........$7.99 16 PIECE (2 flavors).......$18.59 24 PIECE (3 flavors).....$26.59 32 PIECE (3 flavors).....$33.59

WING FLAVORS

ATOMIC, CAJUN, ORIGINAL HOT, MILD, TERIYAKI, HICKORY SMOKED BBQ, LEMON PEPER, GARLIC PARMESAN, HAWAIIAN

Sauced and Tossed in your favorite flavor!

ICE COLD BEVERAGES

ICED TEA/SODA 20 oz. $1.69 32 oz. $1.99 BEER Domestic $2.75 Import $3.00

FAMILY PACKS

Complete meals for large orders. Packs the perfect size to feed family, small gatherings and large parties.

REGULAR WINGS

35 PIECE (Up to 3 flavors) ................................... $25.99

Ejoofs!Nfov

50 PIECE (Up to 4 flavors) ....................................$37.99

Includes: 50 Wings, Large Fresh Cut Seasoned Fries, Large Side, 4 Regular Specialty Dips, 2 Orders Crisp Veggie Sticks.

Serves 4-6.

BONELESS STRIPS

16 PIECE (Up to 3 flavors) ................................... $23.99 Includes: 16 Strips, Large Fresh Cut Seasoned Fries, Large Sides, 3 Regular Specialty Dips, 1 Order Crisp Veggie Sticks.

Serves 3-5.

24 PIECE (Up to 3 flavors) ................................... $33.99

Includes: 24 Strips, Large Fresh Cut Seasoned Fries, Large Side, 4 Regular Specialty Dips, 2 Order Crisp Veggie Sticks.

Serves 4-6.

NEW GLIDERSs

2 Gliders...............................$4.99 4 Gliders...............................$9.89 6 Gliders.............................$13.99 Glider Combo......................$6.99 HOMEMADE SIDES FRESH CUT SEASONED FRIES Regular......................................$1.59 Large........................................$2.59 CREAMY COLE SLAW Regular......................................$1.79 Pound........................................$3.29 HOT CHEESE SAUCE..........$1.59 POTATO SALAD Regular......................................$1.79 Pound........................................$3.29 CRISP VEGGIE STICKS Celery & Carrots................$0.89 BOURBON BAKED BEANS Regular......................................$1.79 Large.........................................$3.29 SPECIALTY DIPS Creamy Ranch, Chunky Bleu Cheese or Honey Mustard.

Great for wings (fries too).

Single Serving......................$0.59 Large.........................................$3.29 DINNER ROLLS Each..........................................$0.35 Half Dozen..............................$1.79 Dozen........................................$3.39

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0VU Munchies:

Magic Mushroom Soup • Bruschetta Stuffed Portobello Mushroom • Hummus Spinach Artichoke Dip • Meatball Trio Oven Roasted Wings •Soup of the day

Salads:

Greek • Enlightened • Chef Caesar • Tossed

Calzones:

Cheese • House Chicken or Steak & Cheese

Specialty Pizzas:

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Gourmet White • House Special Kosmic Karma • Magical Mystery Mighty Meaty • Mega Veggie Maui Wowie • Buffalo Chicken Philosopheirs Pie • Funky Q. Chicken Holy Shiitake Pie • Bayou Bleu Thai Dye • Mellowterranean Red Skin Potato Pie

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Hoagies:

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Please view our entire menu at www.mellowmushroom.com

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some are grilled Avocado • Mushroom Club Italian • Meatball • Jerk Chicken • Tofu Steak or Chicken and cheese Portobello & Cheese Shrimp Hoag Boy

Includes: 35 Wings, Large Fresh Cut Seasoned Fries, 2 Regular Specialty Dips, 1 Order Crisp Veggie Sticks. Serves 3-5

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601-992-7499

Mon-Thur: 11am-10pm Fri-Sat: 11am-11pm • Sun 11am-10pm 275 Dogwood Blvd, Flowood

Jackson Menu Guide

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M47

136 South Adams Street Jackson, MS (Adams & Metro Pkwy between Downtown & JSU)

601-960-3008 koinoniacoffee.net

NEW MENU LUNCH Flatbread Pizzas Sandwiches Wraps Salads

Open Everyday Lunch: Mon through Fri 11am to 2pm Sat and Sun 11:30am to 2:30pm

The Perfect Little Christmas Happy!

Dinner: Mon through Sun 5pm to 10pm

We have a wide selection of Indian ales and beverages, as well as a progressive wine selection. We also cater all events.

The Original

Comeback Dressing

BREAKFAST Waffles Grits Breakfast Sandwiches

• Shuruat • Prarambham • Shorbe • Soups • South Indian • Kababs & Tandoor • Vegetarian

• Lamb and Goat • Prefixe Dinners • Wraps • Seafood • Indo- Chinese • Biryani • Desserts

862 Avery Blvd • Ridgeland, MS 601.991.3110 • Fax: 601.206.9990

Voted Number One

by Delta magazine.

$6.99

per bottle + tax Available only at The Cherokee.

601-362-6388

1410 Old Square Road • Jackson

A Downtown Jackson Original Since 1953 Over 100 Beers Serving Lunch Monday-Friday 11:30 am - 1:00 pm Serving Dinner Tuesday-Friday 5:00 pm - 10:00 pm Live Music Every Friday and Saturday See our website for menu, specials & live music line up

www.martinslounge.net Follow us on Facebook

• Fresh Seafood Daily • Gyros, Greek Salads, And Appetizers • Daily Lunch Specials

CARRYOUT AVAILABLE MON-FRI 11A-2P,5-10P SAT 5-10P

828 HWY 51, MADISON • 601.853.0028 M48

Winter 2012-13

jxnmenus.com

A generous pour, a hearty plate and an honest tune.

Opens at 4pm on Tuesday-Friday & 6pm on Saturday Entertainment starts at 8pm Tuesday -Thursday & 9pm Friday-Saturday 119 South President Street, Jackson, Mississippi 601.352.2322 www.underground119.com light side BRUSCHETTA – 8 Toasted baguette with stewed tomatoes and roasted red peppers, topped with melted mozzarella cheese.

TOSSED SALAD – 9 Seasonal greens tossed with apples, pecans, red onions and your choice of creamy Parmesan or maple vinaigrette dressing.

GUMBO OF THE WEEK – 7/9 Our take on the Creole classic. Made with a dark roux, okra and Trinity vegetables. Served with Basmati rice and grilled French bread.

CEVICHE – 11 Gulf shrimp and fresh fish, quick-marinated in citrus juices and gold tequilla, tossed with apples, herbs and red onion. Available in table sizes to serve 2, 4, 6 or 8.

small plates and starters PAN-SEARED CRABCAKE – 16 Mississippi-style crabcake made with lump crabmeat and BBQ potato chips, served with roasted red pepper aioli. Add another for 8.

SEARED SCALLOPS – 11 Butter-seared jumbo scallops with peas, mint and chili oil.

SHRIMP AND COUNTRY HAM – 11 Jumbo Gulf shrimp sautéed with cured country ham and served over black-eyed pea hash.

SHRIMP WONTONS – 8 Bay shrimp, cream cheese and green onions in a fried wonton. Served with hoisin BBQ sauce.

CHARCUTERIE AND CHEESE – 11 A selection of cured meats and cheeses served with grilled bread and house-made preserves and pickles.

CRAWFISH PIE – 8 Flaky, fried pastry filled with crawfish and Trinity vegetables. Topped with Creole cream sauce.

QUESADILLAS – 13 Crabmeat, ribeye steak, or sautéed vegetables with red and yellow peppers and pepper jack cheese. Topped with roasted red pepper aioli, crème fraiche or Creole comeback.

large plates SHRIMP AND GRITS – 19 Gulf Shrimp sautéed in garlic oil and simmered in roasted tomato ragout.

GRILLED TROUT – 20 Herb-rubbed Rainbow Trout, grilled and served with roasted fingerling potatoes and haricot verts.

SHRIMP, SCALLOPS AND SAUSAGE PASTA – 20 Jumbo Gulf shrimp and Andouille sausage in a sage butter sauce over angel hair pasta.

FRIED QUAIL WITH APPLE COMPOUND BUTTER – 19 Semi-boneless, whole quail from Broken Arrow Ranch, cornmeal dusted and flash fried. Served with apple and herb compound butter, roasted potatoes and seasonal vegetables.

SAUTÉED FISH OF THE DAY – 22 Fresh fish sautéed in garlic oil and served with roasted potatoes and seasonal vegetables.

FLATIRON STEAK WITH CHIMICHURI – 23 Chili-marinated, Two Run Farms Flatiron steak grilled to order and served with mint chimichuri over roasted potatoes and seasonal vegetables.

GRILLED PORK CHOP – 19 Thick-cut pork loin chop grilled to order and topped with apple and herb compound butter. Served with roasted potatoes and seasonal vegetables.

burgers, sliders, sandwiches 119 BURGER/PORTOBELLO BURGER – 13/9 A hand blended 11-ounce patty OR a whole Portobello mushroom cap grilled and served with your choice of toppings: white Cheddar, pimento cheese, mozzarella, Colby or pepper-jack cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, red onion, ketchup, spicy brown mustard and mayonnaise. Add bacon or a fried egg for 1.50 each.

STEAK-N-EGG SLIDER – 11 Grilled ribeye steak, brown gravy, hash browns and a fried quail egg on a grilled slider bun.

VEGETARIAN SLIDER – 8 Made with real vegetarians! Well, not really...Actually it’s made with grilled zucchini and topped with house-made mayo and micro greens.

REJEBIAN’S GRILLED CHEESE – 8 Thin-sliced prosciutto and pepper-jack cheese with pimento stuffed olives on a tiny sword. According to “Blades” Rejebian, the tiny sword makes all the difference.

Jackson Menu Guide

M49

Looking For

4654 McWillie Dr. Jackson, MS

Restaurants Coffee Shops Free WiFi Parks Day Spas Churches More?

AWARD-WINNING BURGER MENU

Made with beef or turkey on wheat or white.

• Cajun Bleu Burger • Extra Hot Habanero Jalapeno Burger • Garlic & Ginger Jalapeno Burger • Spicy Chipotle Burger • Onion Burger • Jalapeno Onion Burger • Sinbad’s Bbq Bacon • Veggie Burgers + We accept JSU Super Cards!

• Philly Cheese Steak • Assorted Wings • Eggplant Fries •Kwame’s Cajun Battered Fries •Fresh Cut Sweet Potato Fries

Fresh & Authentic

Try Our New Crabcakes Appetizer $11.95 Crabcake Po’ Boy $13.95

Mon-Thurs: 10AM - 9PM Fri & Sat: 10AM - 10PM Sun: CLOSED NOW SERVING BEER!

FREE WiFi

• Tex Mex • Tacos & Burritos • Daily Drink Specials 318 South State Street | Jackson, MS 601.961.7001| jacostacos.com

jackpedia.com For up-to-date Event Listings jfpevents.com

Enjoying BOOM Jackson?

Please take our online survey and let us know how you feel about it: http://www.boomjackson.com/survey/

One lucky winner will receive $100 in dining certificates to Jackson area restaurants. (You can choose $100 worth from our “prize closet” if you’re the winner!)

For details, and to take the five-minute survey, please visit www.boomjackson.com/survey/.

