v8n35 - JFP Business Issue: Business in Jackson

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jacksonian

VOL.

8 NO. 35

contents

Will It Be 255?

The Levee Board agrees to send another, smaller lake plan to the Corps of Engineers. Is this it?

ADAM LYNCH; WARD SCHAEFER; COURTESY MISSISSIPPI MUSEUM OF ARTSARAH RIBSTEIN;

COURTESY RON BLAYLOCK

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Cover illustration by Kristin Brenemen

Page 3 Redesigned by Ayatti D. Hatcher

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THIS ISSUE:

Small but Mighty A major part of the Jackson renaissance is (and continues to be) small, local business. Here’s why.

4.................Editor’s Note 7................................ Talk 12......................... Editorial 12...........................Stiggers 12............................... Zuga 24................................. FLY 28............................ 8 Days 31..................... JFP Events 35................................. Arts 36............................. Music 38.............. Music Listings 40............................... Food 44................................ Slate 44................................ STF 45............................... Astro

ron blaylock It’s not uncommon to find Ron Blaylock at a Jackson event with cameras around his neck and one of his three small children in tow while he works.

A native of North Carolina, Blaylock, 34, moved to Jackson as a teenager and has since been a strong supporter of the Jackson arts scene. He moved back to the area from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and opened Blaylock Fine Art Photography studio in 2006 in Ridgeland.

In April, Blaylock decided to move his studio to 3017 N. State St. to be a part of the Fondren arts scene and share space with photographer James Patterson.

“I had an idea of what I want, and it’s hard to find,” Blaylock says. “(Fondren) is a good fit with good visibility and lots of foot traffic. A lot of communities are working to build this, and here it’s already happening. …

I’m excited to be apart of a vibrant movement that is growing bigger.”

In addition to shooting portraits, weddings and commercial work, Blaylock teaches photography classes at Millsaps College. He also plans to begin teaching private and small classes as his studio in the next few months, and says he wants to use his studio as a venue, meeting space and classroom.

At his former Jackson Street location, Blaylock played a central role in organizing the annual Jackson Street Fall Festival each November and the Hamstock Barbeque and Music Festival (formerly known as the Dog

Days of Summer Festival) in June. He says he will still continue to organize the festivals, which have featured Mississippi musicians like T Model Ford and George McConnell.

Blaylock has a bachelor’s degree in journalism and advertising from the University of Mississippi. He also attended the Rocky Mountain School of Photography in Montezuma, Mont. He lives in Ridgeland with his wife, Lindsay, and their children: Gabriel, 9; Declan, 5; and Susanna, 3.

Blaylock views being a member of the local small business community with as much importance as the services he offers. “I think small, local businesses are important to a community, no matter what you do,” Blaylock says. “[T]he money stays here locally; it doesn’t travel out of state.”

He cites personal owner/customer interactions as a benefit of any local business.

“You can talk to the owner pretty much any time,” Blaylock says. “It’s not a board; it’s not an 800 number. There’s a physical person you can talk to.”

Blaylock says most new small business owners would benefit from learning about business itself.

“In addition (to learning about the craft), it’s really important to learn about business—how to manage money, how to budget, knowing about when your slow periods and your busy periods are and kind of balancing those out,” he says.

—Jesse Crow

35 Luxe Exercise Claudia DeMonte’s collection, “The Luxury of Exercise,” explores how exercise is a blessing in America.

40 Good Eatin’ Sarah Ribstein previews 10 of the Jackson area’s newest locally owned eateries. Go. Eat. Enjoy.

jacksonfreepress.com

4...................... Slow Poke

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publisher’snote

Ward Schaefer JFP reporter Ward Schaefer came to Mississippi to teach middle school, and is now a journalist.

His hometown of Chevy Chase, Md., was not named for the actor.

He is slowly learning to play banjo. He wrote the cover story.

Kristin Brenemen Editorial designer Kristin Brenemen is a local anime otaku with an ever-full mug of coffee and cream. She fears the inevitable Robot Apocalypse but is prepared for the oncoming Zombie Invasion. She designed the cover and many pages in this issue.

Phyllis Robinson Phyllis Robinson, aka Peaches, has worked in every phase of fashion: writing, styling, designing and training models. She is the founder of E & E Models of Jackson, and her show, “Hit The Runway In Style” is on Comcast Cable. She coordinated the FLY photo shoot.

Simba Sims Simba Sims teaches photography at Antonelli College. He has a background in film and photography from the University of Southern California and Art Center of Pasadena. He is a single father of a 16-year-old daughter.

He photographed the FLY section.

Jesse Crow Former editorial intern Jesse Crow, a Pensacola, Fla., native, is a sophomore at Millsaps College.

She enjoys playing with puppies, summer camp and going on long drives in her station wagon named Herman. She wrote the Jacksonian and a talk.

Ashley Hill Former editorial intern Ashley Hill is complex, in a totally normal way. Born and raised in Chicago, she is a junior mass communication/multimedia journalism major at Jackson State University. She wrote business profiles.

Jackie Warren Tatum Jackie Warren Tatum is a lawyer and retired special assistant attorney general, who enjoys writing and creating art. She wrote a business profile.

May 13 - 19. 2010

Latasha Willis

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Events editor Latasha Willis is a native Jacksonian, a graduate of Tougaloo College and the proud mother of one cat. Her JFP blog is “The Bricks That Others Throw,” and she sells design pieces at zazzle.com/reasontolive. She compiled the events listings.

by Todd Stauffer, Publisher

Where the Jobs Are in 2010

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f we’re lucky, we’re coming out a deep recession and looking at economic growth that, hopefully, will mean jobs, consumer spending and new business investment nationally. Jackson is poised to take advantage of economic revitalization, but to do it, we’ll need to pull together and create opportunities.

And you know what’s going to drive that growth? Small business.

I’m a co-owner and manager of a small business—Jackson Free Press, Inc.—and that small business is a for-profit enterprise. We employ roughly 20 people on a full- or parttime basis and work with about that many freelance writers and photographers. Total government investment? Zero. (Although we have been eyeballing those new-jobs tax credits!)

Compare that to the Toyota plant in North Mississippi, which, thanks to a $180 million investment, employs roughly 90 people at last count, most of them in security.

If the plant never happens, we’re told we’ll get the money back. Uh-huh.

Government can’t solve the jobs problem on its own—regardless of whether the welfare program in question is “liberal” or “conservative.” And we can’t rely on large corporations, either. Once a company is publicly held, its motives often change—jobs are cut, outsourced and plants shuttered (or never opened) in moves designed to please Wall Street, not to benefit the community or country.

I heard Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann say the other day say we need to rein in the federal deficit because he doesn’t want his grandchildren to “work for the Chinese.” I would submit that spending more time on small, local businesses that can’t be outsourced—and less time on kowtowing to public corporations that have outsourcing mandated by Wall Street—might be one way to avoid such a future.

(The Chinese, by the way, still separate their investment banks and commercial banks. You want financial reform? Undo pretty much everything Phil Gramm did in the 1990s, starting with a re-institution of the Glass-Steagall Act. I’m just saying.)

Individuals have to step up to the table with their ideas and engage others—investors, government, our community—with vision and determination. I propose one vision for Jackson: the idea that a community that is (a) good for its people is (b) good for business.

Aside from the geopolitical, environmental and worldwide financial turmoil that we’re wrestling with in the 2000s, we’re also looking at another shift—a generational one.

Generation X (born roughly 1960-1980) and Millennials (born roughly 1980-2000) are both aging into new roles in the workplace.

Generation X adults are taking the reins of upper management, partnership or ownership roles in companies and firms. Millennials are graduating college and entering the work force, often as professionals and creatives.

With this generational shift comes new priorities and new ways of doing business.

One important focus (broadly speaking) is on something called authenticity. Younger generations of professionals and business workers tend to want to experience what is unique about a city or region, not what’s the same as everywhere else. A recent report entitled “The State of Metro America” by the Brookings Institution bears this out in one striking instance—it found that, nationwide, there’s a reverse migration of (in this instance) white professionals from the suburbs to the city. Our cities are tossed salads of cultures and backgrounds, and younger adults in particular seem to relish that fact, looking for it in the places that they live.

And that’s the other thing—generally speaking, younger professionals can pick and choose the cities they want to live in. Gone are the days when you had to move to upstate New York to work for IBM or Detroit to work in the auto business. First, those businesses are all over the country (and, of course, the world) at this point. Second, telecommuting becomes more popular with every additional barrel of oil spilled in the Gulf. And third, knowledgeworker skills (tech prowess, research skills, professional expertise) work in many different environs and for many different industries.

And that’s the point—in the 21st century a municipality needs to be attractive to workers, not businesses. It used to be the other way around, but it isn’t anymore. That’s the big new rule of thumb in this progressive era of reurbanization—make your city more livable.

How? Move from car metrics to people metrics—which means more density, more walkability, more bike paths, more outdoor recreation, more neighborhood districts.

Encourage local groceries and green markets, art fairs, small restaurants, local retail. And by

“encourage,” I means don’t spend hundreds of thousands in subsidies on Wal-Mart at the expense of local business; let Wal-Mart take care of itself. If you want to spend money on subsidies, spend it on local businesses.

Promote authenticity. Build neighborhood organizations. Throw parties. Improve education. And, of course, Think Local First.

Every opportunity that you have to shop or dine or spend local, please do it. If you’re in a chain every so often, that’s fine—happens to all of us. But whenever possible, and whenever the local guy is competitive, shop there!

In this issue, you’ll see perspectives on Jackson’s local business scene, including ways that the City of Jackson is reaching out to local businesses (cover story this week) and even ways that a détente between the city and the ‘burbs might benefit us all (see our Dish with Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership President Duane O’Neill.)

And it’s these same topics that will inform BOOM Jackson magazine, which begins its life as a quarterly “business + lifestyle” publication on June 1, 2010. Read, think, enjoy ... and start scheming your own Jackson-based venture!

Note: We found out at press time that the JFP is a finalist for four reporting awards in the 60th Green Eyeshade Awards given by the Society for Professional Journalists in 11 southeastern states. Recipients include Ronni Mott for her coverage of domestic violence; Ward Schaefer, Adam Lynch and Donna Ladd for public-service reporting on Two Lakes; team coverage of Melton’s final year in office; and Donna for her commentary on Frank Melton in 2009. We’ll learn 1st, 2nd and 3rd this summer; congratulations to the Jackson Free Press editorial team! - TS

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he U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said it will need time to consider the Rankin-Hinds Pearl River Flood and Drainage Control District Levee Board’s Tuesday resolution supporting a plan for a shallow lake between two expanded levees.

“We have not yet received that resolution from the Levee Board, and it wouldn’t be right to comment on it,” said U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spokesman Kavanaugh Breazeale, who had no apparent knowledge of the most recent lake plan submitted by the Levee Board.

On Monday, the Levee Board approved a resolution to re-engage the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to move forward with a $205 million levee expansion for the Pearl River, but with the addition of a small lake ending just south of the LeFleur’s Bluff Park and its adjoining Mayes Lake campground.

For years, the Levee Board has wrangled with two polar-opposite plans for flood control along the Pearl River: a project promoted

by Jackson oilman John McGowan to create a massive 7,000-acre lake, which would inundate Mayes Lake, and a Corps-endorsed levee expansion that contains no impoundment of the river.

The Corps estimated a version of the McGowan plan to cost $1.4 billion after environmental mitigation and levee installation.

McGowan said the Corps inflated the cost of his lakes plan and disowned the Corps’ inter-

ADAM LYNCH

Levee Board Approves Lake 255

The Levee Board approved a resolution backing a smaller lake plan proposed

by Waggoner Engineering Inc. Project Manager Barry Royals (pictured) in April.

pretation of his plan. He now favors a similar Two Lake Plan, which he claims will cost only $350 million, and does not require levees to achieve flood control. The board rejected McGowan’s Two Lakes Plan when it approved the Corps’ levee plan last December, citing high costs and environmental barriers.

However, a majority of the board still want to see some form of lake to encourage business development along the Pearl River, and believe even a more modest lake would make possible a scenic canal in the currently undevelopable banks of Town Creek in downtown Jackson.

Waggoner Engineering Inc. project engineer Barry Royals introduced to the Levee

by Adam Lynch Board in April alternative plans to dam the Pearl River to create a shallow lake about 255 feet above sea level, which leaves LeFleur’s Bluff Park untouched by lake water. The plan is an attempt to appease the Corps’ strict opposition to investing $133 million in federal funding to a flood-control plan that mandates flooding the protected wetland areas along the Pearl River. The envisioned shallow lake would occupy the area between the Gallatin Street landfill, up to the Lakeland Drive area.

Royals said engineers needed to keep both the depth and the size of the lake malleable to increase the chances of Corps’ approval. He said the cost of the project could be about $605 million, but advocates of the McGowan plan argued in the months leading up to the board’s Monday vote that development along the levees surrounding the lake would not be picturesque enough to promote development.

Royals said Monday, however, that Waggoner Engineering and advocates of John McGowan had reached an agreement on Lake 25X, representing the first real accord on a lake plan between the two parties.

“We’ve discussed this with the Two Lakes folks, and I think we’re all in agreement that there are flood-reduction benefits to be derived from such a lake and an impoundment, depending on where you are on the river,” Royals told the board.

Lake 255, see page 8

by JFP Staff BUTT

WASTEFUL

“It is in times like these that we have the greatest opportunity to make corrections. We have a good reason to set aside some of the worn-out, wasteful ways of the past.” —former Gov. William Winter, speaking at the Millsaps College commencement speech May 8.

Duane O’Neill’s job is to sell the city. p10

The Ins and Outs of Business

IN

OUT

Mimi’s Smoking Zydeco Health Insurance Friendster Local Ads iPhone Apps Personal Service West Jackson Bikes Rumors about Ironhorse Peoples Bank Oily Fish

Dick & Jane’s Smoking Garfield’s Tea Party Facebook Corporate Lies Billboards Stockholder Value Pearl BP Rumors about an arena Citibank Fish Oil

Wednesday, May 5 A fresh plume of ash from Iceland’s volcano closes airports in Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland. … BP is able to cap one of the three leaks in the Gulf of Mexico; however, the cap does nothing to reduce the amount of oil gushing into the water.

Thursday, May 6 Pope Benedict XVI accepts the resignations of two Irish bishops connected with an abuse scandal in that country, bringing the total resignations to five. …

A computer glitch sends stock prices plunging. The market dropped by nearly 10,000 points before correcting and regaining most of its value. … Jackson attorney Jim Craig files suit on behalf of 16 death-row prisoners, alleging they received inadequate legal representation from the state. … The state Supreme Court sets a May 20 execution date for Gerald James Holland, 72.