Thanks for reading BOOM! M50

Winter 2012-13

jxnmenus.com

MEET THE ALL NEW 2013 HONDA Everything in the Accord has been redesigned with YOU in mind.

NEW FEATURES: * Lane Departure Warning * Front Collision Warning * Honda Lane WatchË&#x2122; * HondaLinkË&#x2122; * Smart Entry

Visit Patty Peck Honda for a test-drive today

7YRR]FVSSO 6SEH 6MHKIPERH 17 [[[ TEXX]TIGOLSRHE GSQ

Jackson Menu Guide

M51

Pure Barre is a total body workout that lifts your seat, tones your thighs and burns fat in record-breaking time.

The Township at Colony Park I 201 Northlake Ave, Suite 107 Ridgeland, MS 39157 I 601.707.7410 Higland Village I 4500 I-55N Suite 235-A Jackson, MS 39211 I 601.707.7410

Russell C. Davis Planetarium

Harvey Johnson Jr., Mayor 52

Winter 2012-13

boomjackson.com

BITES

//resident tourist Story and food photos by

Tom Ramsey

Roadside Cathedrals

I

n the culinary universe, hot meals at an Exxon are a relatively new thing. Being able to buy unleaded gas, an air freshener and a meat-and-three was once the provenance of country road “general” stores.

Now, the lines inside a c-store can be longer at the hot food counter than they are for gas and cigarettes.

Having grown up in the Mississippi Delta, I am no stranger to the plate lunch and burger counters inside places like the Onward Store or Lerlene Screws General Store in towns with larger populations of chickens than people. These places sold good, hearty food—made from scratch and at reasonable prices. Often they were the only place for miles around where you could get a “storebought” hot meal. They catered to farmers and farm hands, truckers passing through, and sportsmen who hunted and fished the wilds nearby. Menu choices were limited by the tastes of the clientele and size of the kitchens and, occasionally, included barbecue, smoked in a converted oil drum out back.

I loved this food from the first time I tasted it and still do today. Perhaps it’s this reverence for these roadside cathedrals of simple cooking that keeps me from eating in modern convenience stores. It just seems unholy. In the same way that I wouldn’t hunt squirrels on Devine Street (where they are apparently far more plentiful than in the woods of Issaquena County), I don’t have the desire to eat at an in-store lunch counter in a place that has good cell coverage and possibly wi-fi.

But in my quest to be open-minded and fearless when it comes to eating, I decided to recruit a picky eater and try out a few places that caught my eye and my nose.

We made only a small set of rules for the adventure. 1.) “Food” was to be defined as something other than candy and snacks, and must include a protein and a starch and/or

Work. Live. Play. Prosper.

vegetable. 2.) The food must be available for purchase inside the gas station and not in a restaurant attached to the gas station. And 3.)

To be considered a “gas station,” the establishment must offer for sale both gasoline and air fresheners.

I chose Missy Black as my picky eater because she and her husband, Wes, dine with me often, and I generally have to talk her into trying something that she thinks she won’t like.

Usually, she changes her mind and her palette is expanded by at least one more ingredient

Chicken strips from the Beasley Road Exxon are a crispy, not greasy, treat.

or technique. Missy (who probably weighs a buck 10 fully clothed and soaking wet) describes herself as having a very active “inner fat kid” with a love for things doughy, mild and fried. As it turns out, most of the meals on our cross-town jaunt were right up her alley.

Our first stop was one that Missy suggested (she actually took the assignment serious enough to do research and make a list). The Olde Towne Station Chevron (403 W. Jackson St., Ridgeland, 601.898.9041) didn’t appear to be very “olde” but the food inside was classic, southern comfort fare. While I went in search of air fresheners, Missy selected Salisbury steak,

mashed potatoes with gravy, butter beans and fried okra. With the complimentary 32-ounce bucket of sweet tea, this set us back $8.94.

Next, we drove to a spot we both had in mind, the Exxon on Beasley Road, just off Interstate 55 (598 Beasley Road, 601.956.3126).

Although we were tempted to eat the food from the Chevron en route to the Exxon, we staved off temptation so we could try everything at once back at Underground 119 when we finished the tour.

Inside the Exxon we found not one, but two lunch counters; Krispy Krunchy Chicken and D&D Burgers and BBQ. We tried them both. When Missy gave me the “thumbs up” that she had located the Little Trees brand air fresheners, I ordered a cheeseburger and fries plus chicken strips and potato logs. The food was prepared fresh, bagged up, and we were out the door in five minutes for a grand total of $11.75. We were tempted to pick up a couple of ninja swords, trench-warfare-style bayonets and Batman throwing stars in the display case by the front door, but we were on a mission and didn’t want to tarry.

For the third stop, we decided to wander around west Jackson until something caught our eye. On the corner of Woodrow Wilson and Powers Avenue, we spotted a tiny shop with nine or 10 cars in the lot and none at the pumps. The sign out front read, in part “hot lunch.” Bingo. Turns out this was Fuel Junction (1330 W. Woodrow Wilson Ave., 601.354.3310). Inside, we found a line of men in coveralls at the lunch counter where Gwen was dishing up fried chicken, broccoli rice and cheese casserole, black-eyed peas and peach cobbler. She flashed me a big, toothy smile and heaped on the casserole, possibly recognizing me as a fellow chef, or possibly seeing my middle-age paunch. I’ll go with the first choice, if more GRUB, see page 55 53

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GRUB, from page 53

you don’t mind. We didn’t have to hunt for the air fresheners; they were right at the counter where we paid $8.07 for a generous meal, and right next to the sign reading, “If you broke the beer, you have to pay.”

On the way back to the restaurant to have our feast, we stopped in at the Shell Sprint Mart on Lakeland, next to the Little League fields and picked up the culinary equivalent of sweat pants and house shoes: the shrinkwrapped, wedge-packaged sandwiches that you see in the coolers next to the soft drinks.

I just wanted to have some baseline for comparison. These things are not cheap. Two of them set me back $6.61.

The verdict would have surprised me if I had not seen the care that the cooks took to prepare this food. On the whole, the food was well seasoned, well prepared, tasty and extremely satisfying. Dollar for dollar, it far outshone any meal I’ve had after yelling instructions into a box on a pole. All the chicken was crispy and not greasy. The burger was above par in a greasy-goodness sort of way, the vegetables were every bit as tasty as those you would find in a country-style buffet, and the sole dessert was outstanding.

The unanimous favorite was the Salisbury steak with gravy and mashed potatoes from Olde Towne Chevron. It was savory and a little spicy and clearly made from scratch.

Fast food, be damned! I’m a convert to the legions of fans of gastro-gasmarts, and so is the picky eater.

But ... (there’s always a but) the notable rotten apple was the sandwich-in-a-wedgeshaped-box we bought at the Sprint Mart. Unlike Socrates, Cleopatra or Charles VI, I had never intentionally ingested poison, but now I know a bit about what it probably tastes like.

The two sandwiches we sampled were turkey & cheese and chicken salad. The first had only three visible ingredients (turkey, bread, cheese-ish stuff), but the list of ingredients on the package was a long paragraph of things with far too many vowels. The chicken salad tasted like despair, sorrow and pickles, with a hint of living alone as a faint aftertaste. It took three napkins to wipe the taste off my tongue.

It’s a good thing we had plenty of Faygo Moon Mist to wash it all down.

So there you have it: the good, the better and the really ugly. Next time you see a smiling lady behind a counter, next to the beer cooler and the transmission fluid, dishing up some love on a plate accentuated with crispy chicken skin, close your eyes, think of Onward, Miss., and go for it!

Work. Live. Play. Prosper.

Clockwise from top: Don’t confuse the cheeseburger and fries from the Exxon on Beasley Road with fast food. / Olde Towne Station Chevron’s salisbury steak was the hit of the day. / Gwen at Fuel Junction wasn’t shy in serving up southern comfort food. / The worst by far were the pre-packaged, preservative-filled sandwiches.

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BITES // home cookin’ trip burns

Soul-Food Heaven // by Molly Lehmuller

Trip Burns

Basmati rice lines the shelves at Ambica Bazaar.

Ambica Bazaar // by Dylan Watson

Ambica Bazaar, an Indian grocery store, sits at 2672 Highway 80 W. in a building that smells of sweet incense. The store sells everything from hair-care products to basmati rice, and virtually everything is imported from India. The owner, Mr. Patel, who declined to give his first name, estimates that about 80 percent of his goods are sourced there.

Patel started the store two and a half years ago and serves a customer base that’s mostly Indian. “Most Indian people like Indian food, so that’s why we have it. We are used to Indian food,” Patel says.

He says his generation has tried to pass on their recipes and love for Indian food to the next generation, but it’s been difficult.

“The younger generation, they want American food,” Patel says, gesturing toward his daughter, who is stocking a shelf. “She doesn’t like to eat (Indian food).”

Upon walking into the store, the customer will notice bags of basmati rice stacked along the left wall. The rice, which is grown in northern India and Pakistan, is packed into burlap sacks sold in several brands: Regal, Zafarani, SWAD, Royal and more.

This aisle also has flour, bags of chick peas, vaal (field beans), and urad (black lentils), among other legumes.

In the next aisle, the customer finds microwavable meals, also known as TV dinners, of the Indian variety. A colorful array of condiments, some of which can be hard to find in a run-of-the-mill grocery store, such as chili relish and curry paste, line one wall.

Another aisle stocks a variety of foods, from flat gram noodles with chili pickles “from the heart of Gujarat” to salt-fried gram flour puffs to Tum Tum Ganthia—a snack made of flour and salt that resembles cinnamon sticks—and candy that wouldn’t look out of place in an “American” grocery store.

The store also offers incense sticks in a variety of scents: tangerine, garden of flowers, honey rose, chamomile. The frozen food section houses goods as common as ice cream to frozen Indian dishes such as tandoori roti (unleavened bread) and even Indian baby pumpkins.

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Cheesy spaghetti is just one of the hearty dishes Collins is serving up.

A

s soon as I walked into Collins Dream Kitchen, I started humming. An almost-familiar, ’70s-era rhythm & blues song was playing on the speakers, drifting through the ordering area from the side dining room. The smells—savory meats, fresh breads, the pungent scent of cooked greens—hit me just after, and a slow smile crossed over my face.

Sylvester Collins has owned the soul-food joint that bears her name for 25 years, both at its original Ellis Avenue location and its current expanded restaurant on Terry Road.

She began cooking for her family—which included three brothers and a sister—when she was 12 years old. Nowadays, she likes to brand her recipes as “healthy soul food.”

Collins used to cook with the oil, excess salt and fatty meats that define old-fashioned soul food but, in recent years, has made an effort to reduce sodium and fat in her offerings for vegetarian customers or those with dietary concerns.

“When I cook, I cook with love, and I wouldn’t serve anybody anything I wouldn’t eat,”

she says, noting that she uses fresh food whenever possible, though “it’s a little bit expensive … in the long run, as long as it satisfies the customer.”

I was third in line at the cafeteria-style serving station, where women in orange shirts took orders and made small talk behind the counter.

I ordered two meat-and-two plates: the first had neckbones, macaroni and cheese and cornbread dressing, with cornbread to sop it all up; the second was baked chicken with sides of cabbage and peach cobbler, plus a piece of their fly-out-the-door-popular cracklin’ bread.

More options were available—smothered fried pork chop, black eyed peas, lima beans, banana pudding—but for issues of time and stomach size, I stuck with just two plates. My server took good care of her customers—she searched with her tongs in the steamer trays for the tenderest cuts of meat, and gave her selection good-measure dunkings in its pan drippings or gravy before plating.

The baked chicken was the star of my lunch. You don’t get a knife at Collins Dream

Kitchen, but as the meat is so tender it flakes off the bone, you don’t really need it. I pulled apart my chicken breast and wing with my fingers, and wrapped each piece of meat in a strip of the tangy, peppery skin for the tastiest delivery system. The cornbread dressing had the texture of smooth grits, but with a more substantial flavor.

This was my first encounter with neckbones, and found them quite different than I had anticipated; I was expecting a pork belly texture, and got more of a corned beef. But after adding a little hot sauce, I had a party. The cracklin’ bread was addictive—crumbly cornbread studded with fatty pork.

The rest of my sides were just as good—even the deceptive cabbage was savory—and a far cry from what some chain buffets or restaurants brand as “homestyle cooking.”

So take the five-minute drive from downtown to visit Mrs. Collins and her sing-outloud soul food, and you’ll see why the Dream Kitchen has 25-year regulars.

Visit Collins Dream Kitchen at 1439 Terry Road, or call 601.353.3845.

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Say ‘Bonjour’ to Anjou // by Andrew Dunaway

courtesy Louisiana Seafood News.com

Chef Christian Amelot

How did this restaurant start?

It was a quick availability of the location that made that happen. ... The name Anjou came up because (Conn, a friend and former coworker, and I) were looking for a real French name. We first thought my daughter’s and (my) hometown of Le Ferté Bernard, but it was too difficult to say in English.

Then we came up with Gules, but the partners didn’t want that, either. We came up with a few other names, but we went with Anjou be

Work. Live. Play. Prosper.

lucky in that part, and the chef took me under his wing so big advantage.

Did you have a first recipe you mastered?

Not really, there is no special recipe. I like to tinker a lot. I’m always tinkering with pastries and recipes with desserts, things like that. That’s the love I have. There’s really nobody in Jackson that does that.

Is there a French stalwart you modeled yourself after?

No, the best part of my training was when I Amelot says his French was still in school, and cooking packs a lot of herbs.

I was lucky enough to train in a five star on the French Riviera called HoIs there a recipe on the tel Hermitage in La Baule. menu that is your signature creation?

The chef was an Alsatian,

My creation no, but there’s a dish, a scalhe was a German, very strict lops with chive vermouth sauce. It’s a recipe but full of knowledge. For what- I’ve carried since 1972.

Here we’re serving it with a little pancake ever reason, he took me under his wing, and I was able to work with corn and green onion. It’s a recipe I’ve different positions and at the kept because I think it’s a good recipe. time, that hotel was employing 150 cooks.

How would you describe your cooking

It was lot of experience, style? Is it a general French?

Yeah, it’s typical French. I’m actually an and I was able to learn a lot. I did pastries, sauces, vegetables, and old- fashioned French. Don’t get me wrong, it I also did the dining room, but doesn’t mean cream and butter, because that’s what people are going to think. that was not my focus.

I did adjust a lot of my recipes when I came Was there a position you to work for Latham & Roberts in ’84. ... I saw enjoyed most? the menu and said no problem, but the spices

No, I enjoyed everything. I don’t know if and seasonings were different—more pepper, more sweet. I had to change a lot of recipes like you’ve ever been in a big kitchen like that, but they basically have the comis (chef), who is like that to suit the market. ...

It was a challenge an apprentice, on one side of the table and at first, mostly (with) the chef de partis who the pepper and spice is working the stove, (because) French cuifinishing the plate, finsine, for most people, ishing the sauces, and is bland. We use a lot things like that. of herbs and flavor like

I was lucky in my that, bright flavors.

It doesn’t have that early age of working. I chili punch. We cook was never long behind with honey and sugar, the table. I was put on Anjou strives to fill a niche in the Jackson metro: affordable fine too, but it’s not as prothe front line quickly dining with a French flair. nounced as the cookbecause I was fast and ing in the south. learning quickly. I was trip burns

Chef Amelot has flourished in five-star restaurants across the French landscape as well as the executive chef for the French foreign minister.

Eager to speak about his vision of exposing more Mississippians to approachable French cuisine, Chef Amelot sat down for a few questions.

cause Anjou is a wine region not very far from our home. It’s pretty easy, and you don’t need to butcher it. Everybody knows the wine region, and that’s how I came on.

courtesy anjou

S

ince the closing of Bernard’s in The Quarter and the end of Sundancer in Highland Village, one could say that Jackson has been severely lacking in French cuisine. Earlier this year, things began to change as Christian Amelot, his daughter Anne Amelot-Holmes and local restaurateur David Conn opened Anjou (361 Township Ave., Ridgeland, 601.707.0587), a French bistro in the Township at Colony Park.

Currently serving as the executive chef of US Foods for Louisiana and Mississippi, Amelot, 60, has a command of French cuisine that can only be garnered from years of experience. Since leaving his hometown of La Ferté Bernard in the Pays de Loire region for the Savoie Leman culinary school near the Swiss and Italian borders,

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2013 Power Couples PHOTOGRAPHER: Tate K. Nations FASHION STYLIST: Meredith W. Sullivan Assisted by Amye Bell HAIR/MAKEUP: Kate McNeely Shana Spencer for Static A Salon LOCATION: King Edward Hotel

POWER COUPLE:

E. CARLOS AND ERIKA TANNER

M

eet E. Carlos Tanner III and the former Miss Erika Love.

When Carlos was attending Atlanta’s Morehouse College, an all-male institution, Erika was across the street at Spelman, an all-female college. They met once during their undergraduate careers, but it wasn’t until two years later that they had their first conversation, sparking what would be the rest of their lives together.

Erika and Carlos dated for six years and were engaged during Carlos’ last year at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law and Erika’s third year of residency at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. The two were married in September 2007.

Carlos is a federal prosecutor with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, serving the Southern District of Mississippi. He prosecutes white-collar crimes, such as health-care fraud. Erika is one of two owners at Madison OB/GYN Associates, helping women in the metro who seek care from a female provider.

Erika says being an OB/GYN is more than just a job. “As an OB/GYN, I can relate to patients professionally and personally, and go through the process with my patients, which I believe they appreciate,” she says.

“This is a part of medicine that you can’t put a price on,” Erika says.

Carlos says he has always wanted to be on his feet, arguing for justice. “Working cases

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is a challenge, like putting together pieces of a puzzle,” he says. “I feel good talking to victims, and helping right the wrong done to them.”

Erika always had an emphasis on a job that focused on women’s health and continuity of care with patients. “I am a surgeon, in addition to what I do in the office. … Patients are experiencing the most exciting times in their lives, and it’s fun being involved,” she says.

Carlos initially wanted to become a corporate attorney focusing on business law, but says a friend in the court system thought Carlos would make a good trial lawyer, and steered him to his current career.

It’s hard to imagine these two professionals having time to breathe, let alone to raise their two boys, Carr, 3, and Chase, 1. But the Tanners seem to have it all worked out.

“There is no real method to this—we are flexible in raising the kids,” Erika says. If one is working late, the other steps in where needed.

“It’s organized chaos,” Carlos says with a smile.

Carlos is an avid reader, likes writing narratives and technical reports, and is into college basketball. Erika enjoys shopping and playing with her two boys. “If I had a second career, it would be as an interior decorator,” Erika says.

She also has a hidden talent: She’s a viola player with 10 years of experience.

Aside from their busy careers and family life, the couple has found time to give back to

the community. Erika lectures to women on various health topics. Carlos speaks at churches and schools, and he and a few of his co-workers coached a mock-trial team at Jim Hill High School, his alma mater. They both donate to their former schools and are advocates of historically black colleges and universities.

Although Erika and Carlos went to college in another state, they both came back to Jackson. Erika says she returned because she knew the demands of both their careers and has family support in the Jackson metro area.

Carlos was drawn back to combat brain drain in Mississippi. He, too, has family here.

Erika hopes to lead by example in raising their two sons. “Regardless of what they want to do, I hope that they will follow through with their personal aspirations,” she says.

“The best gift I got was from my mother, who allowed me to be an independent thinker. … I want to give my kids a good foundation in making sound decisions and by exposing them to things outside of Jackson,” Carlos says.

For Erika and Carlos, their most apparent and admirable qualities are their determination, respect and love for each other.

“What makes us a power couple—if that’s what you want to call it—is realizing what things are important in life and knowing that the most important of all is family,” Erika says.

—Tam Curley Fashion information, page 66

boomjackson.com

Work. Live. Play. Prosper.

59

POWER COUPLES, FROM PAGE 59

POWER COUPLE:

MITCHELL EARRY AND CORY BLAIR

I

f Cory Blair was a wine, his partner Mitchell Earry says, he would be a pinot noir. “It’s not too serious, but can be. It’s light, it’s got a lot of fruit to it, but it still has this backbone to it. It’s not woozy, it’s not weak, it’s strong,” Mitchell says.

“It can really carry the wine through the years. And it’s great with food.”

Food and wine are a big part of Cory and Mitchell’s life, as 25-year-old Mitchell is a certified sommelier, currently in charge of all things bar-related at BRAVO! Italian Restaurant and Bar. Cory, 34, is a vice president at a local mortgage company.

Despite their right-brain, left-brain careers, Mitchell and Cory say they don’t butt heads very much. “As far as making things work, it’s always about compromising, meeting in the middle and working with each other to find that middle ground,” Mitchell says. “It’s not always one person’s way or the other person’s way. You’ve got to give and take.”

“I think we can always see that with each other, too. That’s why it’s extremely rare for us to have even a small argument. We just get along so well,” Cory adds.

The couple met close to two years ago through mutual friends and “just kind of hit it off immediately,” Cory says.

“We went on a date a week later and have pretty much been together ever since.” Now, they have a home in Fondren with two rescue dogs, Maggie (short for Magnolia) and Armstrong, and are active in the Jackson community, entertaining friends and going to outdoor events or music festivals around town.

The two also are involved in equal rights movements, particularly involving gay marriage and, recently, personhood and women’s reproductive rights.

—Kathleen M. Mitchell Fashion information, page 66

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Power Couple:

Justin and Ginger Williams Cook

G

inger Williams Cook and Justin Cook had what some might call an old-school romance.

The two met through mutual friends nine years ago and, after reconnecting four years after that, began a casual, long-distance courtship (she was in Jackson, he in Oxford finishing law school at Ole Miss). But Ginger, an artist, had plans to go to Paris, so they didn’t intend on getting serious.

But even from France, life intervened.

“We kept in touch—we emailed each other on a regular basis and talked on video chat and everything … and we fell in love,” Ginger says. Just before Christmas 2007, Ginger returned to Jackson.

“Earlier than you planned, because I am irresistible!” Justin interrupts with a laugh. A year later, the couple was engaged and then married in October 2009.

“We were very serious before we were able to kind of live in the same town, but it was sort of one of those really nice things that we got to know each other so well through correspondence in that way,” Ginger says.