Friday, May 7 E. coli outbreak sickens at least 19 people. Freshway Foods of Ohio recalls lettuce in 23 states and Washington, D.C. …

Gov. Haley Barbour seeks federal disaster relief for six north Mississippi counties after last weekend’s tornado damage mounts.

Saturday, May 8 A dome that BP officials hoped would stem the flow of oil at the Deepwater Horizon site in the Gulf develops internal ice crystals and is moved from the leak. …

Southern Miss beats East Carolina in baseball, extending its winning streak to 10.

Sunday, May 9 President Barack Obama announces his pick for the 112th Supreme Court Justice: Elena Kagan, a foremost legal scholar. … The state Department of Health states that seafood from Mississippi waters is safe to eat, despite fishing being closed in federal waters offshore that are possibly contaminated by the oil spill.

Monday, May 10 Fannie Mae reports a third-quarter loss of more than $13 billion, and requests an additional $8.4 billion in bailout funds, bringing the total request to $83.6 billion. … BP pumps more dispersant directly into the oil spill after getting EPA approval. The EPA, however, says effects of the chemical are largely unknown.

Tuesday, May 11 Karen Irby is sentenced to 18 years for the February 2010 deaths of Drs. Lisa Dedousis and Mark Pogue.

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The Gulf of Mexico has a history of oil spills: 192 spills of more than 2,100 gallons caused 105 deaths from 1996 to 2009. The largest of these was a 344,904gallon oil spill by Chevron Pipe Line Company in September 1998.

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Lake 255, from page 7

McGowan’s spokesman Dallas Quinn did not speak against the plan at the meeting, but suggested that some departments overseeing LeFleur’s Bluff Park were open to the idea of flooding a portion of the park. Quinn asked if any members of the board had spoken with Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks Executive Director Sam Polles.

“We’ve met with them and I don’t think ‘impact’ is necessarily a bad word. I think they would like to have some of the attractive features and less maintenance right now with Mayes Lake,” Quinn said.

Royals disagreed, saying his people had spoken with state park officials early on and that the officials considered protecting Mayes Lake a high priority: “One-hundred thousand to 150,000 people a year visit that area ... not all of them go to the trail, but some do. There are features down there. The state champion beech tree is down there in that park, so the sensitivity needs to be there.”

Board member Socrates Garrett, who was the lone vote against the resolution, said he feared Lake 255 would get nowhere with the Corps. “I don’t believe this Corps has changed its position (against flooding the Pearl) since day one,” Garrett said.

Garrett has good reason to be nervous.

Corps Chief of Project Management Doug Kamien told the Levee Board last September that the Corps approved the levee plan almost exclusively due to the environmental impacts of any plan to impound the Pearl River.

“We are saying that any impoundment you propose … has an alternative,” Kamien told the board at Vicksburg headquarters last September. “In this case, the levee plan has less environmental impact. The federal government has very strict guidelines in how we’re going to proceed, and we’re going to base our decisions on what’s in the federal government’s interest.”

The board also voted to look into clearing approximately 850 acres of trees between the levees from the waterworks curve to the Gallatin Street landfill, at a cost of about $10,000 per acre. That plan, which is designed to increase water flow between the levees and reduce flooding, does not include the cost of buying or using eminent domain to acquire privately owned

property for tree removal.

Also at the meeting, the Levee Board voted 7-to-0 to terminate the LeFleur Lakes Foundation, an incarnation of the board that served to raise money for the study of development in conjunction with flood control.

The foundation received up to $790,000 in federal grants to fund the LeFleur Lakes Economic Impact Evaluation Report, which arrived almost four years later. It also financed a week-long 2007 charrette and commissioned

the services of world-renowned urban planner Andres Duany to hammer out a feasible inclusive plan containing both a new lake and flood control.

With reports delivered and planners paid, the bank account of the foundation now sits nearly empty with only $1,200 left.

Richland Mayor Mark Scarborough’s inquiry as to whether or not the foundation had completed its service led to the vote ending the non-profit.

Karen Irby Sentenced to 18 Years

by Ward Schaefer

K

aren Irby was intoxicated the night tors’ deaths. John Dedousis, brother of Lisa of Feb. 11, 2009, when she drove Dedousis, said in a statement that Karen her black 2006 Mercedes-Benz CLS Irby spoke to his family before entering her 500 across five lanes of traffic and hit guilty plea and described the circumstances a Chevrolet Silverado C1500 pick-up truck of the crash. Stuart Irby allegedly assaulted head-on. It burst into flames, killing Drs. his wife while she was driving, which caused Mark Pogue and Lisa Dedousis, together to her to lose control and swerve into the truck celebrate Valentine’s Day. Irby carrying Pogue and Dedouand her husband, Stuart, were sis, John Dedousis said. seriously injured.

Family members of Tuesday morning, Pogue and Dedousis also Hinds County Judge Tomie requested that Green order Green sentenced Karen Irby, the minimum sentence. In who pleaded guilty March 26 a statement, Irby apologized to two counts of manslaughto the victims’ families and ter, to two 18-year prison asked Green for leniency for terms, which Irby will serve the sake of her children. “I concurrently. State law pre- Karen Irby received a am forever remorseful and sentence of 18 years vented Green from ordering for the deaths of Drs. scarred by this tragedy, howconsecutive sentences. ever I’m hopeful that you Mark Pogue and Lisa After the crash, doctors Dedousis. would consider the needs for Stuart Irby said that he had of my children as you seek suffered brain damage and had no memory justice in this matter,” Irby said. of the event. A Hinds County grand jury Green said that she had received nuoriginally indicted Karen Irby on charges merous letters asking for leniency on Irby’s of depraved-heart murder, but charges were behalf but that she had often sentenced reduced to two counts of manslaughter good people to prison for bad decisions. earlier this year due, according to District “I would bet 80 percent of the people I’ve Attorney Robert Smith, to a bungled in- sentenced to jail have children that they vestigation the night of the crash, making it must leave, and someone else cares for those difficult to prove that Irby acted “recklessly,” children while they serve their sentence,” rather than the negligence more commonly Green said. required in drunk-driving deaths.

Green told Karen Irby that she would At Tuesday’s sentencing hearing, reduce her sentence by two years, from the family members of Pogue and Dedousis maximum of 20 years, “because this court expressed their opinions that Stuart Irby does believe that Stuart Irby had a hand on should also be held liable for the two doc- that wheel that night.”

COURTESY HINDS COUNTY SHERIFF

The JFP seeks a jack-of-alltrades geek for a variety of tasks, ranging from back-end Web programming to massaging our file servers to teaching others techie stuff (video editing, photo uploading, podcasting, etc). Must love Macs, HTML, CSS -- and be at least JavaScript- and PHPcurious. If you meet those criteria AND you’re a friendly person who knows how to lovingly say “Have you tried restarting?” or “Did you make sure it has paper in the tray?” to harried editors, designers and writers -- then you’re encouraged to apply! Parttime to start. (Be invaluable and the position will grow.)

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oilspill

by Jesse Crow

JESSE CROW

Worried in Florida

A sign outside The Chaddy Shack Bar in Cantonment, Fla., reflects a common sentiment in the beach communities of the Florida panhandle.

our beach or not,” she says.

Cindy Fink, her three children and granddaughter came to the beach because of the looming oil spill, wanting to enjoy it as much as they can before it hits.

Fink’s infant granddaughter drops a cracker in the sand, then eats it. “You won’t be able to do that much longer,” says one of Fink’s daughters under her breath.

They sit on the shore at 18th Avenue, a hotspot for surfers. Fink, 50, remarks that two of her daughters are surfers and are concerned about what will happen to the water.

“I still think we should drill: we just need to be really safe,” Fink says. “I really am afraid (the oil spill is) going to change the beaches for decades. I’m just hoping some miracle will happen.”

Jem Sullivan, 55, and Tom Hutson, 53, grew up together and have surfed together for about 35 years. “It’s scary and unfortunate,” Hutson says.

“If there’s any kind of positive feeling, is that it seems like the slick is backing up, at least for the time being,” Sullivan adds.

“It’s similar to the feeling before a hurricane. It’s nice outside, you can’t imagine it, and you can’t do anything about it. Like when Ivan hit, you didn’t realize how life would change.”

Swinson Schipman, 71, is a Pensacola native and has been a commercial and sport fisherman for the past 60 years. He currently works on a charter boat in the Gulf.

“Any predictions made about the oil spill are strictly speculation. We know it’s coming up in three places, we know they’ve been unsuccessful in shutting it off. But we don’t know how long it will last,” he says. “The factors that determine the way oil will flow, ocean currents, winds and the consistency of oil that’s coming up, are virtually unpredictable.”

Schipman says the effects of the oil spill will be absolutely devastating.

“It will kill bottom growth, and on the surface it will kill birds, mammals, reptiles and fish,” Schipman says. “Oil kills sea grass and vegetation on shore and (in) the estuaries, which are nurseries for virtually all sea life. If you destroy the nursery, you destroy the possibility to reproduce.”

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P

ensacola Beach is packed. People sunbathe on the white sand, parents look on as their children make sand castles and run into ankle-deep water, and surfers take full advantage of the waves in the crystal blue water. No one appears concerned about the possibility of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico making landfall on the beach, but the spill is very much on peoples’ minds.

Jason Clemons, 34, and Truman Fouroux, 48, sit on a ledge near bars and restaurants on Casino Beach playing guitar and drums, respectively. Neither is from Pensacola originally, but both are regulars at the beach and have lived in Pensacola for decades.

“I’ve got the oil spill blues. Don’t you know we’re all gonna lose?” Clemons sings passionately, exemplifying the feeling of dread on the beach.

“I work on the beach, and I’m afraid I’ll lose my job,” Clemons says. Hours have already been cut at the recently opened restaurant where he works. “I think BP should take their profits and pay me off if I lose my job, and clean the beach, and that we should switch to more natural resources.”

Michael Randolph, 23, sits next to Clemons and occasionally sings along. Randolph and his family moved to Pensacola Beach from Hattiesburg nine months ago. “It was a huge sacrifice to move here, us not being very wealthy and all. We’re here and now we can’t go anywhere else,” Randolph says.

“If the oil spill hits, jobs will be lost; peoples’ paradises will be lost.”

Aside from job loss, native beachgoers also worry about the possible effect the oil spill will have on beach tourism, one of the leading sources of income for the region.

“I hope they get it cleaned up real quick,” says Javarris Brown, 31, of Pensacola.

“We need tourists. Without tourists, we have no money.”

Beth Schachner, 49, owns Pensacola Beach Properties, a rental and real estate agency. She remains optimistic, although she speaks with a hint of caution in her voice.

“I think the best thing to do is to keep a positive attitude and encourage people who love Pensacola Beach and the Gulf Coast to support us, and come whether we have oil on

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Greater Jackson Chamber President Duane O’Neill says Jackson’s fortunes are intertwined with those of the entire metro area.

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uane O’Neill has one of the nicest offices in Jackson, a high-ceilinged corner office in the old fire station next to City Hall. The place is appropriate for a man with his stature in Jackson’s business community. O’Neill is president of the Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership, sometimes called the Metro Chamber, which acts as a chamber of commerce and economic development entity for the entire Jackson metropolitan area, supporting Jackson-based projects like the Convention Center and metro-area efforts like the Canton Nissan plant.

O’Neill, 56, has held his position with the partnership since 1993. A native of Ipswich, S.D., O’Neill has worked in economic development since graduating from the University of South Dakota in 1975. He worked for chambers of commerce in Poplar Bluff, Mo., Denison, Texas, and Benton Harbor, Mich., before coming to the Jackson area.

What exactly does the Chamber Partnership do?

We’re called the Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership, which is a mouthful, and I wish we had a different name. But “partnership” makes a lot of sense. In this umbrella of the partnership, we have many different entities. For example, this is where the Jackson Chamber (of Commerce) resides. The Greater Jackson Alliance, which is our economic development team—that is a separate board. We also have Chamber Plus, which is an entity that helps small business in a lot of ways, a lot of affinity programs. And that has its own board of directors.

The difference between us and, say, the Jackson Chamber of Commerce or any of the outlying chambers of commerce is we work on issues that basically cross lines of jurisdiction. If we’re talking about Airport Parkway, or the (Pearl River) flood control/lakes project or legislation that goes across (county lines)—all those things that affect our business community across those lines or that don’t see those lines, that’s what we do on the Chamber side.

What projects has the Greater Jackson Alliance been involved in?

We worked with the state on the (Canton) Nissan project in the very beginning. In fact, it was the Alliance that went out and did searches for where we could find a mega-site to land the project, did the soil borings, did all the things that were necessary to make sure the site was ready to go. … We’re kind of like a mini state organization for a number of counties around central Mississippi. That’s important because most projects out there now are looking at regions. They’re not looking at states; they’re not looking at individual communities. They’re saying, “What regions are developed and ready to go?”

Is that a new thing?

It’s over the past number of years, but it’s really increased here of late.

Why is that?

We are a regional community. If you happen to live in Ridgeland and work in downtown Jackson, if someone asks where you’re from, you’re going to say “Jackson” because “Ridgeland” they don’t know. And that’s what our prospects know. They don’t know the Pelahatchies and Floras and other communities, but they know Jackson. So we’ve got to market ourselves as Jackson.

Secondly, it’s important that when they do look at us, they look at us as one labor market. No prospect ever looks at just the Jackson figures. In fact, all the statistical data you’d find on Jackson these days are (Metropolitan Statistical Area) figures, and the MSA is Hinds, Madison, Rankin, Simpson and Copiah (counties). Those five counties make up 540,000 population. The important part of that is so many projects are looking for cities of a half a million and up. So until we had Simpson and Copiah added to our MSA, we were missing out on some things, but now we’re getting even more looks.

How is the current state of the economy affecting your work right now?

Last year was the pits. It was terrible for recruitment of new businesses to come in, because the entire nation was in a state where we weren’t expanding, we weren’t going different places. So that was really tough. We spent the majority of our time just trying to help our existing businesses survive.

What things did the Chamber do for those existing businesses?

It’s really unique to different businesses.

Maybe we can find some programs, maybe we can find some stimulus dollars. In a lot of cases, it was workforce development. People didn’t want to lay their folks off—but how could they retrain, retool? Trying to help the with some ideas on marketing and market niches to get into.

What are recent successes of the Partnership?

This one is a little more controversial, because I try not to favor one community over another, but we helped Comcast in doing the K-Mart building (on Interstate 55). It was great for Jackson, because it moved a lot of things into Jackson, but it also was good for everybody. It is consolidating a lot of their work force into one place and … gives them the ability to increase in the future.

I spent a big portion of my personal time working on the National Bio- and Agri-Defense Facility (in Flora). For three years, we were in the running for that, and we led the project out of this office. … That project is now in Manhattan, Kan., and we finished tied for second with San Antonio, Texas. That was hard to swallow, but it really put this region on the map as far as a great location to take a look at. …We have some deals working now with some biotech companies that we think we can bring into the area because they saw what we put together. Now, we just had a groundbreaking for that same land we were looking at for NBAD a month ago, had the groundbreaking for Monsanto. It’s not a lot of jobs, but it’s research scientists looking at how to grow corn better in the South.

We do a lot with our existing businesses. Sometimes retaining somebody is just as important, but those aren’t ones you go around talking about because if people didn’t know they were leaving, you don’t want to say, “Oh, such-and-such was leaving town, but they didn’t.”

We’ve very involved in the (University of Mississippi Medical Center’s) Research Park that’s going to be turning dirt here later this year, where the old farmer’s market is.

What about places where the Chamber hasn’t been as successful?

There are some projects across lines of jurisdiction that I wish we could have an impact on, to make happen. Flood control is one. It is absolutely essential that we get our act together. Yet, the divide on that issue right now is quite volatile, as you know. Thirty years is crazy to work on a project this long. I have hope in that area, but that’s been one of the things that I wish we could’ve helped earlier.

Does the Chamber Partnership have an opinion about what should be done?

Our position is that we want to work with the Levee Board to ensure, number one, flood control and then as much economic development as we can get. No, we don’t want just levees. Would Two Lakes be nice?

Absolutely. But can it be done? The sides have gotten so polarized. I think the Corps’ position, even though we don’t like it, is pushing us together. We’ve always said we could be a neutral party to look at the facts and figures, and I think that’s a possibility still.

citytalk

by Ward Schaefer

Jackson Redevelopment Authority Executive Director Jason Brookins wants the Highway 80 corridor designated an urban renewal area.

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fter declining slowly for decades, the Highway 80 corridor in south Jackson is poised for a rebirth. The Jackson Redevelopment Authority is looking to have the corridor designated an urban renewal area within the next 60 days, JRA executive director Jason Brookins told the Jackson Free Press Friday. The designation would allow the organization to push economic-development efforts in the area by purchasing blighted property, offering tax exemptions on improvements and issuing bonds.

“An urban renewal area (designation)

says that there is some level of blight that keeps a developer from going into a community,” he said. “So JRA then has the authority … to float bonds, to acquire property or to take property by eminent domain. Then when we can clear out a large section and say this is under our control, we bring in a developer and sell them the property and redevelop it.”

JRA has already used the designation in the areas surrounding the Metrocenter Mall, Jackson State University and the Jackson Medical Mall. Under state law, the city can also offer seven-year tax exemptions on improvements to property within an urban renewal area, another incentive for private development.

Brookins hopes to incorporate findings from the city’s year-long economic study of the Highway 80 corridor into the JRA strategy, specifically its evaluation of zoning and infrastructure in the area. Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. commissioned the study in 2009.

He plans to have a proposal for the designation ready for the city’s Planning Board this month, meaning that the City Council could vote on the designation in June. Without an urban renewal area designation, the city could only acquire properties with individual votes by the council. That process would take longer and likely result

in higher costs to the city, Brookins said.

“The levels of regulation when a city goes in to buy a parcel of property—and they’ve got to go present it to the city council—(are) a little heavier,” Brookins said. “My board can just move forward on acquiring a property without a lot of the public knowing. Once the public gets wind of it, the property values—well, the cost (for the city) to purchase it—goes up for sure.”

As the city ramps up its efforts to revitalize the Highway 80 corridor, the existing businesses in the area are organizing. The Metrocenter Area Coalition, which covers the corridor as well as the area around Metrocenter Mall, is discussing the formation of a Business Improvement District, executive director Nina Holbrook said. Holbrook welcomes the possibility of an urban-renewal designation, but she is also excited by the possibilities of an improvement district.

Unlike urban-renewal areas, Business Improvement Districts are autonomous entities. Perhaps the most familiar example of a BID is Downtown Jackson Partners, which incorporated in 1996. Like all BIDs, Downtown Jackson Partners levies a small tax per square foot on every property owner in the improvement district to fund infrastructure improvements, landscaping, security and

programs that benefit the district’s businesses.

“You’re basically taxing yourself,” Holbrook said.

Forming a BID is a major undertaking, however, and Downtown Jackson Partners is the only BID in the state. The state Legislature must approve the formation of any business improvement district, and the district must have contiguous boundaries. Downtown Jackson Partners administers an area of downtown roughly bordered by Jefferson, Court, Mill and George streets.

“We’re trying to see how we can work that out, what part we would want to do, how we would go to the Legislature to try to get some help,” Holbrook said.

The Central City District of Philadelphia, Pa., provides a model of a business improvement districts’ potential. The district formed in 1991 as a response to a declining urban population and ailing downtown infrastructure. Since 1998, the CCD has contributed $42 million in capital improvements to Philadelphia’s downtown and used tax breaks on residential developments to spur a resurgence in downtown population.

Other parts of the city have followed suit with BIDs of their own, but with mixed results. In areas with weak commercial sectors, the BID model has proven less effective.

PAID ADVERTISEMENT

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id you know the streets of downtown Jackson have specialty hamburger namesakes? That’s right: Pearl St. Burger, Amite St. Burger, High St. Burger, and the list goes on at Congress Street Bar and Grill, located at 120 N. Congress Street in the Plaza Building in downtown Jackson.

Owner Debbie Rankin thought it would be a cool twist to name the menu’s choice of burgers after the streets of downtown Jackson; well, all of them except Debbie Rankin the Reggie St. Burger, named after restaurant Kitchen Manager Reggie, which was his creative concoction.

The Reggie St. Burger has cheese, bacon and a fried egg on it, and is the burger ordered the most off the menu, according to Rankin. Choose a yummy side to go with your burger: classic French fries, potato salad or the eccentric jalapeño coleslaw.

But Congress Street Bar and Grill serves up more than burgers. “Our New Orleansstyle poboys, hot pastas and salads are also well-liked by our customers,” said Rankin.

Congress Street Bar and Grill opened April 26, 2010, where former restaurant Tye’s was located. Debbie Rankin, also known as famous Jackson restaurant owner and chef Nathan Glenn’s mama, also owns Basil’s Downtown in the Plaza Building.

Debbie Rankin got into the restaurant business with her ex-husband after moving from Hattiesburg to New Orleans. They owned and managed Variety Bar and Grill in the early 1980s, off Carondelet in New Orleans. Later, they decided to move to Mobile, Alabama, to manage Studabaker’s, and then came home to Jackson, where they opened the original Rooster’s on Roach Street in 1984.

At Congress Street Bar and Grill, you can walk into the restaurant in a full suit or jeans and a T-shirt and still feel appropriate. “It’s kinda like wearing denim or diamonds,” said Rankin. “You can definitely feel comfortable here.”

The atmosphere and décor are reflective of downtown Jackson’s personality and appeal. Specialties include crab cakes, hot pastas and salads. After 5 p.m., appetizers range from pulled pork nachos and fried dill pickles, to Congress Street chicken tender bits with Thai sauce.

Opened from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, Congress Street Bar and Grill is busy on the weekend with catering orders. Rankin attributes the restaurant’s success so far “to the greatest staff in the world.”

She adds, “We have a great staff with the goal of quality food in mind for a decent price,” said Rankin. “Our customers can eat here for lunch, or get off work after 5, grab a bite to take home or have a cocktail after work hours with friends.”

Plans for live music on Thursday and Fridays are in the works. Rankin says, “Stay tuned.”

Until then, stop by and find out what the buzz is all about. Or follow them on Facebook at Congress Street Bar and Grill. To place catering orders with Debbie, call 601-937-0630. For more information on Congress Street Bar and Grill, call 601-968-0857.

jacksonfreepress.com

WARD SCHAEFER

Highway 80 Gets Scrutinized, Organized

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jfp op/ed

opining, grousing & pontificating

EDITORIAL

Vet the New Lake 255 Plan

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fter more than a decade, the Rankin-Hinds Pearl River Flood and Drainage Control District Levee Board came to a tentative compromise on a lake plan that does not appear to be in opposition to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ preferred plan to expand Pearl River levees.

What’s astounding about the venture is the lack of immediate resistance from advocates of a popular plan to create a massive lake spanning from the Interstate 20 overpass to the bottom of the Spillway dam. Jackson oilman John McGowan has long incessantly lobbied the Levee Board to adopt his levee-less lake plan for flood control, despite the legal problems inherent in trying to inundate the Pearl River wetlands. Waggoner Engineering Project Manager Barry Royals was brave enough to claim that the McGowan people were onboard with the flood control offered by the small lake—and by the gods, the earth did not crack open beneath his feet and devour him.

Dare we hope that we have at last achieved some common ground after all this time?

It’s clear that many Jackson residents find the McGowan plan attractive, but if it moves forward, environmentalists will doubtless descend upon the project and, in the words of one big lake opponent, “eat our lunch.” But with this vote on a resolution, the Levee Board has approved a smaller lake plan that theoretically occupies only the channelized area of the Pearl and leaves the northern wetlands and park grounds of Mayes Lake untouched, perhaps pleasing some environmentalists and their lawyers.

The same plan also allows the Corps to have the levees that Corps Project Management Chief Doug Kamien has personally demanded (levees that possibly cut through Mayes Lake, by the way).

The plan appears viable, at least at the outset. Now it’s time to call on professionals to painstakingly fact-check the thing and tell us if the lake 255 plan really holds water, so to speak. And we can’t have people on the payroll of those either for or vehemently against a lake counting the numbers. This is the part where we need intensely boring, non-political, objective people with the mind-numbing skills it takes to vet this thing. The agreement looks feasible—but throwing our whole-hearted support behind the project at this stage could be premature as wholesale support of Two Lakes was.

This is a time where serious consideration by the Corps could prove useful. The federal government has a process in place to look beyond the glamour and glitz of the ribbon-cutting to truly see if this thing could work.

But to do that, we first need the Corps to take the project seriously enough to give it scrutiny, instead of writing it off as just another troublesome alternative to their levee-only plan.

KEN STIGGERS

The Larger World

May 13 - 19, 2010

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an you believe it? This year marks my seventh year writing humor and satire for the Jackson Free Press! You’ve endured seven years of my crazy characters, wacky parodies, unusual pop culture and ethnic references, and liberal views on society and politics.

Thank you for tolerating my edgy style. And I appreciate feedback from individuals who say they love, hate or just don’t understand what I write. I also recall those times when I wanted to quit writing the column because some readers were offended and embarrassed.

Nevertheless, I want to thank Donna, Todd and the rest of the JFP staff for being daring enough to publish my humor and message every week.

It’s inspiring when the editor, publisher, fellow JFP columnist and other respected writers stand behind your work. And what I appreciate most is what Donna wrote about four years ago regarding my column: “To me, an important component of running Ken’s column is to remind people that there is a reality, a tough one that they are clueless about. It’s up to the reader to decide whether to change that fact and to try to understand the larger world they live in, rather than to hide out in their corner and fear the unknown … meaning that it satirizes the plight of people who are doing the best they can against nearly immeasurable odds thanks to idiots running the country.”

As long as the JFP runs my columns, I will keep on writing. It’s been a great time!

KAMIKAZE

Transfer the Power

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his city is on the brink of greatness, with more than a billion dollars worth of new development downtown. Young professionals, black and white, are choosing to live, work, and play in an urban environment. New restaurants are all over town. New residential projects are springing up throughout the capital.

We are a city on the move despite the naysayers. The collective landscape of Jackson will be different in less than three years. Some of you won’t recognize it.

The success or failure of this growth, however, will lie in this city’s ability to maintain that growth and expound on it, and particularly in how we relate to and support new business, but not the big ones: the small businesses and those who run them. We would also be better served by providing vehicles for young enterprising go-getters to access opportunities that could make them moguls as well.

You’ve read my rants about the “old guard” and our city’s lack of forward-thinking businessmen and women. But as we collectively cheer on our development victories, we have to prepare for the inevitability of the transfer of power and influence. Not in the huge corporations that come to town but in the small entrepreneur—the small, local business that is the lifeblood of our city: the Chanes, the Mimis, the McDades, the Scurlocks, the Cool Als of the world.

Support is vital, and kudos to the Jackson Free Press for recognizing the little guy.

It has also time to embrace the “new” age businessperson, the non-traditional entrepreneur.

Time to drag some of our icons here kicking and screaming into a fresh mode of “doing business.”

The modern entrepreneur, developer or real estate mogul may not fit your conventional idea of “business.” All of them don’t have degrees. Some of them don’t have “old money” in their families; some don’t even own suits. They may not have the liquid capital. They don’t communicate by traditional means and may do things in an unorthodox manner. But what they possess is talent and a drive for success.

It is incumbent on our city fathers to recognize and help cultivate a new slew of businesspeople, plucking them from our community and providing the opportunities that may not have been present when you were younger. Not chances to be an “employee,” but a pathway to being a manager, president or CEO. Much like the opportunity that David Watkins has given me.

Some might wonder why he hired me, but ultimately, he’s a vanguard, one who’s not scared to give talent a chance. I’ve grown from involvement in Farish Street to business dealings in other areas locally. And I have his vision to thank.

In the end, I feel we can continue to win as a city if the torch is passed—as we embrace the power of social media, and embrace the fresh minds and fresh legs of our youth. We can’t truly be progressive until we create true economic opportunity for everyone of all ages and hues.

Whether it’s a “rapper” or “restaurateur,” Jackson should continue to embrace the smallbusiness men and women.

And that’s the truth ... sho-nuff.

E-mail letters to letters@jacksonfreepress.com, fax to 601-510-9019, or mail to P.O. Box 5067, Jackson, Miss., 39296. Include daytime phone number. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

CASEY PURVIS

The Case for Shopping Locally

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hate going to superstores. I rarely see the same staff, and the employees never seem too interested in being there.

Maybe that’s a symptom of supersizing. How can an employee in customer service be there for so many people under one roof?

I don’t feel connected to the community at these megastores. Even their home décor section seems stocked with cautiously cute products that don’t stand out and look like they are destined to fall apart in six months, necessitating another trip to the megastore to buy the same product.

The stores all have that mass-produced look about them in spite of marketing attempts to make them seem hip and unique. I never seem to find exactly what I’m looking for, unless it’s a coffee pot or a cleaning product.

And good luck finding assistance—unless you stumble upon that rare, eager and shinyfaced “associate” who hasn’t had the opportunity to become jaded.