Justin is a public defender and musician—he played in the popular Jackson band The Quills—and Ginger is an artist and works part time at the Mississippi Museum of Art. The Mississippi Art Education Association recently named her an Outstanding Museum Educator of the Year. The two, both 31, live in Belhaven.

Earlier this year, the couple’s relationship was shaken up in a new and exciting way as they welcomed daughter Eloise into the world. For Ginger, it was an easy, natural transition to motherhood.

“It’s sort of been a baptism by fire for me, but I embrace it in every way,” Justin says—although nobody would guess he isn’t a natural after watching him pal around with Eloise.

When not in new baby mode, Ginger and Justin are also involved in the art and music scene in Jackson.

“I, admittedly, am unable to go to shows that start past 8 o’clock at night these days anymore,” Justin says with a laugh. “But you know, we still try to support local bands and local art as much as we can. Hopefully, I’m going to have a new friend (in Eloise) to expose to all kinds of creative and fun things in life, and I’m kind of looking forward to that—the whole idea of imparting some sort of fun while still being responsible adults.”

—Kathleen M. Mitchell Fashion information, page 66

Work. Live. Play. Prosper.

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POWER COUPLES, from page 61

Power Couple:

Mende and Jesse Alford

T

ennessee Williams closes “A Streetcar Named Desire” with the seemingly paradoxical advice that one “can always depend on the kindness of strangers.”

If you walk a few blocks down State Street from downtown and meet Jesse and Mende Alford, for whom welcoming and caring for strangers is a livelihood, you might see that Williams was onto something.

Mende is the proprietor and general manager of the Old Capitol Inn, and Jesse is in sales for Sysco, the national food and supply distributor that supplies the boutique hotel. He also acts as the Inn’s renovator and general handyman.

Mende has been involved with the 24-bedroom Old Capitol Inn—a former YWCA that had sat vacant for years—since its initial renovation and reopening in 1997. The Inn has won renown statewide, and received the Jackson Convention and Visitor’s Bureau 2011 Hotel of the Year award.

It has been featured four times in Southern Living Magazine.

“I enjoy working here because of the history,” Mende says. “Even now I have people come into the hotel and tell me how they learned ballet there, took first swimming lessons there.”

The two met 14 years ago through mutual friends, and have been married for 12. Mende and Jesse, Jackson and Clinton natives respectively, have three daughters: 7-year-old Truus, 6-year-old Hala and Riena, 3.

The pair belongs to St. Richard’s Catholic Church, where they participate in fundraising and charity events. Mende has served on the board of the Downtown Jackson Partners for the past several years, and The Mississippi Business Journal named her one of its 50 Leading Business Women in Mississippi this year.

In his spare time, Jesse is a talented carpenter who creates custom furniture. “I love being able to take something from raw wood with bark on it to a finished project,” he explains.

He also coaches his two oldest daughters’ soccer teams.

—Molly Lehmuller Fashion information, page 66

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Power Couple:

Tim and Watt Bunniran

B

uranee (Tim) Bunniran is adamant that a real Thai cook would never use regular milk in soup as a substitute for coconut milk. She and her husband, Prawat (Watt), should know—for 20 years, the couple has been providing an authentic Thai eating experience at Thai House, their Jackson restaurant at 1405 Old Square Road.

The couple met while working on their master’s degrees at Jackson State University, his in business and hers in education.

After a few years and with a growing family, they parlayed their love of cooking into their first restaurant in south Jackson, operating there for several years before moving to the current location. “When we moved, our customers who knew us followed us from South Jackson,” Watt says with a smile.

“Now, they come more often.”

The restaurant is a family affair: The Bunnirans’ three adult children grew up in the restaurant business. And while all three are successful and on their own living in Memphis, Boston and the Jackson area, they all pitch in automatically when they come home.

The couple supports the Mississippi Animal Rescue League, as well as local soup kitchens. Tim’s real passion is to introduce Americans to what real Thais would eat at home. Many of the ingredients used in their dishes, such as fresh lemongrass, are grown right in the Bunnirans’ back yard.

Perhaps the best recipe, however, is one for success. “Be honest and friendly,” Tim explains, adding that good food, authentic cooking and hospitality will keep customers coming back. “If they come here, it will be just like if they were to come to my house.”

—Bill Moak Fashion information, page 66

Work. Live. Play. Prosper.

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POWER COUPLES, from page 63

Power Couple:

Ta’Boris Fisher and Jaime Burns-Fisher

W

hen Jaime Burns met Ta’Boris Fisher at Ole Miss in 1999, she had no idea he was a star football player. “Everyone thinks I hounded him for his number,” she explains with a laugh. The real story involves a party for the Ole Miss volleyball team, her roommates and his Mitsubishi 3000GT. “That was my dream car forever. He said I could drive it.

From there, we ended up talking for hours.”

These two highly competitive athletes work together as colleagues at Millsaps College. Jaime, 32, is a Colorado native who had never been to

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Winter 2012-2013

Mississippi before falling in love with Ole Miss and the state. She also fell in love with Jackson native Ta’Boris, now 37, who was a standout wide receiver at Ole Miss from 1993 to 1996. Now the couple seems relaxed and happy as they talk about their life together.

At Millsaps, Jaime is the head coach of the women’s volleyball team, while Ta’Boris coaches the Majors’ defensive backs in football. He also runs the Ta’Boris Fisher Speed and Agility Camp, which teaches football fundamentals to young people. But the couple fosters much more than

just athletic skills; both impart their character and values to the athletes they coach as they teach the sports they love.

For now, the couple is set on enjoying their careers and home in Fondren. Tennis is a shared outlet for their competitiveness. Jaime says she always feels compelled to help stray or abandoned animals. Both share a commitment to helping young people reach their potential through coaching. “We are so excited to be able to work with athletes. It’s our passion,” Ta’Boris says.

—Bill Moak

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POWER COUPLE:

CHARLES AND TALAMIEKA BRICE

I

t all started in art class. xxxxx Talamieka, who grew up near Grenada in Kilmichael and Duck Hill, and Charles, a Brookhaven boy, met in their Jackson State University design course. Both jokingly claim to have made the first move: She checked out the “scrawny little fella’s” art, while he noticed her typing across the room and went for it. “It was my opportunity to slide in and start a conversation, but I got so into the poem (Talamieka was writing) that I forgot to introduce myself,” Charles says.

Married for six years and together for 12, the Brices founded their Ridgeland-based graphic-design firm Brice Media four years ago after Charles, a former Army photojournalist, experienced yet another difficult patrol in Afghanistan. “ I decided Work. Live. Play. Prosper.

Fashion information, page 66

I didn’t want to do this anymore,” he says of the military. When he returned to Mississippi for a three-month R&R, the pair worked feverishly to found their company.

The result is a dynamic, socially aware design firm. Charles, 33, is the firm’s operations director, and 31-year-old Talamieka is the art director. “I take care of most of the field work (and am) in charge of planning for when we got to a shoot or a meeting. (Talamieka) conducts most of the artistic side of graphic design,” Charles says. Brice Media is in the process of expanding its facilities to include a fine art gallery. Charles sculpts in clay and makes jewelry in his spare time, which may be housed in the new gallery space.

The experience of graphic design—which

for the Brices includes photography, videography and illustrations—has been demanding, rewarding and interesting. For those who understand and use the power of the right design, “you’re presenting your message in the best way possible way,” Talamieka says. “Basically, we’re mercenaries: We have a mission, and it’s to execute the job to the best of our ability.”

The Brices attend First Baptist Church of Jackson and volunteer time and design skills to organizations like the Susan G. Komen foundation and the Mississippi Burn Foundation. They are active in the Madison County Chamber of Commerce, and helped facilitate the Chamber’s dodgeball tournament benefitting the Adams Foundation.

—Molly Lehmuller xx

POWER COUPLES, from page 65

Behind the scenes Special thanks: The Historic King Edward/ Hilton Garden Inn (235 W. Capitol St., 601.353.5464), and Larry Hollingsworth for allowing us to shoot inside the beautiful hotel.

Erica Crunkilton, Molly Lehmuller and Kathleen M. Mitchell, for assisting at the shoots.

Fashion info ERICA and CARLOS from p 59: Erica is wearing a Bardot strapless dress ($158) and gold cluster earrings ($110) from Hemline; a white and gold cuff bracelet ($20) from The Hair Boutique Salon; and Jessica Simpson booties ($135) from The Shoe Bar at Pieces.

Carlos is wearing a tuxedo (rental prices range $49-109) from Tuxes Too Formal Wear and a Mister Duvall bow tie (all custom, prices vary).

($595), blue vest ($125), white shirt ($150) and pocket square ($50) from Kinkade’s Fine Clothing; and a bow tie by Mister Duvall (all custom, prices vary).

CORY and MITCHELL from p 60: Cory is wearing a tuxedo (rental prices range $49-109) from Tuxes Too Formal Wear and a Mister Duvall bow tie (all custom, prices vary).

Mitchell is wearing a tuxedo (rental prices range $49-109) from Tuxes Too Formal Wear.

MENDE and JESSE from p 62 Mende is wearing a green tube dress ($175) and leopard L.A.M.B. wedges ($325) from The Shoe Bar at Pieces; faux fur vest ($74), gold cuff bracelets ($15 each), earrings ($15) and a pearl flower necklace ($125) from The Hair Boutique Salon.

Jesse is wearing maroon cords ($165), a plaid Ballin shirt ($150), brown Tommy Bahama v-neck sweater ($110), a yellow tie ($75), scarf ($125) and Cole Haan Air Madison buckle shoes ($248), all from Kinkade’s Fine Clothing.

GINGER and JUSTIN from p 61: Ginger is wearing a royal blue peplum dress ($45), an art deco necklace ($100) and rhinestone cuffs ($15 each) from The Hair Boutique Salon; a vintage fur stole ($48) from Posh Btq.; white gloves ($17) from The Green Room and nude L.A.M.B. shoes ($395) from The Shoe Bar at Pieces.

Justin is wearing a gray plaid S. Cohen suit

TIM and WATT from p 63: Tim is wearing a black and white sequin blazer ($75) from Posh Btq. and black rhinestone earrings ($15) from The Green Room.

The black top, pants and shoes are her own.

Watt is wearing a white shirt ($89.95), Ballin gray plaid pants ($165), black Torino belt ($85), light blue tie ($75) and black Cole Haan Air Madison shoes ($248) from Kinkade’s Fine

Clothing; and suspenders ($15) from The Green Room.

JAMIE and TA’BORIS from p 64: Jaime is wearing a white cowl neck blouse ($25), a burgundy pleated hi-low skirt ($30), a sequined blazer ($55) and a rhinestone necklace ($25) from The Hair Boutique Salon; and nude Jeffrey Campbell heels with tassels ($155) from The Shoe Bar at Pieces.

Ta’Boris is wearing a black and white dress shirt ($125), a polka dot bow tie ($50), black and grey vest ($125), black and grey plaid wool pants ($165) and Cole Haan Air Madisons ($248), all from Kinkade’s Fine Clothing.

TALAMIEKA and CHARLES from p 65: Talamieka is wearing a gold gown ($85), an ivory cape with bow ($95) and a turquoise rhinestone necklace ($100) from The Hair Boutique Salon; gold earrings ($15) from The Green Room.