Actual help is non-existent.

Call me a snob, an elitist or xenophobic. Whatever. I like things that stand out. I like buying a bedspread that I know will last more than one season. I like being treated as if I am more than the account number on my debit card. I like seeing the same people in stores. And I like walking around in a building that isn’t so huge I have to worry about getting lost in it.

I like dealing with employees who seem content and who want customers to have a good experience. I like dealing with people who don’t look like they are about to collapse from exhaustion if they take one more step or have to ring up one more sale.

I really like knowing the money I spend in a store is staying in my community and promoting an entrepreneur instead of some corporate headquarters in who-knowswhere, Ark. I think locally owned businesses build stronger communities. The Institute for Local Self Reliance (a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting strong local economies) published a study in 2003 that makes a strong case for supporting local businesses. Based in Maine, the study looked at eight locally owned businesses in Rockland, Camden and Belfast that voluntarily shared financial information on revenues and expenditures for 2002. The study found that these businesses spent 44.6 percent of their revenue within the surrounding two counties of Knox and Waldo. They spent an additional 8.7 percent in the state of Maine. All eight businesses used locally

owned banks and purchased inventory from local manufacturers. They advertised in local publications and hired other services locally.

In other words, more than half the revenue these locally owned businesses generated stayed in their communities and in their state.

Contrast this with the expenditure profile from a large multi-national retailer with outlets in the state of Maine. The institute built a profile based on published information and statements from company officials due to the fact that national retailers do not typically reveal detailed financial information.

The study estimated that only 14.1 percent of the revenue from a large chain retailer is spent within the local and state economy.

The rest goes to outof-state suppliers or corporate headquarters.

Additionally, the study compared charitable contributions by the eight local businesses, Target and Walmart. In 2002, the eight local businesses gave $24,000 to charities, twice as much as Target gave and four times as much as Walmart. From this perspective, “big box” stores do little to serve the communities they profit from.

I also take issue with the large chain stores’ “green” campaigns. What is green about building a warehouse-sized behemoth of a building on the edge of town, forcing people to drive miles to do their shopping? What is “green” about sprawling strip malls on busy highways and streets? I have seen a lot more concrete than green space at these large malls dotted with chain restaurants.

Wouldn’t it be more “green” to design viable downtown areas with large, walkable sidewalks? Isn’t it more “green” to have smaller buildings that use less energy to stay warm and cool? Isn’t it more sustainable to invest in people? Doesn’t it feel good to visit your local store and be greeted by someone who knows your face and acts happy to see you?

Local Jackson businesses, I am glad you’re here. I admit I have strayed in the past. It won’t happen again. We need you, and thank you for your business.

Casey Purvis is a Fondrenite who loves planting flowers and watching the birds in her backyard. She is an avid “junker” who loves finding old furniture and giving it a new lease on life. She is owned by Phoebe, a nine-yearold Lhasa Apso and works as a nurse in one of the local hospitals in her spare time.

I think locally owned businesses build stronger communities.

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Editor in Chief Donna Ladd Publisher Todd Stauffer

13

for

Business: Starting Small

by Ward Schaefer

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May 13 - 19, 2010

acqueline Wells dreams of making films.

That’s why she’s sitting in an office in an old shopping mall on Ellis Avenue, flanked by two portable fans compensating for the office’s weak air conditioning.

A petite, unfailingly polite woman in her 30s, Wells is an intern with the Jackson Business Accelerator Collaborative, a project of Jackson-based New Horizon Ministries.

The JBAC, which launched officially last month, aims to promote entrepreneurship and help existing small businesses grow by connecting them. As an intern, Wells is learning the basics of writing a business plan, which she will then convey to the Business Accelerator’s clients, business owners who lack the formal or technical training to think strategically about their enterprises.

A native and resident of Richland, Wells spent 10 years working for the Jackson Police Department as a traffic violations clerk. She took classes part-time at Mississippi College but grew tired of commuting and dividing her focus. She enrolled at Jackson State University, and she will graduate in December with a public relations bachelor’s degree.

Today, she is discussing her ambitions with Michael Har14 ris and Andrea Morris, the JBAC’s director and assistant direc-

tor. Wells wants to open a film production company, but she also harbors hopes of developing a film education program for young people. The thought of starting a production company is daunting, though.

“Do you think I should just launch right into that?” Wells asks Harris. “Or should I start out small, like I was thinking about with the youth, and work towards that?”

Harris, tall and avuncular, with a shaved head and glasses, is leaning back in his chair. First, pretending to scold, he tells her she should complete the draft business plan that the interns have as an assignment.

“We can’t give you the answer, nor do you want us to give you the answer,” Harris continues. “We have to build the structure of your business, and once you’ve built the structure … then you weigh it, and you’ll know which one you want to go (with). You either have the facts on one hand, or your heart will tell you which way to go on the other.”

Morris, who worked at Hope Community Credit Union as a program officer for 16 years before joining New Horizon, chimes in: “The best advice I could give to any potential business owner is to know your industry. Particularly if you’re going to ask for funding—be it from banks, credit unions, angel investors—you have to know your industry. People who don’t know their industry don’t know how to prepare for the pitfalls.”

Wells should see how companies outside of Jackson, or even outside the state, work, she says.

Everywhere and Nowhere As Harris explains, resources for small businesses in Jackson are everywhere and nowhere at the same time. In fact, it’s the very abundance and diversity of resources that makes something like the JBAC necessary.

Organizations like the Mississippi Small Business Development Center offer counseling and training to budding entrepreneurs, but the sheer number of people interested means that its reach doesn’t extend far enough. The center, which is a project of the federal Small Business Association, covers the five-county Jackson metro area with only a handful of counselors. Other state and local agencies, like the Mississippi Development Authority and the Hinds County Economic Development District, deal mostly (or exclusively) with larger companies and projects.

Harris wants the Business Accelerator to support the work of these existing groups by connecting even more local entrepreneurs to them, using a public relations blitz and New Horizon’s organizational prowess. He wants to tap resources like SCORE, the Service Corps of Retired Executives, which have been underused in the city. SCORE, another project of the Small Business Administration, provides mentoring to aspiring business owners from more than 12,000 experienced executives or owners. Jackson has not had a local SCORE office for in-person counseling since 2002, but potential entrepreneurs can still receive advice via telephone and online chats. All

Lessons Learned While countless potential business ventures never survive the planning process, the hard work of actually opening the doors is also fraught with complications and pitfalls. People who have successfully opened businesses in Jackson say the process could be easier.

Jim and Mimi Burwell have operated restaurants in the city since 1978, but opening a new one has not gotten much easier. When the couple decided last year to open Mimi’s Family and Friends, a diner in the Fondren neighborhood, it took four weeks of paperwork and visits to various agencies before the Burwells could begin renovations on their property. Before opening, an aspiring restaurant owner must file paperwork or otherwise interact with the state Health Department, the Secretary of State’s office, the state Tax Commission and the city’s Fire, Signs and Permitting departments.

“It seems like of all the dealings I had downtown, if you have the right person in charge, I could’ve dealt with one person for everything,” Jim Burwell said. “It’s like they needed an advocate for small businesses, where you have one person, and they can take care of everything you need.”

In fact, the city now has a person for that very purpose.

Vic Sexton joined Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr.’s administration in November 2009 as the city’s small business liaison. Sexton may

Beyond the Business Plan In some cases, the city’s interactions with small businesses are already speedy. The City Council awarded Scott Harrison’s company, Harrison Manufacturing, a $14,500 storefront improve-

SMALL BUSINESS, see page 16

D

ebi Lewis has been at her new Joyflow Yoga location since 2009, but has been teaching and developing her style of yoga for 18 years. She connected earlier health problems to posture, and constant shoulder tension from her job as a seamstress. A friend suggested she try yoga, and her life changed.

“I learned Iyengar (yoga) with its precision and body alignment, and Ashtanga (yoga), which emphasizes breath and flow of energy,” Lewis says. “But then I began experimenting and creating my own joyfully eclectic flow of yoga that combines both (styles) with dance and my own movements to create a ‘seriously playful’ style all my own.”

The benefits are many, but Lewis believes a chief benefit of yoga is improved health. “Healthy people … require fewer doctor visits and miss less work. They are happy, healthy, efficient and productive,” she says.

The new Ridgeland location, near the intersection of Lake Harbor Drive and Old Canton Road, offers the convenience of yoga classes to her largest client base.

Now her challenge is getting more people in the door. She advertises, but has discovered what works best is simply word-ofmouth and sharing her passion.

“I learned to follow my heart and do what I love,” she says. “I became proficient so I can offer my best, and I remember to keep the mission at the front Joyflow Yoga owner of my focus.”

Debi Lewis has been Perhaps teaching yoga for 18 the most valuyears. able contribution is that Joyflow Yoga is a place each person can connect with her God-source to feel whole, peaceful and complete.

“Yoga is the perfect vehicle for that,” Lewis says. “The name ‘Joyflow’ says it all.”

In addition to yoga classes, Joyflow offers Zoomba, Yoga Meets Dance and coaching classes to help clarify values.

Joyflow Yoga is located at 7048 Old Canton Road, Suite 2-F (Trace Harbour Village), Ridgeland. Call 601-613-4317 or visit www.joyflowyoga.com for more information.

— Michele Baker

jacksonfreepress.com

they need is a business plan, which the JBAC can help them draft.

Harris, who has worked as an independent business consultant and with New Horizon’s youth programs, sees JBAC’s work as empowerment.

“What I tell folks is, ‘If you didn’t have to work for a living and you didn’t have to do anything for the money, what would you do?’” Harris says. “And then you build your business around that, and you figure out how to make money. That’s how I ended up doing what I’m doing. This is business consulting, and when I asked myself what would I do if I didn’t have to work for a living, I said I would work with youth. At this point, I’m not working with a whole lot of youth, but it’s still part of this business plan, and I still get to do what I want to do. I get to plan every day to do exactly what I want to do.”

Joyflow Yoga

NICHOLAS JONES

ROY ADKINS

Jackson Chamber of Commerce Chairman Jonathan Lee sees the city’s higher property taxes as the necessary cost for a booming, central business location.

have been hired too late to help the Burwells, and Johnson acknowledges that the former banker is still learning the ropes of city government. In addition to fulfilling a campaign promise, Sexton represents the city’s commitment to its small businesses, Johnson says. It’s a new position, borne of a lesson Johnson learned from his previous administrations.

“Small businesses need technical assistance from the government,” Johnson said. “I think that’s a legitimate role. Sometimes they need help in working through the maze of government.”

Sexton’s primary duties are to educate small business owners about the city’s two business-grant programs and to function as the city’s point person for communicating with businesses—the kind of position Jim Burwell described.

“That’s his job: to make sure that once that business first contacts him, that person will not have to go to other points of government to find out information,” Johnson said. “Now, he obviously would not issue a license or a permit, but he’d be able to tell them where to go and the sequence.”

The city is also looking into speeding up the issuance of permits and licenses as part of a general drive for efficiency, Johnson added. The mayor wants to consolidate some information and services, like permit applications and zoning ordinances, on the city’s website.

“I can appreciate the frustration that people have and the time that it takes to get their response attended to,” Johnson said. “We’re working to try to reduce that time.”

Johnson was dogged throughout his first two terms for being unresponsive to the city’s business community. Fondren attorney Ron Aldridge says that Johnson’s current administration has improved significantly on that problem. Aldridge, who serves as Mississippi state director for the National Federation of Independent Business, said that city officials have increased their focus on organizing and developing existing businesses.

“It was more business had to go to them (for help),” Aldridge said. “Now they’re coming to us, saying, ‘How can we be more visible in the business community? How can we assist you from that standpoint?’”

Aldridge praised Johnson’s quick decision to resurface major arterial streets in the city like Woodrow Wilson Avenue, which helps attract and retain visitors, he said. The Jackson Police Department has also shown a renewed interest in protecting businesses, with special burglary-suppression operations during major shopping days, Aldridge said.

The city is still at a competitive disadvantage with surrounding suburbs when it comes to property taxes, which can be twice as high in Jackson as in Rankin and Madison counties. Aldridge believes the city could demonstrate its good faith to business owners by trying to cap property tax increases due to reappraisal.

“It’s not so much against the city; I think it’s something that’s got to be done at the state level, to restrict that kind of an increase at one time,” Aldridge said. “But the city has to be sensitive to that.

You can lose, real quickly, a financial base of your businesses if you have a 40 to 50 percent jump in your tax on property in one year.”

As Jackson Chamber of Commerce Chairman Jonathan Lee sees it, the city’s higher property taxes represent Jackson’s place as the state’s premier business center.

“Like it or not, Jackson is the capital city, and it is the center of commerce,” Lee said. “With that privilege, there is a cost associated with it, and we pay that in the form of taxes.”

15

SMALL BUSINESS, from page 15

May 13 - 19, 2010

SMALL BUSINESS, see page 18

16

Healthy Body Health Food Center

B

essie Washington’s painful joints, fatigue and migraines sent her on a search for herbal remedies. What she discovered worked so well for her that she and her husband, John, opened Healthy Body Health Food Center, Sept. 29, 2006, with the motto, “Helping you to a healthy body, nutritionally.”

Today, Washington still conducts research for the best new herbal nutritional products for her loyal customers, employee Ernestine Hendrix says. She also fosters pro-activity in the community about nutritional health.

Becoming proactive can be accomplished, Washington insists, by simple lifestyle changes such as eating nutritionally JERRICK SMITH

WARD SCHAEFER

ment grant last week, less than a month after Harrison submitted his application and far earlier than he expected.

Harrison, whose company supplies molded plastic parts like cup holders for the Canton Nissan plant, will use the money to replace glass doors on his Mayes Street facility that were recently damaged by vandals and to improve the building’s façade.

Another recent grantee, Donald Warren Group, an accounting Jacqueline Wells is developing a business plan through an firm, is receiving funds for both storefront internship with the Jackson improvement and equipment purchases.

Business Accelerator.

The firm, which has two employees, will use the equipment funds to buy computers, printers and a fax machine, manager Cedric Abston said. The storefront improvement grant will go to purchasing a permanent sign to replace the banner currently on the business’ Clinton Boulevard building.

The quick turnaround on grants is indicative of the city’s commitment to the two programs. The grant funds come from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development and expire at the end of the fiscal year. Any unused funds will count against the city’s allocation for next year, so Sexton and the city have an incentive to award as much as possible.

“As far as we know, we’re the only city in the state that offers those kind of incentives to small business,” Johnson said.