Charles is wearing a light blue Ballin shirt ($150), maroon camel hair vest ($125), plaid Ballin pants ($165), plaid bow tie ($50) and Cole Haan Air Coltons ($198), all from Kinkade’s Fine Clothing.

WHERE2SHOP:

The Green Room, 3026 N. State St., 601.981.9320; The Hair Boutique Salon, 310 Mitchell Ave., 601.362.9090; Hemline, 140 Township Ave., Suite 102, Ridgeland, 601.898.3456; Kinkade’s Fine Clothing, 120 W. Jackson St., Suite 2B, Ridgeland, 601.898.0513: Mister Duvall, misterduvall.com; Posh Btq, 4312 N. State St., 601.364.2244; The Shoe Bar at Pieces, 425 Mitchell Ave., 601.939.5203; Tuxes Too Formal Wear, 4465 Interstate 55 N., Suite 203, 601.981.0106.

66

Winter 2012-2013

boomjackson.com

Stacked with ideas

for winter celebrations

Maywood Mart Shopping Center Northeast Jackson 601-366-8486

English Village Belhaven 904 E. FortiďŹ cation 601-355-9668

Woodland Hills Shopping Center Fondren Arts District 601-366-5273

Westland Plaza West Jackson 526 Robinson Rd. 601-353-0089

Now in Yazoo City!

Work. Live. Play. Prosper.

67

trip burns

Do-Gooders Broadband & Babies

Carol Penick and the Women’s Fund of Mississippi educate young girls about safe sex through the fund’s new website.

F

actNotFiction.com is telling it straight when it comes to sex—sometimes a lot straighter than parents or teachers care to be with curious teenagers.

“When my boyfriend and I have sex, he always pulls out,” states a “Dear Expert” question on the site from Yvonne. “I’m a little worried, though, about pregnancy and even HIV. Should I be?”

The new website, a project of the Women’s Fund of Mississippi, is aimed directly at Mississippi’s epidemic of teen pregnancy. Carol Penick, the fund’s executive director, is tickled about the site, which the Ramey Agency in Fondren designed with help of California-based Isis. Penick described Isis as “a combination of Google types and medical professionals.”

Hospitality House

M

ississippi has a hospitality rival in the Raindrop Turkish House. In a bright, spacious room lined with comfortable couches, the staff and volunteers at the non-profit’s Jackson location are unfailingly warm and gracious to visitors. Be prepared for as much fragrant hot tea or potent Turkish coffee as you can drink, along with a homemade sweet such as almond cookies

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Winter 2012-2013

The Women’s Fund received an anonymous $1.3 million donation to market the site.

“I didn’t even ask for it,” she says, but it will allow for TV and radio ads, among other things, which the fund couldn’t have achieved with its initial $15,000 budget.

Teenagers are viewing its pages and videos (even the one about how to use a condom), clicking on the links for more information and asking questions, Penick says. The site is the culmination of a year of research trying to get Mississippi schools to adopt abstinence-plus sex education policies, which about half the state’s school districts have done. The website provides some vital information that Mississippi’s teachers can’t give under current law.

“The mission of the Women’s Fund is economic security for women,” Penick says, and getting there requires a multi-faceted approach.

Since its start in 2009, the fund has provided grants to a number of projects focused on women and girls, but for the past two years, its core focus has been reducing teen pregnancy. “We know that if we can do this, when we do this, it will improve the economic situation for many women, because having a baby when you’re a teenager is very much tied in with low income.”

Teen motherhood ranks as a top predictor of potential poverty for women. “It’s also at the top of the list for future child poverty,” Penick says, and Mississippi has the highest child poverty rate in the country.

// by Ronni Mott

“When a teenager has a baby, the child is so much less likely to have a good outcome,” she says, whether in health or staying in school and out of trouble. “Chances are the mother was the result of a teen mother, too; it’s intergenerational.

It means (the teens) don’t really know how to parent their children.”

Mothers want to see their children do well, Penick says. She hears it all the time: “I want something better for my baby.” But wanting it and making it happen can be poles apart.

Penick has given considerable thought to the challenge of ending the cycle of babies having babies. She envisions environments where “mama’s being educated at the same time the baby’s being educated. … I think it would change things,” she says.

Now in the process of selecting grantees for next year, among the types of requests the Women’s Fund is considering are youth leadership programs, job training and education, and financial literacy.

Penick believes the Fund has turned a corner in its ability to make an impact on the community.

“In the past three years, we have given $60,000” in grants, Penick says. “It’s been frustrating because we know $60,000 is not going to make a big change in Mississippi. … This year, we’re excited because we’re giving $300,000,” she says, primarily due to a grant from the Walmart Foundation.

// by Ronni Mott

or baklava, a flaky, honeyed pastry.

The generosity of Islamic culture isn’t well known in the West. In fact, welcoming strangers into their midst is a hallmark of the Muslim faithful—as it is for Christians and Jews. All three of the great Abrahamic faiths (those that trace their roots to the prophet Abraham) originated in the often severe and barren climate of the Middle East, and all mandate

welcoming visitors—familiar or unknown—with great ceremony and tenderness. One can never be sure whether the stranger is an angel sent from God.

Jackson’s Raindrop Turkish House is one of 17 “houses” in the American south. Primarily, TurkishAmerican scholars and businesspeople support the organization. Its goal is to bridge cultural divides between

Turkey and the United States by providing cultural, educational and charitable services to the community.

In one sense, says Mahmut Gok, the Mississippi representative for Raindrop, the houses serve as touchstones for people coming to America from Turkey. “We are trying to be part of the communities, the society, where we live,” he says.

Raindrop offers Turkish art and boomjackson.com

A Bodacious Broad

// by Sonya Lee

I

trip burns

f you can spark the brain of someone af- of down time, she relaxes by “clashing well ter you leave this world, you can achieve with people,” reading and enjoying her reguimmortality. When Dorothy Triplett lar book club meetings.

When this “shero’s” vocal cords start wrote a civics paper on abolitionist Wil- liam Lloyd Garrison in junior high school, to fray from her hectic schedule, she looks she read from his inaugural editorial in “The to her personal heroes. Her father, WalLiberator”: “... but urge me not to use mod- ton “Dutch” Dutcher Sr. has served as fuel eration in a cause like the present.

I am in earnest—I will not equivocate—I will not excuse—I will not retreat a single inch—and I will be heard.” Those words reached out from the great beyond and reverberated inside her. And she’s been booming ever since.

Triplett’s lifelong fight to be heard began in Milwaukee, Wis. She moved to Mississippi in 1978, and in 1983, she began volunteering for CONTACT the Crisis Line.

After 18 years, a friend encouraged her to come on as a staff member after retiring from state and municipal government, and she is currently the vice president of training and community relations.

A mother of two and grandActivist and humanitarian Dorothy Triplett reaches mother of three, Triplett has her out to the community through her work with hands full getting ready for the CONTACT the Crisis Line. new training sessions in early 2013. She is involved in volunteer recruit- throughout her life. “He was the most giving ment, finding venues for training sessions, person you ever met in your life,” Triplett pitching in with training of new volunteers says, her voice brimming with pride. and is also a crisis counselor.

Her brother, Wally Dutcher Jr., is an She also divides her time between sev- other one of her heroes. Wally didn’t let a eral different charities, such as New Way paralyzing cervical spinal-cord injury he Mississippi Inc., Jackson 2000, Working suffered in 1956 while in the Navy stop him Together Jackson and the Racial Reconcilia- or even slow him down. Like his sister, he tion Commission of the Episcopal Diocese of is a crusader. Not only is he an advocate Mississippi, among others. In her moments fighting discrimination against special

United States primarily for higher education opportunities, he says, especially for science, technology and math. Gok came to learn English in 2006, and has been in Jackson since 2007. He is a math teacher by trade; he received a master’s degree from Jackson State University and is pursing a doctorate at the University of Southern Mississippi. Arslan is pursuing an undergraduate degree at JSU.

Among Muslim nations, Turkey is unique. Geographically, it sits at the crossroads of Europe and Asia,

Work. Live. Play. Prosper.

and is the only country in both continents. Turkey’s culture is based in myriad faiths and nationalities when it served as a major trading center on the Silk Road. And, though the majority of her people practice the Muslim faith, Turkey’s government is largely secular and democratic, making the country an important ally in a politically flammable region of the world.

Trip Burns

language classes. It also hosts cooking classes to introduce Americans to Turkish foods, which vary widely from area to area. “We usually cook a main dish, a side dish and a dessert,” says Sonyul Arslan, the director of Raindrop’s women’s association.

The foundation sponsors meals and meetings to engage leaders in all areas—education, faith and politics among them—in productive conversations. “We call them friendship and engagement dinners,” Gok says.

Turkish people come to the

needs people, he also designs universally accessible houses.

Triplett is excited by the recent changes at CONTACT the Crisis Line, led by Brenda Patterson, the executive director. One of the newer programs is Crisischat.org, which is part of a national online chat portal with trained volunteers. In these days of social media, it gives the organization a special way to help those in need.

“It’s exciting because we don’t get a lot of young people on the phone,” Triplett says.

“They are more comfortable texting and instant messaging. Sometimes they don’t want anyone to overhear, so they can be up in their room on their laptop or the school library.”

“We use technology as a tool to tell these young people that they are valuable, they are important, and they are worthy, and we respect them and provide them with unconditional love and acceptance,” she says.

Triplett’s community service has not gone unnoticed. She has won the Jackson 2000 Friendship Award, a CONTACT the Crisis Line Connie Award for Lifetime Service and a Fannie Lou Hamer Institute Humanitarian Award. The recognition hasn’t hindered her from staying humble; when she received the Hamer Institute Award, most of her acceptance speech was spent thanking others for helping her along her way.

But for all of her accomplishments and the callers and clickers she has helped, for Dorothy Triplett, the work is never done.

She is always looking for new and improved ways to speak for those muted by an impregnable wall of circumstances outside their control. This bodacious broad is determined to lift her voice, octave by octave, to take down that wall, brick by brick.

Raindrop volunteer Hatice Gonul greets visitors with coffee.

69

ARTS // assembly required

J

ason “Twiggy” Lott likes to look in abandoned stores, offices and houses to find items for his art pieces. His favorite elements are weathered and distressed wood, metal or bone.

“Sometimes I feel like a janitor or curator more so than an artist because I’ll just go around and find stuff and just archive it either for myself or for viewers,” he says. The work he does with these materials is called assemblage, but that’s not even half of what Twiggy does.

Twiggy, 32, has been a professional graphic designer since 1999, the year he dropped out of Mississippi State University to pursue a full-time career. He has worked for some of Mississippi’s largest and smallest advertising agencies, including the Godwin Group.

In 2009, some tough circumstances regarding relationships and his career forced him to make a change. “Those things happening forced it upon me. It was like ‘OK, you’re on your own now,’” Twiggy says.

“Even when I was working for someone full time and getting a great paycheck, I always wanted to be doing more of what I wanted to do. I thought about getting out on my own but never had the balls to do it.” Now, Twiggy is a freelance graphic designer and fine artist.

While he enjoys graphic design, and it often becomes part of his other artworks, fine art is his passion. “I feel like I do have to do that kind of work. Like, it’s in me, and I have to get

“Mary”

70

Laura Meek

Dark and Uncompromising

Jason “Twiggy” Lott uses natural elements and mixed media to create his assemblages. it out,” Twiggy says. “If I had my druthers, it would get to the point where I was inundated with fine art work. I would love to do only fine art. That’s the ultimate goal, I think.”

His fine art is a mixture of oil paintings— usually some sort of portrait—and assemblages. For lack of a better word, Twiggy describes

“Mary, Mother of God”

Winter 2012-13

// by Briana Robinson

his work as “dark.” He uses dark hues with a limited palette of as few as five colors. He also often deals with death as a subject matter, thus making his work even darker—perhaps too ominous for most of the local crowd.

“I have found that there isn’t a whole lot of a market for the particular work that I do here in town or probably in the state,” Twiggy says.

Something more along the lines of decorator art is what sells in Mississippi. “Most people want work that will match their drapes and their couch or what have you, and that’s fine. If you do that well and that works for you, then do it.

It’s not what I do well, though.”

Twiggy says his work would probably move more if he were on the West Coast or in New York. Despite the fact that he would love to be able to sell work here, he’s OK with how things are going. “Right now I’m unwilling to try to change what it is I do, or want to do, to try to fit a particular market or to try to sell my work in this area,” he says.

“It would be great to be able to sell your work in your hometown and make a living doing that, but I’m kind of unwilling to compromise on what it is I want to do or my vision.”

Galleries in New Orleans, Tupelo, Little Rock and Nashville represent Twiggy. In November, he displayed several works at Fischer Galleries in Fondren as part of a group exhibition called Show of Devotion.

Find out more at jasontwiggylott.com.

“Reedus Maximorous Fitzgerald”

boomjackson.com

I

// by Briana Robinson

n August 2012, Jackson State University’s Gallery1 celebrated its one-year anniversary. Gallery1 partnered with surrounding businesses to put on the Sidewalk Soiree, an indoor-outdoor arts event, featuring art from JSU alum Tony Davenport and music from jazz singer Cassandra Wilson.

Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr., Jackson State University President Carolyn W. Meyers and gallery director Kimberly Jacobs led the gallery’s ribbon-cutting ceremony Aug. 30, 2011.

During the ceremony, Johnson said that the opening of Gallery1 would change the landscape of JSU and west Jackson.

Jacobs says the gallery achieves this by adding a cultural space in the community for events such as live music and exhibitions and making art accessible for the area. Jacobs is a 2009 JSU alumna with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts. As its director, she is dedicated to making Gallery1 a space in which people feel comfortable and welcome.

The objective of the gallery is “to observe and reflect upon ethnologic habits through art while motivating and evolving conscious thoughts by creating new dialogue between people of various cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds.”

Funded by a grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration, Gallery1 exhibits work from local and national African and African American artists, and sells handmade items from Uganda and other parts of Africa.

“A major part of what we do is to cultivate the appreciation and collection of African and African American art,” Jacobs says.

Gallery1 has three distinct display spaces. The permanent collection, which changes quarterly, features artwork from different departments of Jackson State University. Alumni and past faculty members created much of the work in the permanent collection.

The second space has frequently changing exhibitions. This winter it will showcase art celebrating the December centennial of the African National Congress.

The third space displays paintings by Kennith Humphrey, Samuel McCain, Ted

Trip Burns

Collection Space

Work. Live. Play. Prosper.

Ellis and Tony Davenport, among others. This art is for sale with prices available on request. There is also a wall for digital installations in the center of the gallery.

“It is an art space that’s steadily evolving,” Jacobs says.

The gallery is one of three on campus; JSU has another in its art department and one in the liberal arts building. Gallery1, however, is the only commercial one. “It’s a fantastic environment for visual reference and for students to learn. Cultivating, collecting and entrepreneurship in art are something that is emphasized here,” Jacobs says.

Gallery1 was the first business to open at One University Place. Also in the building are Royal Bleau Women’s Boutique, the Penguin Restaurant & Bar, EnVision Eye Care and University Grill below 78 luxury apartments.

Gallery1 (1100 John R. Lynch St., 601.960.9250) is open Tuesday-Friday 10 a.m.6 p.m. and Saturday noon- 4 p.m. For more information, visit jsums.edu/gallery1.

Art on display at Gallery1 includes (from top) “Shepherd,” a sculpture by Godfrey Chijumani; several jazz-inspired paintings by Tony Davenport; Kennith Humphrey’s “Blues Guitar”; and sculptures made from recycled paper and bits of cloth by artists in Uganda.

71

courtesy fondren guitars

MELODIES // pass the mic

Rocking On // by Kathleen M. Mitchell

R

Fondren Guitars’ youngest rock band impressed at their first big performance at the Mississippi Museum of Art over the summer.

Empty Orchestra by Molly Lehmuller Whether you’re an amatuer Pavarotti or Rosanne Barr at the 1990 Padres game, we’ve got a sampling of karaoke options available around the Metro.

Venue

DJ

Dates & Times

Insider’s opinion

Fenian’s (901 E. Fortification St., 601.948.0055)

Matt Collette

Mondays at 9 p.m.

“It’s not just college students. ... It’s almost like organized chaos.”

Popular song: “The Humpty Dance” -T Francis, manager

Last Call Sports Grill (1428 Old Square Road, 601.713.2700)

Varies

Wednesdays and Thursdays at 9 p.m.

“It’s lively. …

People sing absolutely everything,” Popular song: ‘My Girl” - Chastity Blackburn, bartender

Martin’s (214 S. State St., 601.354.9712)

Matt Collette

Tuesdays and Fridays from 5 to 10 p.m.

“Tuesdays and Fridays … they’re here eating, singing and having a good time.”

Popular song: “I Love This Bar,” Toby Keith - Joseph Stodgill, owner

The University Place (1100 John R. Lynch St., 601.487.8059)

DJ Pretty Ricky

Primarily Wednesdays at 7 p.m.

“It’s ... laid back, open, fun. (The atmosphere is) energizing, exciting and electric.”

Popular song: “Single Ladies,” Beyoncé - Felicia Faith, events coordinator

72

Winter 2012-13

icky Miller sort of naturally exudes “rock star.” Guitar is his life.

He wears skinny ties and has a burgeoning collection of hats.

He is also 9 years old.

Miller is a part of Rock Band, a program gaining popularity at Fondren Guitars aimed at putting kids together in bands and teaching them to play. “Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Beatles, all the way to MGMT, Coldplay, Black Sabbath—they’re doing all kinds of stuff,” says Patrick Harkins, owner of Fondren Guitars and self-proclaimed “head coach” of Rock Band.

The kids range from ages 8, 9 and 10 to high-school students. Harkins puts musicians of similar age and playing ability together and works with them on learning songs, as well as “how to be a band.” The shop individualizes lesson plans for each of the several bands they teach.

The oldest group is working on writing original material in addition to playing rock covers.

Harkins, 30, says the idea came from his own experiences as a 13-year-old wanting to play with a real band. His only option at the time was to join an adult band and play at clubs with people 10 and 20 years older.

“Luckily, I had my parents to kind of go with me and watch over me,” he says. “But a lot of kids, they just don’t know how to do that, and there’s a lot of stuff they probably don’t need to be exposed to at 13 years old. …

So it’s cool to have an avenue where they can play ... (but) at the same time, (it’s) kid and parent-friendly.”

Fondren Guitars also offers one-on-one lessons, but Harkins says the kids get much more excited about music “when they realize they ... could play with a band—that really fired them up,” he says.

Harkins and the Fondren Guitars team of instructors take a somewhat inverted approach to teaching music.

“First thing we try and do is get a kid to play a song that he loves, so that he immediately feels that instant gratification of being able to play something he recognizes,” Harkins says.

“If a kid can play the first three notes of ‘Sweet Home Alabama,’ they’re hooked. Whereas traditional piano lessons, for example, the first thing you do is you learn a scale or something boring, like ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’ or Beethoven—something you have no connection to. ... And then we expand on the song and teach them how to play a whole song. We teach them why the notes go together the way they do, so they end up learning the theory. We teach them to read music.”

Each band practices every week at the shop, going over old songs and adding new ones to the band’s repertoire. Harkins says they aim to have at least one performance a month. The bands have performed at the Art Garden at the Mississippi Museum of Art, church festivals, Blocktoberfest, a battle of the bands at St. Andrew’s school, Fondren Unwrapped and more.

Harkins wants to get his bands playing in summer festivals and would love to see one of their bands strike out on their own after their time at Rock Band is over. “After we kind of teach them this and put the bands together and nurture them, then we let them fly and let them go,” Harkins says. “I’d love to see these kids that we introduce to each other become a band that you’d go see at Duling Hall or something. That’s the ultimate goal.” boomjackson.com

Creating Balance in Hip-Hop

I

W

e are off to a really good start,” says Mississippi Symphony Orchestra director Michael Beattie about this year’s concert season. The MSO enacts a strategic plan to reach diverse audiences through its music selections with each new season.

This season, performances include “Cirque de la Symphonie,” with

James Crow brings depth to his rhymes on his second album, “Religion Guns Money.”

words. “What is the beat telling me?” he’ll ask himself.

Jazz is Crow’s favorite genre of music, and it shows. “I want to be able to create. What I try to do is to write freely in the same way that jazz musicians will play but still have structure to it,” he says.

Some of his other favorite artists and influ-

ences include rappers Common and Mos Def, but he’ll listen to any genre. “As long as you’re good at what you do, then I’ll give you a listen,” he says. There’s a simple reason why he accepts all music: “I’m not going to tell someone, ‘I don’t like the language that you speak’ … and the same thing goes for music. It’s all human expression,” he says.

While he wants to appeal to his audience, Crow also has a bigger mission: He wants to bring some balance back into hip-hop music.

“Everything was just like ‘I want to have sex with you; I just want to see you dance,’” he says of songs on the radio these days. “I remember when here in Jackson on 99 Jams you would hear Tupac, Notorious B.I.G., Public Enemy, A Tribe Called Quest. … You heard everything that hip-hop had to offer, and that’s definitely not happening right now. You don’t get balance.”

“I think there needs to be balance at the end of the day and not just somebody with a political conscience, and they can’t really rap—I don’t want to hear that at all,” Crow says.

“How do we as black men see ourselves?”

Crow asks. “Do we see ourselves as these sexual beasts with animalistic sexual appetites? Do we have aggression all the time where we just want to kill somebody next to us for no reason at all?” He feels like this is the side of men that often is portrayed in hip-hop music, but there is another side.

“There is an intelligent side that is frustrated with society. There’s an intelligent side that’s sick of being manipulated,” he says.

“I think all of that needs to be heard, not just one monolithic idea.” James Crow believes the listener should get the full spectrum of what hip-hop can do for people, and that’s where his music comes in.

Trip Burns

Perfect Harmony

heavier than ‘The Black Codes.’”

For Crow, one of the most important parts of a song is the drum beat. When creating his work, he chooses or helps create the beat before writing the lyrics. “I’m anti-writing rap without a beat,” he says. His goal is to communicate with the music and express what he hears through

Courtesy James Crow

nstead of rapping about the stereotypical drugs, sex and money, Herbert Brown, aka James Crow, moves the beat with intricate storytelling.