The grants are especially useful to fledgling small businesses, because acquiring outside financing becomes extremely difficult for any business owner without much experience, especially in the current economy. Despite their 30 years of experi-

Healthy Body owner Bessie Washington, right, helps one of her loyal customers.

dense foods and drinking adequate water daily. She is amazed at how many people don’t like to drink water even though not doing so endangers their health.

To encourage appropriate lifestyle changes and empower patrons, Healthy Body Health Food Center has, in the past, held free monthly classes and lectures for up to 25 people. The classes have been conducted by master herbalists, chiropractors and naturopathic doctors to educate Jacksonians about everything from herbs to proper alignment of the spine to enhancing the body’s innate healing ability.

Today, the biggest challenge for the business is operating on a tight budget, while needing to expand to increase the variety of resources and product offerings to include fresh produce, smoothies and a juice bar.

The couple appears to adhere to the personal advice that Washington would give to others going into business: Have a great passion for your business, but don’t get in too deep financially at the beginning.

Healthy Body Health Food Center is located at 1495 W. Northside Drive; 601-7133818. Hours are Monday through Thursday, noon to 6 p.m.; Friday: 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

—Jackie Warren Tatum

Koinonia Coffee House WARD SCHAEFER

K

oinonia Coffee House is named for a complex Greek word meaning communion, community and countless other, similar things.

Poised between a booming downtown and still-struggling west Jackson, it lives up to its name every day as a magnet for positive conversations. But Koinonia never embodies that Greek term so much as it does on Friday mornings, when it plays host to the Friday Forum.

The brainchild of social entrepreneur Bill Cooley, the Friday Forum brings community-minded types of various races, ages and backgrounds together for a guest speaker and discussion. I make a point to attend every time I can, and I never leave without at least one story idea and a general sense of inspiration.

It started humbly enough. Cooley knew Koinonia owners Lee Harper and Alexis Spencer-Byers (who has since left Jackson) from their work with Voice of Calvary Ministries and wanted to support their venture, which opened June 2008. The little business struggled at first.

Sandwiched in a blighted area between Metro Parkway and West Capitol Street, Koinonia’s location breaks the café stereotype. Cooley decided that a weekly gathering with free coffee and food—he picks up the tab for the event—could grow and solidify Koinonia’s customer base.

The Friday Forum has grown since then, from a support mechanism for the business to the fullest expression of its

Public schools do more than educate children. They measure a city’s pride. They reflect community. They predict the social and economic well-being of a city’s future.

For 20 years, Parents for Public Schools of Jackson has worked to keep our public schools strong, to empower parents as leaders for positive change, and to engage community support of our public schools.

Koinonia Coffee House hosts a community-minded forum every Friday morning.

Join us. For our city. For our children.

For our future.

mission. Guest speakers have included city officials (City Attorney Pieter Teeuwissen, former JPS Superintendent Earl Watkins), inspiring business leaders from Jackson and elsewhere, and musicians. Jackson Chamber of Commerce President Jonathan Lee now emcees the event, and the crowd is a who’s who of progressive Jackson business folks. Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Bill Luckett thought enough of the crowd’s influence that he made an early campaign stop there in March.

The Friday Forum has helped establish Koinonia as a perfect meeting place, and you’re likely now to see smaller groups meeting there into the evening—whether it’s Jackson State students collaborating on projects or homeowners debating a zoning change.

—Ward Schaefer

Founding Chapter, Parents for Public Schools, 1989 200 N. Congress, Suite 500, Jackson, MS 39201

www.ppsjackson.org

Not only does Campbell’s offer a variety of baked goods, they also serve both breakfast and soup and sandwiches for lunch.

S

edrick and Malinda Lilley, owners of Campbell’s Bakery, have always wanted to be the owners of a business. In November 2008, this became a reality when they re-opened Campbell’s Bakery. Through a friend, they found out the bakery was for sale.

“That was all she wrote,” Sedrick says.

The store’s mission is to provide the freshest and best product available,

while maintaining the Campbell’s tradition of service. Malinda, a Jackson local, says that they provide “a family-oriented place … (and) items that you can’t get from any other bakery,” like custom cakes and pastries.

As a small business, Sedrick sees financing as the biggest challenge. In the current economy, it is cumbersome to get small business loans, so the couple is slowly, but steadily growing their business and making it work with just the essentials.

If you are planning on starting a new business, Sedrick’s advice is basic: “Do your research. Dot your Is and cross your Ts. And make sure you are in it for the long haul.”

Malinda echoes that opinion. “Do your homework,” she says.

Campbell’s is located at 3013 N. State St. in Fondren. You cannot miss the small pink building. They are open 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Call 601-362-4628. The petit fours and the tea cakes are a must.

— Nicholas Jones

Precise Research Centers Telephone: 601-420-5810

jacksonfreepress.com

SHAWANDA JACOME

Campbell’s Bakery

17

SMALL BUSINESS, from page 16

Making Friends As many small business owners do, Reeves found help in the private associations and organizations that multiply the relatively minor clout of individual businesses into more powerful forces.

The Fondren Association of Businesses recruited him to serve on its board, and he currently serves as chairman of the Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership’s Young Professionals Alliance. Reeves also praises the Jackson Convention and Visitors Bureau, which featured Brent’s in advertising that it had purchased in local publications.

Mimi’s also benefitted from a JCVB advertisement and is now soliciting help from the Chamber Partnership, Jim Burwell says. In addition, the Burwells have reached out to developer Mike Peters, who owns the Fondren Corner and Fondren Place buildings, but not the former gas station where Mimi’s is located.

“If we have an issue with the city, he’s usually the cheerleader to go through,” Mimi Burwell said. “They listen to him, because he is very monetarily involved

Dreamz Jxn

May 13 - 19, 2010

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18

ocated on the corner of Gallatin and West Capitol streets, Dreamz Jxn is a three-story club and entertainment complex in downtown Jackson with 25 plasma TV screens, VIP rooms, three bars and three dance floors.

The club opened April 2009, but gained new management in January to revamp its image. Dreamz is co-owned by Kwame Moore and managing partner Brad “Kamikaze” Franklin. The club hosts a diverse mix of events including a Monday night mixer for young professionals and “Centric Thursdays,” a night of hip-hop and neo-soul hits for those 21 and older.

“Dreamz’ new mission statement is to enhance the development that is going on in downtown Jackson and also to serve as an entertainment alternative to what Jacksonians have been used to,” Franklin says. “We are a very much going to reach out to and embrace Jackson’s diversity.”

Franklin says his goal is to bring a broader population downtown, end the stereotype that Jackson is unsafe, and create a venue for all ages and races.

“We are very intent on being a huge part of the downtown renaissance,” Franklin says, adding that Dreamz can accommodate just about any kind of event or party. “We have enough space for whatever it is that you need,” he says. “We want to be here for downtown.”

and has a lot going on over here. They tend to listen more to somebody that has that kind of pull than they do the average citizen. … He helps us because it’s the area that he’s invested in, and he wants everyone to do well.”

Like the Burwells, Tonyatta Hairston has learned the value of reaching out to those better connected than herself. Hairston occupied Mimi’s North State Street building before the Burwells, but she has since moved her optometry practice, Envision Eyecare, to Belhaven. Before celebrating her grand opening, she contacted the Jackson Chamber of Commerce, which organized a ribbon-cutting ceremony Aug. 28 of last year.

“There were probably 200 people here for my grand opening because of my involvement with the Chamber and several patients that are involved with the Chamber that encouraged other people to come,” Hairston said. “I’d definitely say that was one of the most beneficial things I could’ve done.”

Renovations on her new location were difficult, Hairston said, but that was because of issues with her contractor rather than with the city bureaucracy. The city’s permitting process was “relatively seamless,” she said, and department employees were always quick to respond.

Hairston also credits an equipment grant from the city two years ago with helping her acquire updated technology, which, in turn, impresses visitors and helps attract patients.

“Being a small business owner, you’re looking for any avenue of capital or the ability to purchase equipment to make your

SMALL BUSINESS, see page 20

Dreamz Jxn co-owners Brad “Kamikaze” Franklin, left, and Kwame Moore, welcome everyone to their club.

Franklin, who is also director of entertainment for Watkins Partners and a columnist for the Jackson Free Press, advises business owners to build a strong support system.

“Surround yourself (with) people who are much smarter than you are, who can be a buffer for you when you come up an idea—people who are not afraid to tell you no, or even afraid to come up with ideas better than yours,” Franklin says. “You fail ultimately when you rely too much on yourself.”

Dreamz Jxn is located at 426 W. Capitol St. For more information, call 601-99-3994, visit dreamzjxn.com or follow the club on twitter @newdreamzjxn.

—Ashley Hill

Olde Tyme Commissary JERRICK SMITH

over there who can call and say: ‘I understand you turned in a permit application.

Here’s what you need to do, and call us back if you have any questions.’”

Reeves admits that he could have been “a little more aggressive” in dealing with the city, but he still wishes city representatives had reached out more to him: “I’ve told a few people that if the mayor’s office were to ask me, ‘What could (we) do better?’ (I’d say) that people there need to be begging you—‘We’re glad you’re staying in Jackson. We’re glad you’re not going to Flowood or Madison. What can we do to help you out?’”

WARD SCHAEFER

ence, the Burwells still had difficulty obtaining a loan to open Mimi’s, as bankers are especially wary of lending to restaurants.

“It’s virtually impossible (to get a loan),” Jim Burwell said. “We have a great relationship with our banker. I went to him on (Mimi’s) behalf at the beginning of the process, and he said, ‘Come back and see me after you have a track record, and we can try the SBA.’ In other words, once you’ve shown you have the profitability. Fortunately because of our relationship with him, he was able to lend us some money.”

Attorney Brad Reeves is new to the restaurant business, having bought Brent’s Drugs last summer, but he was able to secure a no-interest loan thanks to the federal stimulus package. Drugstore chain CVS bought the pharmacy operation, and Reeves planned to expand the venerable Fondren soda fountain portion of the business. He found himself confronted with multiplying costs, however, when city fire inspectors refused to approve the old grill that Brent’s had been using for decades before Reeves took over. Because a new grill—and its accompanying hood— wouldn’t fit in the old one’s place, Reeves had to construct a new kitchen behind the store’s old pharmacy counter.

Reeves experienced frustrations with city departments, too. He submitted three different sets of plans to the city’s building permits department before they were satisfied. He was aggravated by what he considered the vague advice he received from city employees, and like Jim Burwell, he wished for a city employee with Sexton’s job description.

“They could probably do a little better job of caressing the people we have and say, ‘Hey we’re glad you’re doing a renovation,’” Reeves said. “Maybe there’s just a liaison

Olde Tyme Commissary owner Sandra Weber began her business in Greenwood, moving to Jackson in 1972.

T

ucked away in Highland Village’s myriad shops is Olde Tyme Commissary, a fixture there since 1972. The store features children’s toys and costumes, fine-tailored baby clothes, and educational toys and games, but shoppers can find its true character in the shop’s hand-painted items and in its owner, Sandra Weber.

Weber, 69, turned her love of decoupage into a full-time business by opening the first Olde Tyme Commissary in her hometown of Greenwood. She moved the shop to Jackson in 1972 to be in a better location, and now operates online as well.

The store’s mission is simple: provide the best of everything for children in a welcoming atmosphere. Store employees immediately put everyone entering the store at ease, and encourage children and adults alike to play with the items for sale.

“This is a completely hands-on store,” Weber says.

Olde Tyme Commissary contributes to Jackson through various fundraisers and charities, but it also serves as a common thread that binds families together. “I have customers that started shopping here for their children, and now they are coming back for their grandchildren,” Weber says.

Are toys recession-proof? “The down economy barely affected my business. People will buy for children even when they won’t buy for themselves,” Weber says.

Her decision to expand and open, then subsequently close a location in Flowood was a costly one, but she is recovering from it. After downsizing and learning to say “no,” Weber is moving on, refusing to stay in the past.

For anyone thinking about starting a new business of their own, Weber offers sage advice: “Follow your passion and surround yourself with positive people. That, and have a good banker and accountant.”

Old Tyme Commissary is located at 4500 Interstate 55 N., Suite 122, and is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday, Call 601-366-1849 or visit www.commissarytoys.com.

— Amanda Kittrell

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19

SMALL BUSINESS, from page 18

services. The system will be installed within the next year, Johnson said. Some logistical issues, like the physical location for a new city call center, are still pending, though.

Johnson also has plans to address business owners’ concerns about crime. The Jackson Police Department already hosts a Citizens Police Academy, which offers residents a mock-JPD training regimen and introduces them to the department’s organization and operation.

“We’ve been talking about setting up a similar academy for businesses, where we could introduce them to the police here in the city of Jackson and also where they could establish relationships with the police department,” Johnson said.

Connecting and Moving Forward The JBAC was temporarily just the Jackson Business Accelerator, but Harris and New Horizon decided to add “Collaborative” to emphasize the organization’s role as a connector. Harris and Morris know that they can’t give Wells more directed advice because they’re unfamiliar with the film industry. What they can do, though, is help her find a more specialized mentor.

“The Accelerator’s not about trying to do it all here, because we can’t do it all here,” Harris said. “It’s really about bringing in the resources and the connec-

Afrika Book Café WARD SCHAEFER

business stand out more,” Hairston said.

Jonathan Lee credits the mayor with improving the city’s image among small business owners.

“They are constantly talking about this open-door policy where, if there are issues, the mayor and his staff are available,” Lee said. “Personally, I’ve had members of his staff reach out unsolicited to see what they can do to make it easier to do business in town.”

Lee serves as CEO of his own small business, Mississippi Products, which stores and distributes medical and restaurant supplies. Still, as he sees it, the city’s most meaningful interactions with small business aren’t happening on the level of individual business owners.

“I think you’ll find that most small businesses operate outside of government,” Lee said. “We file our sales taxes, and we pay our sign ordinance where applicable, but in terms of having much interface with the city, it’s very little, unless of course there’s an issue relating to crime or something along those lines.”

Jackson’s openness to small businesses is set to improve significantly with the introduction of Johnson’s much-vaunted 3-1-1 system, a citizen-accessible database that will track the city’s progress resolving complaints, filling work orders and performing routine maintenance, among other

Rico and Tawanna Chapman (pictured here with their sons Omari and Sizwe) own the Afrika Book Cafe in Fondren.

L

ast month, Tawanna and Rico Chapman, who previously owned African bookstores on Bailey and Ellis avenues, opened Afrika Book Café, creating a new cultural venue in Fondren. The shop sells books, clothing, fragrances and refreshments.

The Book Café also hosts events and open-mic sessions for artists. Tawanna, 31, who sings in local group Eclectik Soul, plans to host a monthly concert series, called “Unplugged and Up Close.” The series will invited local musicians to perform and discuss their art in

an intimate setting. The bookstore is also planning adult and youth literary classes along with a children’s story time.

“We want to provide information and educate people on the important of Africa,” Rico says. “ We want to destroy the negativity pertaining to Africa. You see on television swollen bellies, poverty and war, so our aim is to help put Africa in a more positive light by providing information. We want to get people of African descent a more positive image through information.”

Rico admits that one of the biggest challenges of opening a new business is attracting a customer base. He says hosting events is one way to get people in the door. But at the end of the day, Rico says doing what you love has its rewards.

“You have to be patient and be willing to roll with the punches,” he says. “Just be willing to stick it out. You have to be disciplined and able to persevere through the hard times.”

Afrika Book Cafe, located at 404 Mitchell Ave., is open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

For more information call 601-951-8976.

—Ashley Hill

May 13 - 19, 2010

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SMALL BUSINESS, from page 20

Coast Ink Embroidery and Screen Print WRIJOYA ROY

W

here some people see obstacles, Keith Richardson sees opportunities. Originally from Moss Point, Richardson, 28, opened Coast Ink Embroidery and Screen Print with four childhood friends in 2005, after graduating from college the year before.

Coast Ink, located in the Metrocenter Mall, specializes in custom embroidery and screen-printing for clothing.

“The Metro(center Mall) was affordable, convenient, and its location was ideal,” Richardson says. “The Metro has been good to us. … (We) never considered leaving. We rely on the community for business and they rely on us to give them a service.”

The shrinking customer base at the Metrocenter hasn’t deferred Coast Ink’s dream, and Richardson has high hopes for the future of the Metro. “I have personally seen Mayor Johnson and his staff here surveying tenants about concerns. They are off to a good start. … The mall structure is also in great shape. I believe the Metro has great potential, and with the proper planning and execution, retail will boost,” The inspiration for Coast Ink comes from Richardson’s friend who purchased a customized embroidered shirt. After reviewing the process of embroidering and the quality of the shirt, the group decided

Keith Richardson says Metrocenter has been good for his business, Coast Ink Embroidery and Screen Print.

that they could do a better job.

“We wanted to be one of the first businesses in this area to service this product,” Richardson says.

Richardson and his team, all 28-years old, divide the business’s responsibilities.

Richardson oversees marketing and promotions, and secures outside sales.

To be a successful business owner it takes adaptability, the desire to learn new things and keeping up with customers wants and demands, he says. Richardson hopes to see Coast Ink open a second location soon.

“We intend to build a brand so that our business is known beyond the city,” Richardson says.

—Darrell Creecy

WARD SCHAEFER

Peaches Restaurant

Wilora “Peaches” Ephram and her son, Roderick, are the proprietors of Jackson’s first soul-food restaurant.

May 13 - 19, 2010

P 22

eaches Restaurant has been a soulfood Mecca on Farish Street since Wilora “Peaches” Ephram first opened the doors in 1961. Her son, Roderick Ephram, is proud of the rich history and symbolism his mother’s restaurant has in the city of Jackson. While Peaches doesn’t have a formal mission statement, Ephram says, “Just know that it’s Jackson’s original soul food restaurant.”

Along with the delicious food, a bit of history comes with the Peaches experience.

During the civil rights era, leaders of the

Movement dined in the restaurant, and President Barack Obama made a stop at Peaches Restaurant during his trip to Jackson while on the campaign trail.

Ephram says that Peaches has a positive influence, mainly because the restaurant welcomes everyone with open arms.

His mother’s goal, he says, is to feed the people—even the ones who were homeless. This kind of warm welcome may be why Peaches Restaurant has been successful for so long. The restaurant had been the only eatery to open on Farish Street in more than 25 years, until F. Jones Corner opened last year.

The city is making moves to revitalize the historic Farish Street area, once a thriving African American community in the heart of Jackson before desegregation and urban renewal. Many businesses are again looking to become a part of the entertainment district.

Asked what advice Ephram would give to someone looking to open a new business, he says to make sure that you are passionate about what you want, and have a passion for your location—just like Ms. Peaches.

Peaches Cafe is located at 327 N. Farish St., and is open daily at 11 a.m. Call 601-354-9267.

—Pamela Hosey

something productive

Let’s Get

KRAKEN! Mississippi’s retreat for meetings, conferences and resource for professional training • customized training • meeting / banquet space

• guest rooms • catering services

When you begin to plan your next meeting or conference, call:

601-857-7100

Workforce Development

(Next door to McDade’s Market Extra) Monday - Saturday, 10 a.m. - 9 p.m. • Maywood Mart Shopping Center 1220 E. Northside Dr. • 601-366-5676 • www.mcdadeswineandspirits.com

jacksonfreepress.com

eagleridge.hindscc.edu

23

Business Style, Day & Night

hotography by: Simba Sims Simba Sims Studios Inc. hoot Coordinator: Phyllis Robinson (aka Peaches) ssistant Shoot Coordinator: Mitchell Davis ake-Up Artist: Stephanie Shook // Hair Stylist: Carmen Myers odels: Holly G. Burns // Robin Catchot // Jennifer Day // Christopher Manogin via McGowan // Monica T. Shepherd // Christian Smith // Eli Stevenson

May 13 - 19, 2010

On Christopher: black-and-light two-button gray chalked-stripe custom suit with flat-front pants with flap back pockets, $350; and wide-collar Egyptian-cotton custom shirt with French cuffs, $85. All available at icandy Custom Clothiers.

24

On Sylvia: Pink Burberry plaid silk suit, $220; and black chiffon ruffle blouse, $58.99. All designed by Ambeau’s Fashions.

On Christian: Two-button beaded pin-stripe custom suit with slanted ticket pocket and tapered flat-front trousers with two-inch cuffs, $350; and blue-and-white striped Egyptiancotton custom shirt with French cuffs, $85. All available at icandy Custom Clothiers.

On Eli: White and gray puff-sleeve dress with belt by B Label, $59; gray and pink rose shoes

by Lady Love, $60; silver criss-cross bangle

by To Hot To Sell Jewelry, $25; and pink rose bloom set by To Hot To Sell Jewelry, $30. All available at Posh Boutique.

jacksonfreepress.com

On Jennifer: Purple tie-neck shirt by Sulami, $59; black button-leg pants by Sumami, $69; pearl ring by To Hot To Sell Jewelry, $25; pearl threetier earrings by To Hot To Sell Jewelry, $20; and pearl bracelet by To Hot To Sell Jewelry, $20. All available at Posh Boutique.

25

from page 15

On Robin: White blouse by JS Collections, $79; black pants by Larry Levine, $50; black heels by Jessica Simpson, $79; pearl jewelry by Savoy, $49.95; and purse by Galian/New York, $78. All available at The Savoy & Thomas By Design.

On Monica: Black-and-white plaid topper

by Heart and Soul, $49; yellow chiffon sleeveless blouse by Sele, $44; black satin pencil skirt by A. Byer, $75.95; black suede/leather spiked stiletto by Christian Louboutin, $995; and jewelry by White House Black Market, $55. All available at The Savoy & Thomas By Design.

May 13 - 19, 2010

etcetera

26

Codis Maya London cuff links, $125, Kinkade’s

Compiled and photographed by ShaWanda Jacome

Trafalgar chestnut leather belt, $225, Kinkade’s

Ceramic bird, $10, Smitten

Where2Shop

FSC home fragrance scent diffusion kit (available scents: crème brulee, pomegranate and Indonesian teak), $32, Smitten Kinkade’s Fine Clothing 120 W. Jackson St., Suite 2B, Ridgeland 601-898-0513 www.kinkadesfc.com

Where2Shop Ambeau’s Fashions Designer: Gail Rayford Ambeau 1-888-991-9594 askambeau@aol.com www.tinyurl.com/gailambeau

On Holly: White satin sleeveless top, $35, Burberry plaid flower pin, $10.99; red multi-flower pin, $7.99; and black highwaist, full-leg pants, $45.99. All designed

by Ambeau’s Fashions.

icandy Custom Clothiers Designers: Steve and Crystal Smith 601-954-0311 icandy@gmail.com www.icandycc.com Posh Boutique 4312 N. State St., Suite 2 601-364-3344 The Savoy & Thomas By Design 4956 Old Canton Road 769-233-7776 or 601-5067545 thomasbydesign@comcast.net To Hot To Sell Jewelry Designs by Zandra Thompson 601-214-0039 www.tohottosell.com 2hot2sell@live.com (exclusively sold at Posh Boutique)

Butterfly trinket box, $30, Tangle Salon

Smitten Gift Boutique LLC 207 W. Jackson St., Suite E, Ridgeland 601-856-1655 www.smittengifts.blogspot.com

Tokyo bay women’s watch, $88, Tangle Salon

Tangle Salon 607 Duling Ave. 601-987-0123

Empress Arts business card holder, $28, Treehouse Boutique

Treehouse Boutique 3000 N. State St. 601-982-3433

Archipelago soymilk lotion, $28 (with pump) and $8 (travel size), Treehouse Boutique

jacksonfreepress.com

On Eli: Red flutter sleeve dress by B Label, $69; nude sling back shoes by Guess, $110; red-beaded neckless with earrings by To Hot To Sell Jewelry, $45 and red leather spiral ring by To Hot To Sell Jewelry, $20. All available at Posh Boutique.

27

BEST BETS May 13 - 20

by Latasha Willis events@jacksonfreepress.com Fax: 601-510-9019 Daily updates at jfpevents.com

THURSDAY 5/13

ELISE NORMAN

The Canton Flea Market at the Historic Canton Square kicks off at 8 a.m. Free admission; call 601-859-8055. …

Jesse Robinson plays at the blues lunch at Lumpkin’s (182 Raymond Road) from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., and Sherman Lee Dill performs during F. Jones Corner’s blues lunch at noon. Free. … The University Place open house for potential retailers at Jackson State University (1400 J.R. Lynch St.) in the Student Center Ballroom starts at 4 p.m. Free; call 601-979-1058. … The monthly “Downtown at Dusk” on Congress St. starts at 5 p.m. and includes food for sale from local restaurants such as Keifer’s and music by The Alex Ross Band and Peeples Band. Free admission; call 601-974-6044, ext. 221. … Prema Hara performs as part of their “Sweet Surrender” tour at the LemuriaBooks.com Building (4506

at Dreamz Jxn at 9 p.m. Call 601-979-3994. … Full Moon Circus is at Electric Cowboy at 9 p.m. Call 601899-5333. … The Jason Turner Band performs at The Auditorium at 9:20 p.m. $15. … Diesel 255 is at Poets II from 10 p.m.-2 a.m. Visit myspace.com/diesel255.

TUESDAY 5/18

SATURDAY 5/15 The Pickin’ & Paddlin’ Outdoor Festival at LeFleur’s Bluff State Park, Mayes Lake (115 Lakeland Terrace) starts at 11:30 a.m. and includes music by the Vernon Brothers and Horse Trailer. Proceeds benefit the Neighborhood Christian Center. $10, free for children 12 and under, $10 for canoe or kayak race; visit nccjackson.com. … Jedi Clampett is at Pelican Cove at 6 p.m. Call 601-605-1865. … Come to Rock for Diabetes at Hal & Mal’s at 7 p.m. for music by Fuse X, Yankee Station and Dixieattle. Proceeds benefit the Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi. $5; call 877-DFM-CURE. …

Jimbo Mathus and the Tri-State Coalition play at Crawdad Hole from 7-10 p.m. $5. … Fitzgerald’s has music by Doug Frank SurRealLife from 8 p.m.-midnight. Visit myspace.com/ dougfrankmusic. … Get your hip-hop fix with Kamikaze and Yardboy at Cultural Expressions at 9 p.m. $5. … Rubber Soul performs at Ole Tavern at 10 p.m. Call 601-960-2700.

SUNDAY 5/16 The Jackson Rainbow Families picnic at Laurel Street Park in Belhaven starts at 2 p.m. Free; call 601-559-6133. …

The Mostly Monthly Ceili at Fenian’s starts at 2 p.m. Free; visit jacksonirishdancers.org. … Andy Hardwick performs during brunch at Fitzgerald’s from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Call 601957-2800. … Enjoy music by Will & Linda at Shucker’s.

Free. … The open blues jam at The Hill is from 6-11 p.m.

Call 601-373-7768.

May 13 - 19, 2010

ZooBrew at the Jackson Zoo (2318 W. Capitol St.) is from 6-9 p.m. and includes music by the Time to Move Band. You must be 21 or older to enter. $40, $35 members; call 601-352-2580, ext. 228. … Mark Whittington and Fingers Taylor perform at Little Willie’s BBQ, Old Fannin (115 Village Square, Brandon) from 6-10 p.m. Call 601825-9595. … Rock out with Saliva, Since October, Splendid Chaos and Anchored at Fire at 9 p.m. $20; $25 18 or older; 28 visit myspace.com/saliva. … Catch DJ Reign and DJ Hova

WEDNESDAY 5/19 The Blue Cross Blue Shield PopStar High School Celebration at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame (1152 Lakeland Drive) is at 5 p.m. $20; call 601-982-8464. … Ms. Sinatra performs at Steam Room Grille at 6 p.m. Call 601899-8588. … Virgil Brawley and Steve Chester perform during the crawfish boil at The Parker House on the patio from 6:30-9:30 p.m. Call 601-856-0043. … Enjoy music by Bill & Temperance at Underground 119 from 8-11 p.m. Free.

THURSDAY 5/20

MONDAY 5/17 Stevie J performs during the blues lunch at F. Jones Corner at noon. Free. … Karaoke at Dreamz Jxn starts at

More events and details at jfpevents.com.

The kirtan duo Prema Hara will perform at the LemuriaBooks.com Building May 13 at 7 p.m.

COURTESY SCOTTA BRADY

FRIDAY 5/14

Author Margaret McMullan signs copies of her book “Sources of Light” at Lemuria Books (202 Banner Hall, 4465 Interstate 55 North) at 5 p.m. $16 book; call 601-366-7619. … Unburied Treasures at the Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St.) starts at 5:30 p.m. Free; call 601-960-1515. … Karaoke at McB’s starts at 7 p.m. Free. … The Xtremes perform at Shucker’s from 7-11 p.m. Free. … Open-mic at Fenian’s is at 9 p.m. Free.

Come to the JFP Lounge at Sal & Mookie’s Pi(e) Lounge from 6-10 p.m. for food, fun and fellowship. Free admission; call 601-362-6161, ext. 11. … The Detectives Mystery Dinner Theatre presents “The End of All Mysteries” at Hal & Mal’s at 7 p.m. Seating begins at 6 p.m., and a reservation is recommended. $41; call 601-291-7444. … The Rhythm Masters play at Shucker’s from 7:30-11:30 p.m.