Denmark Vesey,” the opening track of his latest album, his second, is about a slave (Denmark) who tries to plan a revolt and uses drumming to spread the message. Another slave, however, tells their master, leading to Denmark’s execution and the prohibition of drums for all slaves. Crow’s message is that one can’t exercise freedom while playing under someone else’s rules.

The third song on the album, “A Quiet Day in ’85,” reflects on TV preachers and their message of salvation through monetary donations. “I don’t believe that to be true. There’s a fundamental flaw in that they didn’t consider,” Crow says about the phenomenon. What about poorer regions where people have nothing to give, he asks.

Crow, 33, self-released the album, “Religion Guns Money,” in November 2012. The record was motivated by frustration and anger; its title stems from a political conversation he had with his wife during which everything seemed to come back to religion, guns and money.

While this album comes from somewhere deeper, it isn’t profoundly personal. “I didn’t want to write about what was going on in my personal life because for the listener, that doesn’t do a whole lot for them,” Crow says. “I would rather write something that grown folks can relate to rather than write a record about how my life isn’t going the way I want.”

Crow’s 2011 release, “The Black Codes” was more organic, without a particular connective thread, he says. “‘Religion Guns Money’ is definitely a lot more focused; it has a lot more purpose to it,” he says. “In my opinion, it’s

// by Briana Robinson

// by Michael Mohr

daring acrobatics backed by highenergy music from the symphony (Feb. 16); “Beethoven’s Sixth,” a pastoral journey through the natural world (Feb. 23); and the popular winter Pops concert, which sees the return of Jeans ’n Classics performing “One Vision: The Music of Queen,” with the backing of Crafton Beck’s 70-plus piece orchestra (Jan. 26).

Work. Live. Play. Prosper.

As the state’s largest performing organization, the MSO makes “Mississippi an attractive place to be,” Beattie says. “(The MSO) offers a number of life-changing educational programs and continues to draw in new businesses to invest in Mississippi’s future.”

Find more information on the MSO at msorchestra.com.

Crafton Beck conducts the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra in soul-stirring performances.

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it Mississippi’s agora.

COOL TOO // the ‘burg COURTESY HATTIESBURG CONVENTION AND VISITOR’S BUREAU

To the Top! // by Molly Lehmuller

The Hattiesburg Zoo is the perfect place to spend a day reconnecting with the animal kingdom.

D

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(Polly Esther’s Closet is a can’t-miss). Antiques tures the well-stocked Geiger Lake, with plenty of crappie, catfish and bass even in cooler water and locally made curios and décor are available at stores such as Calico Mall Antiques, temperatures. The more adventurous should take a short trip west of the city on Highway and Main Street Books offers new and used books, with a special emphasis on local publica49, where canoes and kayaks are available for tions and authors. After a rent near the banks of the long day treasure-hunting, Okatoma River. Navigatshoppers can recharge ing the Okatoma isn’t diffiat any of the restaurants cult, but paddlers will pass and wine bars that have through several Class 1 opened in the past few rapids and near small wayears in the downtown. terfalls—which, on a brisk There’s no shortwinter day, will get the age of after-dark enterblood pumping. tainment in the HattiesThe military has had burg, either. The historic significant presence in the Saenger Theater hosts Hub City since the estabconcerts, local theater lishment in 1917 of Camp History enthusiasts can nerd out groups and ballet troupes, Shelby Joint Forces in the African American Military History Museum or at Camp Shelby. and even contemporary muTraining Center, situated sicals—“Legally Blonde,” just south of the city. The anyone? Hattiesburg at134,000-acre training center hosts more than 100,000 reservists annually. tracts both up-and-coming and well-known musiVisitors may request tours of the center’s facili- cal acts, as well as local and Jackson bands. Performances are more often than not in popular ties, or check out the on-base Armed Forces Mubars or restaurants, which make for an intimate seum. The museum has a theater and historical yet lively scene. Bars and clubs throughout the exhibits that highlight valorous Mississippians Hattiesburg area satisfy customers across the in the armed forces. late-night spectrum, from dollar-beer nights to Hattiesburg’s downtown is worth a trip wine tastings. for any holiday shopper. The fashion-forward So spend a day, a weekend, or even a week can while the hours at great selections in downin the Hub City. You’ll be pleasantly surprised. town’s vintage shops and trendy boutiques COURTESY HATTIESBURG CVB

on’t let the Golden Eagles gear on every corner fool you: Hattiesburg is much more than a college town.

Lumberman William Hardy founded the city in 1882, naming the settlement after his wife, Hattie. The city has grown from a lumber and railroad town to the fourth-biggest city in Mississippi, with nearly 46,000 people, and its central location—less than an hour and a half from New Orleans, Jackson and the Coast—attracts throngs of visitors each year.

Get energized by kicking off a trip to the Hub City with a day spent outdoors. A sunny morning on the Long Leaf Trace, a 41-mile converted railroad line, can’t be beat. Bicycles are available for rent, and pedestrians, horseback riders and inline skaters also frequent the Trace. The paved trail begins at the University of Southern Mississippi campus and ends in the small town of Prentiss, northwest of the city.

The Trace is outfitted with eight rest areas and three small shelters.

Families can enjoy afternoons rambling through some of Hattiesburg’s outdoor gardens and public parks. Hidden inside Kamper Park—which itself has walking trails, playground and a carousel—is the 12-acre Hattiesburg Zoo, where visitors will find animals from nearly every continent.

Anglers can try their hand at Paul B. Johnson State Park, just south of the central city. A former Nazi POW camp, the park fea-

boomjackson.com

Places To Go courtesy saenger theater

SEE Saenger Theater, 201 Forrest St., 601.268.3220, hattiesburgsaenger.com Long Leaf Trace, 2895 W. 4th St., 601.450.5247, longleaftrace.org Seminary Canoe Rental, 152 SCR Lane, Seminary, 601.722.4301, seminarycanoerental.com Armed Forces Museum, Building 850, Camp Shelby, 601.558.2757, armedforcesmuseum.us Hattiesburg Zoo, 107 S. 17th Ave., 601.545.4576, hattiesburgzoo.com Paul B. Johnson State Park, 319 Geiger Lake Road, 601.582.7721

courtesy skylight lounge

CHILL Benny’s Boom Boom Room, 142 E. Front St., 601.544.7757, bennysboomboomroom.com Mahogany Bar, 3810 Hardy St., 601.264.0656 The End Zone, 2505 W. 4th St., 601.583.8154 B&E Wine Bar, 107 E. Front Street, 601.450.0121 Skylight Lounge, 215 E. Front St., 601.583.8001

courtesy keg & barrel

EAT Keg & Barrel, 1315 Hardy St., 601.582.7148, kegandbarrel.com Crescent City Grille, 3810 Hardy St., 601.264.0656, crescentcitygrill.net The Depot Coffeehouse & Bistro, 127 Buschman St., Suite 50, 601.602.4040, thedepotbistro.com Southbound Bagel, 217 E. Front St., 601.583.8001 Mama Alma’s Kitchen, 5096 Old Highway 42, 601.336.7763, mamaalmaskitchen.com Tabella’s, 3720 Hardy St., 601.255.5488

courtesy new yokel market

SHOP

Main Street Books, 205 Main St., 601.584.6960, mainstreetbooks.net Polly Esther’s Closet, 6202 Highway 49, 601.554.0887 United Apparel Liquidators, 1829 Hardy St., 601.582.5141, Click, 138 E. Front St., 601.336.7046 Calico Mall Antiques, 309 E. Pine St., 601.582.4351, calicomall.com New Yokel Market, 205 North Main St., 601.582.5048, newyokel.com

Work. Live. Play. Prosper.

Voted Best New Bar

in the Jackson Free Press Best of Jackson 2012 -') Hdji] HiViZ HigZZi 9dlcidlc ?VX`hdc lll#XajWbV\ddh#Xdb lll#[VXZWdd`#Xdb$XajWbV\ddh 75

Events // jingle

december

A Charlie Brown Christmas. The Mississippi Boychoir and the Milham Jazz Trio perform at two locations. Call 601.366.0579.

• Dec. 1, 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., at the Mississippi Children’s Museum (2145 Highland Drive).

Free 2 p.m. show with paid museum admission; evening show: $8, $5 ages 12 and under.

• Dec. 8, 6 p.m., at Old Capitol Museum (100 S. State St.).

Free.

7-9 - Carols By Candlelight, at First Baptist Church of Jackson (431 N. State St.). The theme is “Amazing Love.” Ballet Magnificat and the FBCJ Sanctuary Choir perform. Free tickets (service charge applies for online or phone orders); call 601.949.1900 or 800.965.

9324; fbcj.org.

8 – Vicksburg Events, at Vicksburg Convention Center (1600 Mulberry St., Vicksburg).

Breakfast with Santa is from 8-10 a.m. (benefits Ronald McDonald House; $7), and the Wrap It Up Holiday Gift Show is from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. ($5, free for Breakfast with Santa ticket holders).

Call 601.630.2929.

11 - “Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power,” Jon Meacham signs books at Lemuria Books (Banner Hall, 4465 Interstate 55 N., Suite 202); reading at 5:30 p.m. Call 601.366.7619. $35 book.

6 - “Don’t Get Caught Dead in That Sweater” Dinner Theater. Mississippi Murder Mysteries presents the play about an ugly Christmas sweater party. 7 p.m., at Cool Water Catering & Events (1011 Lake Harbor Drive, Ridgeland); bring wine. $40 (includes tax and tip); call 601.668.2214 or 601.331.4045.

RSVP 7 - Old Jackson Christmas by Candlelight, 4:30-8:30 p.m. Enjoy holiday decorations, music, refreshments and exhibits at the Mississippi State Capitol, the Old Capitol Museum and the William F. Winter Archives and History Building.

Free; call 601.576.6800.

14 - A Night of Musical Artistry, 7 p.m., at Alamo Theatre (333 N. Farish St.). Actor Palmer Williams (“House of Payne”) is the host. The Mississippi Jazz Foundation’s annual concert features Jeff Bradshaw and Michael Burton. The foundation also honors several local performers. $35, $20 students; call 601.594.2314 or 800.745.3000.

23 (end date) - Victorian Christmas Festival, at Historic Canton Square (Courthouse Square, Canton). The annual monthlong celebration includes vintage car, truck and train rides, animated museums and light displays. $3 museum admission, $1 rides; call 601.859.5816.

24 - Holiday Open House, at Wolfe Studio (4308 Old Canton Road). See and buy this year’s limitededition ornament, Nativity starter sets and other holiday items.

Light refreshments served.

Free; call 601.

366.1844.

31 - New Year’s Eve Celebration, at Hilton Jackson (1001 E. County Line Road). The theme is “Rock into 2013.” The holiday package includes an overnight hotel stay, a Champagne toast at midnight, dinner, music from the Consoulers and a New Year’s Day brunch. Reservations required; cancellations must be made 72 hours in advance. $209 and up per couple; call 601.957.2800.

Jackson area events updated daily at jfpevents.com.

Post your own events or send info to events@boomjackson.com

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boomjackson.com

file photo; courtesy betty jacobs; file photo; file photo; courtesy Carols By Candlelight; file photo; courtesy Jon Meacham; file photo; courtesy Ballet Magnificat; courtesy Historic Canton Square; courtesy wolfe studio; courtesy Hilton Jackson;

1 - City of Jackson Holiday Parade, noon, in downtown Jackson.