Free. … Catch Jackie Bell, Norman Clark and Smoke Stack Lightning at 930 Blues Cafe at 8 p.m. $5.

See “Green Shutters” and other photos by Elise Norman in an exhibit at Cups downtown.

Office Park Drive) beginning at 7 p.m. $10 in advance, $15 at the door; visit butterflyyoga.net. … Enjoy music by Fingers Taylor at Soulshine, Township from 7-9:30 p.m. Free. …

Electric Co. is at Underground 119 from 8-11 p.m. Free.

5:30 p.m. Call 601-979-3994. … The Central Mississippi Blues Society Jam at Hal & Mal’s is from 8-11 p.m. $5.

www.thepizzashackjackson.com

(BUDWEISER & BUD LIGHT) Stop by and watch Basketball on the flat screen

Dine-In / Carry-Out Mon - Thur: 11am-10pm

1220 N. State St. (across from Baptist Medical Center)

CATERING AVAILABLE

jacksonfreepress.com

601-352-2001

29

20% Off Sunglasses with the purchase of a pair of eyeglasses RAY BAN MAUI JIM COSTA DEL MAR

Now Serving Lunch!

Mon-Fri 11am-2:30pm

Soup, Salad and Sandwiches

and more brands available

(Call ahead or fax in your order) 3013 N State Street in Fondren Phone and Fax #: 601.362.4628

Fondren Nails Announcing our First

Princesss Party May 22, 2010 8:00a.m. - 12:30p.m. $15 Mini Manicure Polish on Nails & Toes, Make Up and More!

(Ages 4 and Up) Parent must be present Must Pre-register!

661 DULING AVE. • JACKSON • 601.362.6675 • TRISH HAMMONS, ABOC

W W W. C U S T O M O P T I C A L . N E T

Contact Kristy at 769-798-5197

6th Annual

- SCHIMMEL’S MENU LUNCH MENU DAILY

DINNER MENU

Daily Specials $8.95 Tuesday Beef Stroganoff and Egg Noodles/One Side Wednesday Pork Chops w/ Red Skin Mashed Potatoes/One Side Thursday Baked Chicken w/Mushroom Rice/One Side Friday Grilled and Fried Catfish w/Two Sides

Seafood, Steak & House Specialties Stuffed Pork Tenderloin w/Garlic Cheese Grits 21.95 Chicken Pasta w/Basil Pesto 18.95 Cajun Shrimp and Pepperjack Grits 22.95

HAPPY HOUR

Made In-house Daily $7.95

EVERYDAY SPECIALS Red Beans & Rice w/ Smoked Sausage 8.95 Angus Burger w/Sweet Potato Fries $8.95 Fried Oyster Po Boy $8.95

DESSERTS

May 13 - 19, 2010

Tuesday-Friday 4:30pm-6:30pm All Drinks Half Price

30

top rated restaurants

2615 N. State StREET 601-981-7077 www.schimmelsonline.com

Follow Schimmel’s on Twitter, Myspace and Facebook for music updates!

July 24, 2010

SAT

This is just a sample of our specials and specialties; stop in to enjoy our full menu.

SPONSORSHIPS AVAILABLE: Diva - $2,500+ • Goddess - $1,000 Queen - $500 • Princess - $250 • Chick/Rooster - $50 Make checks payable to Center for Violence Prevention or use your credit card at http://www.mscvp.org To volunteer or donate money or items for the silent auction, please call 601.362.6121 ext. #16 or e-mail chickball@jacksonfreepress.com

PROCEEDS WILL ESTABLISH A LEGAL FUND FOR ABUSE VICTIMS

jfpevents Radio JFP on WLEZ, at WLEZ 100.1 FM and wlezfm.com. Join Donna Ladd and Todd Stauffer every Thursday from noon-1 p.m., where they will discuss vital issues and play local music. This week’s guests are Rosemary Jalink of the Jackson Zoo and Melody Moody of the Neighborhood Christian Center. Listen to podcasts of all shows at jfpradio.com. Free; call 601-362-6121, ext. 17.

3rd Annual ZooBrew May 14, 6 p.m., at Jackson Zoological Park (2918 W. Capitol St.). Enjoy beer and wine samplings, food from the Tyson Hot Wing Cook-Off and live music by Time to Move. Buy a raffle ticket and get a chance to win a vacation package. You must be 21 or older to participate. $40, $35 members, $5 raffle; call 601352-2580, ext. 228.

Pickin’ & Paddlin’ Outdoor Festival May 15, 11:30 a.m., at LeFleur’s Bluff State Park, Mayes Lake (115 Lakeland Terrace). Enjoy games, rock wall climbing, canoe and kayak races, and music from acts such as the Vernon Brothers and Horse Trailer. The event includes a barbecue lunch and a free T-shirt. Proceeds benefit the Neighborhood Christian Center. $10, free for children 12 and under, $10 for canoe or kayak race; visit nccjackson.com.

JFP Lounge at Pi(e) Lounge May 20, 6-10 p.m., at Sal & Mookie’s (565 Taylor St.). Enjoy a special JFP “Creative Class” martini, free munchies, and lots of fellowship with Jackson creatives and progressives. Free; call 601-362-6121, ext. 11.

COMMUNITY National Cancer Survivors Day Awards Call for Nominees through May 14, at Baptist Medical Center (1225 N. State St.). Baptist Cancer Services will be giving special recognition to a “Cancer Survivor of the Year” and a “Caregiver of the Year.” Nominations can be submitted online at mbhs.org/csd and are also available at the Hederman Cancer Center. The deadline for nominations is May 14. Award recipients will be announced at the annual National Cancer Survivors Day celebration at 2 p.m. on June 6 at the Old Capitol Inn. Free; call 601-948-6262 or 800-948-6262.

9th Annual Benefit Golf Tournament May 1213, at The Refuge Golf Course (2100 Refuge Blvd.). First, second and third-place prizes will be awarded after each flight. Meals and beverages will be provided. Proceeds benefit the Phase II construction of Winners Circle Park. $100 per player, $400 per team; call 601-665-2434.

Canton Flea Market May 13, 8 a.m., at Historic Canton Square (downtown Canton). The biannual shopping extravaganza in Canton will include goods from artists and crafters. Free admission; call 601-859-8055.

Women’s Health Symposium May 13, 11:30 a.m., at Hilton Jackson (1001 E. County Line Road), in the Penthouse Suite. The panel discussion and luncheon will provide valuable information on women’s health issues including heart disease, diabetes, cancer and obesity, and important tips on fitness and nutrition. The panelists include Dr. Marinelle Payton, nutritionist Donna Speed, former NFL player Jimmie Smith and Chef Luis Bruno. $10 lunch; call 601-376-2397 or 601-376-2413.

Downtown at Dusk May 13, 5 p.m., at Congress Street. The monthly event includes food for sale from Keifer’s, the Congress Street Bar and Grill, and Basil’s, $2 beer, water and soft drinks, and live music by the Alex Ross Band and Peeples Band.

Event sponsors include Entergy, Downtown Jackson Partners, Underground 119, the Jackson Chamber of Commerce, the Jackson Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Downtown Neighborhood Association, and the Young Professionals of Greater Jackson. Free admission; call 601-9746044, ext. 221.

Precinct 2 COPS Meeting May 13, 6 p.m., at Jackson Police Department, Precinct 2 (711 W. Capitol St.). These monthly meetings are forums designed to help resolve community issues or problems, from crime to potholes. Call 601-960-0002.

Osteoporosis: The Silent Killer May 14, 11:45 a.m., at Baptist Medical Center (1225 N. State St.). In the Baptist for Women Conference Center. Learn the risk factors of osteoporosis and prevention tips. $5 optional lunch; call 601-9486262 or 800-948-6262.

Mississippi Sports and Fitness Expo May 15, 9 a.m.-8 p.m., at Jackson Convention Complex (105 E. Pascagoula St.). The multi-sporting event includes showcases, sports vendor exhibits, fitness challenges, health screenings and autograph signings by current and former Mississippi athletes. $5 in advance, $7 at the door; call 601-259-4298.

Central Mississippi Bird Club’s Bird Fair May 15-16, at Mississippi Trade Mart (1200 Mississippi St.). Purchase from a wide variety of exotic birds, bird supplies, yard art and home decor. Hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. May 15 and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. May 16. Call 601-924-6213 or 601-826-3808.

Safari NICU Reunion May 15, 10 a.m., at Baptist Medical Center (1225 N. State St.), in the Baptist for Women Conference Center. The event is for children who received care in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. There will be refreshments, class photos, a clown, face painting and other fun activities. Registration is required. Free; call 601948-6262 or 800-948-6262.

Jackson Rainbow Families Meeting May 16, 2 p.m., at Laurel Street Park (1841 Laurel St.).

The get-together for LGBT families includes a picnic and play time. Call 601-559-6133.

“In Our Own Voice” May 18, noon, at G. Chastaine Flynt Memorial Library (103 Winners Circle, Flowood). The informational outreach program developed by the National Association on Mental Illness offers insight into the recovery now possible for people with severe mental illness.

Victoria McFarland is the presenter. Free; call 601-899-9058.

LAUGHTER IS A GIFT FROM GOD

Come be a part of a Community of Joy!

Services: 10:30 am and

6:00 pm 650 E South St. Jackson, MS 39201

(601)944-0415

Women’s Fund of Mississippi Annual Meeting May 18, 5:30 p.m., at Mississippi Museum of Natural Science (2148 Riverside Drive). Learn more about the activities of the Women’s Fund over the past year. The speaker will be Clarksdale native Rose Jackson Flenori, manager of global community relations at FedEx and the first African American to lead the 23,000-member Ole Miss Alumni Association. Hors d’oeuvres and wine will be served. Members and non-members are welcome. Free; call 601-326-0701.

“History Is Lunch” May 19, noon, at William F. Winter Archives and History Building (200 North St.). “Restoration Amidst Yazoo Clay,” a panel discussion featuring architect Robert Parker Adams, geologist David Dockery and engineer Jeff Laird. Bring a lunch; coffee/water provided. Free; call 601-576-6850.

Blue Cross Blue Shield PopStar High School Celebration May 19, 5 p.m., at Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame (1152 Lakeland Drive). The best high school athletes in the state will gather for dinner at 5 p.m. and an awards ceremony at 6 p.m. $20; call 601-982-8264.

Public Policy Toastmasters Club 8689 Meeting through May 26, 5:30 p.m., at Jackson State University (1400 John R. Lynch St.), in the Sampson Library auditorium on the second floor. Improve your communication skills and become a better speaker and leader. Membership required. Call for details on membership dues; call 601-918-8523.

Mental Health Awareness Month through May 31, at NAMI Mississippi (411 Briarwood

More EVENTS, see page 32

jacksonfreepress.com

JFP SPONSORED EVENTS

31

Debut Album Sweet Surrender Available on iTunes and PremaHara.com

jfpevents

from page 31

Drive, Suite 401). May is Mental Health Awareness Month in Mississippi. NAMI Mississippi (National Alliance on Mental Illness) is the voice for persons with mental illness and their families.

Call the office for information about support and intervention. Free; call 601-899-9058.

Grant Development Program Call for Applications through June 15, at Jackson Convention and Visitors Bureau (111 E. Capitol St., Suite 102).

The Jackson Convention and Visitors Bureau’s grant program is open to any non-profit tourismrelated entity, such as attractions and events, in the city of Jackson. The deadline is June 15. The grant period is from September 1, 2010, to August 31, 2011. Call 601-960-1891.

Sweet Surrender Tour A kirtan celebration with Prema Hara Kamaniya & Keshavacharya Das

Thursday, May 13th at 7pm LemuriaBooks.com Building $10 advance/$15 at the door Tickets available at Butterfly Yoga or online Contact: Scotta@ButterflyYoga.net

www.PremaHara.com www.ButterflyYoga.net | Follow us on Twitter @butterfly_yoga

Greater Belhaven Market through Dec. 18, at Mississippi Farmers Market (929 High St.). Buy some fresh produce or other food and gift items.

The market is open every Saturday from 8 a.m.2 p.m. Free admission; call 601-506-2848 or 601-354-6573.

Farmers Market ongoing, at Jackson Roadmap to Health Equity Project’s Farmers Market (2548 Livingston Road). Buy from a wide selection of fresh produce provided by participating local farmers. Market hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays, and 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Saturdays. Free admission; call 601-951-9273.

STAGE AND SCREEN Tupelo Film Festival May 13-15, at Lyric Theatre (1006 Van Buren Ave., Tupelo). More than 40 independent films will be shown. Screening times are 1-6:15 p.m. May 13, 11:30 a.m.-11:15 p.m.

May 14 and 9 a.m.-9 p.m. May 15. The festival also includes a workshop on financing a film on May 13-14. $5, $2.50 children; call 662-841-6521.

“Twelve Angry Jurors” May 13-14, at Power Academic and Performing Arts Complex (1120 Riverside Drive). The production by Power APAC’s High School Theater is based on the play “Twelve Angry Men” by Reginald Rose. The performance begins at 6:30 p.m. both nights. Michael Guidry is the director. $5; call 601-960-5387.

Events at Black Rose Community Theatre (103 Black St., Brandon). Call 601-825-1293.

• BRYTE Performances May 14-15, 7 p.m., at Members of the Black Rose Theatre Youth Ensemble will act and sing to demonstrate what they have learned. $5.

• BRYTE Auditions May 17, 6 p.m. Auditions will be held for the Black Rose Theatre Youth Ensemble at 6 p.m. for the Junior Ensemble (grades 3-6) and at 7:30 p.m. for the Senior Ensemble (grades 7-12). Participants should be prepared to do a one-minute song with an accompanying CD and a monologue. Those accepted into the program should be prepared to attend sessions from August to May and pay a $60 tuition plus additional fees. Call 601825-1293.

May 13 - 19, 2010

“Bad Seed” through May 16, at Vicksburg Theatre Guild (101 Iowa Blvd., Vicksburg). Little Rhoda Penmark appears to be a charming child, but the little boy who mysteriously drowned at the picnic had won the medal she felt she deserved. Show dates are May 7-9 and May 14-16. Show times are Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. $12, $10 seniors, $7 students, $5 children 12 and under; visit http://e-vtg.com.

“Cabaret” Auditions May 17-18, at Actor’s Playhouse (121 Paul Truitt Lane, Pearl). Actor’s Playhouse in Pearl and Fondren Theatre Workshop in Jackson will join forces for the summer production, which will debut in July at Hal & Mal’s. You must be 18 or older, come prepared with a two-minute musical theater song and be prepared to dance and read from the script. Free; visit actorsplayhouse.net.