Local schools and organizations participate in the annual event that includes a visit from Santa.

Free; call 601.960.1084.

1 - Ridgeland Christmas Parade, 2-4 p.m., at Jackson Street, Ridgeland. The annual event includes floats, music and special appearances. Free; call 601.

856.7113.

14-16 - “Snow Queen,” at Thalia Mara Hall (255 E. Pascagoula St.). Ballet Magnificat! presents the performance based on Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale. Shows are Dec. 14 at 7 p.m., Dec. 15 at 3 p.m. and Dec. 16 at 2 p.m. $15$40; call 601.977.1001.

Work. Live. Play. Prosper.

77

Events // fizz

6 (end date, started Nov. 17) - Christmas on Ice, at Baptist Health Systems, Madison Campus (401 Baptist Drive, Madison).

Enjoy a skating rink and slide, a Christmas Story Trail, concessions and concerts. $15 skating and ice slide (rental skates included), concerts and Christmas Story Trail free; call 601.500.5970; christmasonice.com.

8 - Music in the City, 5:15 p.m., at Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St.). Enjoy hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar at 5:15 p.m., and music from Shawn Leopard and John Paul at 5:45 p.m. Free, donations welcome; call 601.960.1515.

12 - Chill in the Hills Jan. 12, 8:30 a.m., at Guaranty Bank (1900 Cherry St., Vicksburg). The race includes a 10K run, 5K walk and one-mile fun run; awards given. Proceeds benefit Grace Christian Counseling Center. Register by Jan. 5 for a discount. $25 run/walk, $15 fun run (ages 12 and under); call 601.636.5703.

13 - Premier Bridal Show: Weddings and Celebrations, 1-5 p.m., at Jackson Marriott (200 E. Amite St.). The event includes door prizes, samples and consultations with wedding professionals. No strollers allowed. $20 in advance, $25 at the door; call 601.957.1050.

19 - Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., at Mississippi Children’s Museum (2145 Highland Drive). Children watch Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech and participate in activities related to civil rights. $8, children 12 months and under free; call 601.981.5469.

14 - Opera Underground, 7 p.m., at Underground 119 (119 S. President Street). The Mississippi Opera hosts the series. Kristen Johnson performs. Doors open at 6 p.m.; food and beverage prices vary. Enjoy art and free wine from 5-6 p.m. upstairs at Nunnery’s at Gallery 119. $20, $72 series, season tickets: $100, $94 seniors, $40 students, $30 children ages 15 and under; call 601.960.2300.

17 - Family Fun Science Night, 6-8 p.m., at Mississippi Museum of Natural Science (2148 Riverside Drive). Enjoy hands-on activities such as a touch tank, fossils and live animals, and watch a diver feed fish. Primarily for families of elementary students. $2, members free; call 601.576.6000.

23 (through Aug. 31) - “War Comes to the Mississippi Delta: The Sesquicentennial of the Battle of Fort Pemberton,” at Museum of the Mississippi Delta (1608 Highway 82 W., Greenwood). See Civil War artifacts including the Lady Polk Cannon that will be fired during the Encampment at Fort Pemberton March 7-9. $5, $3.50 seniors, $3 college students with ID, $2 ages 3-18; call 662.453.0925.

27 - Best of Jackson Party, 6-11 p.m., location TBA. Save the date for the Jackson Free Press’ annual celebration of all things Jackson.

By invitation only; details pending. Free; bestofjackson.com.

18-19 - Little Opera for Children: “The Pied Piper of Hamelin,” at Belhaven University Center for the Arts (835 Riverside Drive), in the concert hall. Vocal arts students present Seymour Barab’s opera about a piper with a magic flute. Free; call 601.974.6494.

18-20 - Monster X Tour, at Mississippi Coliseum (1207 Mississippi St.). The event includes motorcycle races and monster truck shows. $17, $25-$40 box seats; call 800.745.3000; monsterxtour.com.

28-29 - Blue Man Group, 7:30 p.m., at Thalia Mara Hall (255 E. Pascagoula St.). The theatrical group combines music, comedy and vivid stage props. $20-$62.50; call 800.745.3000.

JACKSON AREA EVENTS UPDATED DAILY AT JFPEVENTS.COM.

POST YOUR OWN EVENTS OR SEND INFO TO EVENTS@BOOMJACKSON.COM

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Winter 2012-13

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FILE PHOTO; COURTESY SHAWN LEOPARD AND JOHN PAUL; COURTESY CHILL IN THE HILLS; FILE PHOTO; COURTESY OPERA UNDERGROUND; COURTESY DAVID MONNIAUX; KATE GREENAWAY/PUBLIC DOMAIN; COURTESY MONSTER X TOUR; COURTESY MISSISSIPPI’S CHILDREN MUSEUM; COURTESY MUSEUM OF THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA; BEST OF JACKSON; WIKI COMMONS

january

Work. Live. Play. Prosper.

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Events // smooch

2 - “Chamber II: Mozart by Candlelight,” 7:30 p.m., at Belhaven University Center for the Arts (835 Riverside Drive). The Mississippi Symphony Orchestra and pianist Stephen Sachs perform Mozart’s Symphony No. 1. $16; call 601.

960.1565.

5 - David Amram, 7 p.m., at Millsaps College, Ford Academic Complex (1701 N. State St.).

The musician and composer of more than 100 musical scores performs. $10; call 601.974.1130.

7 - Armonia Celeste, 7:30 p.m., at St. James Episcopal Church (3921 Oakridge Drive).

The Virginia-based group performs 17th-century Italian music written for Queen Christina of Sweden. $20, $5 students; call 601.

594.5584.

9 - Mississippi HeARTS Against AIDS Benefit, 6 p.m., at Hal & Mal’s (200 S. Commerce St.). The benefit includes live and silent auctions, local cuisine and live music.

Admission TBA; mississippihearts.org.

22 - Family Slumber Safari, 7 p.m., at Jackson Zoo (2918 W. Capitol St.).

Families enjoy an overnight stay at the Gertrude C. Ford Education Center; includes a zoo hike and a continental breakfast. For ages 7 and up. $35, $30 members; call 601.

352.

2580, ext.

241.

14-16 - Dance Ministry Ensemble, at Belhaven University, Bitsy Irby Visual Arts and Dance Center (1500 Peachtree St.) Liturgical dancers present inspirational performances Feb. 14 at 11 a.m. and Feb. 15-16 at 7:30 p.m. $10, $5 seniors and students, children 12 and under free; call 601.965.1400.

16 - President’s Day Celebration, 9 a.m., at Mississippi Children’s Museum (2145 Highland Drive). Learn what it is like to be president of the United States and write a letter to the president. $8, children 12 months and under free; call 601.981.5469.

19-20 - Black History Makers Forum, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., at Jackson State University (1400 John R. Lynch St.), at the Dollye M.E. Robinson Liberal Arts Building, room 166/266, and the COFO Center. Attendees recognize the accomplishments of prominent black Mississippians with an emphasis on the life of Medgar Evers. Free; call 601.979.4348.

21 - “We Shall Not Be Moved: Stories and Heroes of the Jackson Woolworth Sit-in,” 5:30-8 p.m., at Old Capitol Museum (100 S. State St.). Author Michael O’Brien discusses his book. Also see a portion of the documentary “An Ordinary Hero: The True Story of Joan Trumpauer Mulholland” (pictured); reception follows.

Free; call 601.576.6920.

23 - “Drumline Live,” 7:30 p.m., at MSU Riley Center (2200 Fifth St., Meridian) The marching band show features musicians and dancers performing to hiphop, R&B and Motown tunes. $37-$43; call 601.696.2200.

23-24 - Gem, Mineral, Fossil and Jewelry Show, at Mississippi Trade Mart (1200 Mississippi St.).

Purchase from gem and fossil dealers, and enjoy lapidary art demonstrations such as faceting, flint knapping and wire wrapping. $5, $3 students; call 354.7051; missgems.org.

28 (through March 3) - “The Beverly Hillbillies,” at Madison Square Center for the Arts (2103 Main St., Madison). The play is based on the 1960s sitcom about a nouveau riche hillbilly family’s new life in Beverly Hills. $12, $10 seniors and students; call 601.953.0181.

Jackson area events updated daily at jfpevents.com.

Post your own events or send info to events@boomjackson.com

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courtesy jim moritsugu; courtesy david amram; courtesy HeARTS Against AIDS Benefit; Belhaven University; courtesy dean franklin; public domain; courtesy We Shall Not Be Moved; file photo; courtesy drumline live; courtesy Simeon87

february

Have the coolest office in Jackson?

Then, Nominate local offices for BOOMâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Coolest Office Contest by sending photos and an e-mail explaining why itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a cool place to work to editor@boomjackson.com

by December 31, 2012.

BOOM will choose finalists and send a team of judges in January to pick a winner.

Winner will be featured in March 2013 BOOM and win a catered staff lunch.

So go ahead, brag.

Work. Live. Play. Prosper.

81

MY LOCAL LIST

10

trip burns; trip burns; trip burns; Matthew Brantley; trip burns; tate k. nations; jerrick smith; trip burns; flickr, Jim68000

Troiani’s 1. St. Andrew’s Episcopal School (4120 Old Canton Road, 601.987.9300) - I started St. Andrew’s in Pre-K at 4 years old, so it has played a major role in shaping who I am.

2. Fondren - The Fondren and Woodland Hills area is most definitely my favorite in Jackson.

From the beautiful older homes to Fondren Corner, the neighborhood is a great place to live and hang out.

3. Sakura Bana (4800 N. Highway 55, 601.982.3035) - I’ve been going to Sakura Bana since I was a kid, when it was called Little Tokyo. Some of my favorite childhood memories are of Tom San behind the sushi bar greeting me!

4. Highland Village (4500 Interstate 55 N., 601.982.5861) - What’s not to love about Highland Village? From great stores to restaurants, it has everything you could need.

Plus, I love the fundraisers hosted there, such as Blues by Starlight and Taste of Mississippi.

5. The Art Garden at the Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St., 601.960.1515) - The Art Garden is one of my favorite places to go after work.

Events like the High Note Jam Concert Series are a nice way to unwind after a long day!

6. Ole Tavern on George Street (416 George St., 601.960.2700) - From karaoke on Wednesday to the live shows upstairs, I always have a great time with friends at George Street.

7. Downtown Jackson - Downtown has really come alive in the past few years. Be sure to stop by Parlor Market (115 W. Capitol St., 601.360.0090) to grab a Prohibition cocktail.

8. The Mayflower Café (123 W. Capitol St., 601.355.4122) - My favorite thing in the world is to go to the Mayflower Café with my grandmother and eat redfish.

9. Mississippi State Fair - I feel like a child again when the fair rolls around. There’s just something special about walking around with chicken-on-a-stick and a funnel cake, or going down the big yellow slide.

Delightful Distractions

1

2

3 trip burns

When she isn’t working her social media and marketing magic for Southern Beverage Company, { Cara Troiani } is always out and about.

Here are her top 10 places to be in Jackson.

4 7

5 8

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10

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10. The USA International Ballet Competition (usaibc.com) - How lucky are we? Every four years, the ballet competition comes to town. If you can, host a ballet dancer—it’s a great way to meet someone new and show them how great Jackson is!

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