32

Emerging Mississippi Filmmakers Grant Program through May 21. Qualified applicants

may receive up to $2,500 in funding from the Mississippi Film and Video Alliance to assist with the completion of their project. Applications must be received by May 21. E-mail bblack@mississippi.org.

MUSIC “Sweet Surrender Tour: A Kirtan Celebration with Prema Hara” May 13, 7 p.m., at LemuriaBooks.com Building (4506 Office Park Drive). Kamaniya and Keshavacharya Das of Prema Hara will perform live. $10 in advance, $15 at the door; visit butterflyyoga.net.

Great Big Yam Potatoes Fiddle Contest and Old Time Music Gathering May 15, 8 a.m., at Historic Jefferson College (Highway 61 North, Natchez). Registration for the fiddle contest is at 8 a.m. and fiddlers in different age groups will compete. Other activities include a storytelling hour, a photography exhibit and fried chicken for lunch. Performers include R.W. Gray, Connie and Hal Jeanes, and Buck Boyle. Free admission; call 601-984-1210 (day) or 601-898-8265 (evening).

LITERARY AND SIGNINGS Events at Lemuria Books (202 Banner Hall, 4465 Interstate 55 North). Call 601-366-7619.

• “Lost Churches of Mississippi” May 15, 1 p.m. Richard Cawthon signs copies of his book. $35 book.

• “Sources of Light” May 18, 5 p.m. Margaret McMullan signs copies of her book; reading of the book at 5:30 p.m. $16 book.

• “61 Hours” May 19, 5 p.m. Lee Child signs copies of his book; reading of the book at 5:30 p.m. $28 book.

“Adventures in Home Birthing” May 15, 3 p.m., at Afrika Book Cafe (404 Mitchell Ave.).

RahLeeCoh “Doctor Daddy” Ishakarah and his wife Akua sign copies of and read excerpts from their book. $9.99 book; call 601-352-4579.

CREATIVE CLASSES Jewelry Making Class ongoing, at Dream Beads (605 Duling Ave.). This class is offered every Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon. Free; call 601664-0411.

Belly Dance Class ongoing, at Lumpkin’s Restaurant (182 Raymond Road). The class is held every Saturday at 9:30 a.m. Monique Davis is the instructor. $5; call 601-373-7707.

All Writers’ Workshop ongoing, at Pearl Public Library (2416 Old Brandon Road, Pearl). The workshop, which is held every 2nd and 4th Tuesday each month from 6-7:30 p.m., will focus on inspiration, tips, exercises, and member critique, and is open to new and published writers who are actively writing and wish to improve their skills.

Author and humorist Margie Culbertson is the instructor. Free; call 601-985-8011.

GALLERIES 2010 Exhibits through Dec. 31, at One Blu Wall (2906 N. State St.). Featured artists throughout the year include Katie Drummonds, Kyle Goddard, Allan Inman, LaTricia Graves and more.

Photography by Christina Cannon, Howard Barron, Roy J. Gattuso, Gerard L. Howard, William Patrick Butler and others are also on display. Free; call 601-713-1224.

Art at the Auditorium ongoing, at The Auditorium Restaurant (622 Duling Ave.). On the first Tuesday of each month, a variety of artwork by local Jackson visual artists are showcased until 7:30 p.m. Free admission; call 601-982-0002.

Jason “Twiggy” Lott Exhibit ongoing, at Nunnery’s Gallery (426 Meadowbrook Road). See

paintings, collages and assemblages constructed from discarded objects called “reconstructions.”

Free admission; call 601-981-4426.

Mississippi Watercolor Society Exhibit through June 30, at The Cedars Historic Home (4145 Old Canton Road). Artwork by society members will be on display in The Cedars Gallery until June 30.

Gallery hours are Wednesdays and Fridays from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. The show is part of The Four Seasons of the Cedars performing and visual arts series. Free admission; call 601-981-9606.

Open House through May 29, at North Midtown Arts Center (formerly One to One Studios) (121 Millsaps Ave.). Every Saturday in May from noon-7 p.m., the center will be open to showcase their artists’ work and to provide a performance space for others to express themselves. All local artists, performers and musicians are welcome to participate by registering via e-mail. Free; e-mail rdstowe@comcast.net.

“Houses of Light and Shadow” through June12, at Gallery Point Leflore (214 Howard St., Greenwood). See new paintings by Stoneville artist Jamie Tate. Hours are 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Tuesday-Saturday. Free with artwork for sale; call 662-455-0040.

“Six Over 64.9” May 13-31, at Gallery 119 (119 S. President St.). See new works by Jim Becker, Norma Bourdeaux, Bewey Bowden, Evelyn Gray, Charles Guess and Jean Seymour. An opening reception on May 13 will be from 5-7:30 p.m.

Regular hours are 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Friday and by appointment. Free admission; call 601969-4091.

dens of our Victorian ancestors. Free; call 601-961-4724.

JACKS O N ’ S PRE M I E R E E N T E R TA I N M E N T C O M P L E X

Mustard Seed Exhibit through June 24, at Mississippi Arts Commission (Woolfolk Building, 501 N. West St., Suite 1101A). Artwork by Mustard Seed residents will be on display. An invitationonly closing reception will be held on June 24 from 2-4 p.m. Gallery hours are 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Monday-Friday. Free; call 601-359-6030.

Artist and Three-Dimensional Artisans Exhibit through June 30, at Mississippi Library Commission (3881 Eastwood Drive). See works by artist Becky Barnett Chamblee and Craftsmen’s Guild artisans Anne Campbell, Carmen Castilla and Rhonda Blasingame. Exhibit hours are 8 a.m.5 p.m. Monday-Friday. An artists reception will be on June 3 from 4-6 p.m. Free; call 601-432-4056.

“Mound Bayou: The Promise Land, 1887-2010” through June 30, at Smith Robertson Museum (528 Bloom St.). See photographs of the beginning of Davis Bend, the move and name change to Mound Bayou, Isaiah Montgomery, T.R.M. Howard and others who were involved in the founding of the city. Museum hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Monday-Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. $4.50 adults, $3.00 seniors, $1.50 children under 18; call 601-960-1457.

Check jfpevents.com for updates and more listings. To add an event, e-mail all details (phone number, start/ end date and time, street address, cost, URL, etc.) to events@jacksonfreepress.com or fax to 601-510-9019.

The deadline is noon the Thursday prior to the week of publication. Or, add the event online yourself; check out jfpevents.com for instructions.

Electric Relaxation Monday

MUSIC, MOSCATO & MIMOSAS (5:30-9:30) Happy Hour/Networking/Music

MOVING BACK TO THE PATIO

Kitchen open for Wings Jxn & Dreamz Burgers

COME OUT & LISTEN

Live Band & DJ, Open Mic upstairs with Tweeked Out

TO THE SOOTHING SOUNDS OF

DJ MISSISSIPPI SINATRA

$3 MARGARITAS

Centric Thursdays

HAPPY HOUR | 6PM

2 FOR 1 DRINKS SPECIAL TIL 9PM

Can’t Feel My Face Friday

DOORS OPEN 9PM Guys $1 cover til 11pm!

2 for 1 Drinks til 11pm!

FREE SHOTS on the Hour!

DJ REIGN & DJ HOVA SATURDAYS AVAILABLE FOR R ENTAL TWITTER .COM /NEWDREAMZJXN

WWW.DREAMZJXN.COM “Home Sweet Home” Exhibit through May 13, at Mississippi Museum of Natural Science (2148 Riverside Drive). Two beloved American icons, Smokey the Bear and Woodsy Owl come to life in the interactive exhibit. Explore the pretend forest, ranger station, campsite and more. Museum hours are 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. $3-$5, free for members and children under 3; call 601-354-7303.

Events at Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St.). Call 601-960-1515.

• Unburied Treasures May 18, 5:30 p.m., in Trustmark Grand Hall. Hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar will be available at 5:30 p.m., and the program begins at 6 p.m., which includes live music by fiddler Valerie Plested and guitarist Don Penzian. Bebe Wolfe will talk about the life and art of Mildred Wolfe, and Kay Barksdale will read excerpts of the writings of Ellen Douglas. Free admission.

• Pieces and Strings: Mississippi Cultural Crossroads 20th Annual Quilt Contest and Exhibition through Aug. 1, at Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St.), in the public corridor. This annual presentation of award-winning quilts is on loan from Mississippi Cultural Crossroads, sponsors of Crossroads Quilters, a group that displays and sells its one-of-a-kind handmade quilts at the Crossroads Building in Port Gibson. Museum hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday. Free.

“A Portrait of Jackson Women – Photography

by Karla Pound & Leah Overstreet” May 14June 30, at Arts Center of Mississippi (201 E. Pascagoula St.). The documentary project includes audio interviews and environmental portraits of twenty Jacksonian women including the late Mildred Wolfe, Ellen Douglas, Dr. Helen Barns, Patti Carr Black and Dorothy Moore. Hours are 8 a.m.5 p.m. Monday-Friday. Free; call 601-960-1557.

“Gardening, Victorian Style” May 15, 10 a.m., at Manship House (420 E. Fortification St.).

Experts provide insight into the plants and gar-

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Scooper Bowl Flea Market and All-YouCan-Eat Ice Cream Festival May 15, 9 a.m., at Good Samaritan Center (114 Millsaps Avenue). The event will be held until 2 p.m. and includes an outdoor flea market, a space jump and free ice cream.

Proceeds benefit The Good Samaritan Center. $2, $1 kids ages 3-11, free for kids under 3; call 601-355-6276.

Walk & Roll May 15, 10 a.m., at Mirror Lake Plaza (2829 Lakeland Drive, Flowood), across from Methodist Specialty Care Center. Walk one mile in honor of a past stroke, brain injury or spinal cord injury patient helped by Methodist Rehabilitation Center. Participants may walk individually, join a team or form a team. There will be a wheelchair fencing demonstration, live music and refreshments. Walkers who raise at least $50 in pledges will receive a T-shirt. Proceeds benefit the Wilson Research Foundation. Donations welcome; call 601-364-3598.

Sal & Mookie’s Street Carnival May 15, 10:30 a.m., at Sal & Mookie’s (565 Taylor St.). The event will be held on the green space between Backyard Burgers and Schimmel’s, and includes food, games, a pizza-eating contest and an ice cream eating contest.

Contest winners will be given gift cards.

Proceeds benefit Blair E. Batson Children’s Hospital. Free admission, 25¢-$1 games; call 601-368-1919.

Rock for Diabetes 2010 May 15, 7 p.m., at Hal & Mal’s (200 Commerce St.).

Enjoy live music from Fuse X, Dixieattle and Yankee Station. Silent auction items include guitars, a free training session for a marathon, free guitar lessons, autographed merchandise from the band Candlebox and merchandise from Pink Bombshell. Proceeds benefit the Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi. $5; call 877-DFM-CURE.

jacksonfreepress.com

EXHIBITS AND OPENINGS

33

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34

On Faceook @ Repeat Street Metro Jackson

626 Ridgewood Rd, Ridgeland | 601-605-9393 Mon-Fri 10-6, Sat 10-5 | www.repeatstreet.net

arts

by Candace Parker

COURTESY MISSISSIPPI MUSEUM OF ART

Exercise: Work or Luxury?

Tuesday Acoustic Open Mic night with Kenny Davis and Brandon Latham Happy Hour Everyday 4-7 Daily Lunch Specials - $9 LIVE MUSIC Happy Hour Everyday Every Tues. thru Sat.4-7 LIVE MUSIC Wed. thru Sat. of the world, women perform strenuous, laborious tasks daily, while men serve more domestic duties. Meanwhile, the majority of western women didn’t necessarily experience such physical labor on a regular basis. The roles were often reversed.

“While in Africa, the women worked so hard in the field that I realized they didn’t need to stay in shape” DeMonte says.

DeMonte was compelled to make a collection of artwork that examined exercise and whether it is purely labor or luxury. The artist says that only in a country like America, where citizens suffer from diseases of abundance such as obesity and diabetes, are industries centered around staying in shape, from gym memberships to workout apparel.

“In most of the world, women do not have the luxury of exercise because they work so hard,” she says.

DeMonte’s work in “The Luxury of Exercise” demonstrates the luxurious side of the equation: Each sculpture is covered in pewter to create a lush and extravagant feel, while adding a touch of femininity. She even has exercising figures wearing jewelry.

DeMonte says the world of gyms has become extremely “fancy.” “I’ve been to the gym where people have had on so much jewelry I was amazed that they could raise their arms,” she says.

Her work is an indication of her political, yet witty and playful approach, with the perfect combination of content and concept.

As for her artistic expression and intention, the artist hopes that whoever observes her art will enjoy it for its aesthetic attractiveness. Still, she wants people to remember that they are lucky to be able to afford gym memberships and have the need to exercise.

“Even I complain about the need to exercise to stay in shape,” DeMonte admits. “But I have to remind myself that it is, actually, a blessing and a luxury.

“The Luxury of Exercise” is on display the Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St.) until Aug. 1, 2010. The museum is open Tuesday through Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday from noon until 5 p.m. For more information, call 601-960-1515.

LATE NIGHT HAPPY HOUR Sun. thru Thurs. 10pm - 12am Two-for-One, YOU CALL IT!

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T

he catalyst for New York artist Claudia DeMonte’s art is a perfect balance between the internal world of ideas and the external world of possessions. Through her collection, “The Luxury of Exercise: Small Sculpture and Works on Paper,” she not only expresses the struggles of women but also their blessings.

The collection features more than 50 pieces of artwork including small, carved sculptures such as cell phones, pocketbooks and running shoes with small pewter charms nailed to each of them. The works stem from her growing interest in the role of women in society, she says.

DeMonte, born and raised in the Astoria area of Queens, N.Y., recalls growing up during a pivotal time during the women’s movement, and believes that the change in culture during her coming of age made her more aware of women’s roles in society including her own.

“We went from a time where most women didn’t have careers, to a time where most women had careers. And I was right at the edge of that,” she said.

The year 1974 was an important one for DeMonte and the women of America.

That year the United States celebrated it’s first Women’s Equality Day. Though DeMonte celebrated women’s liberties in the United States, such as the freedom to have a career and rights increasingly equal to that of men, it was in the North African country of Tunisia where she witnessed women in unimaginable conditions.

“There was a man on a donkey with his wife in front of him carrying all the packages on her back. He was hitting her to go faster,” she recalls.

Such scenes were shocking to DeMonte.

It was hard to fathom that while women were obtaining more rights in America, in other parts of the world they were reduced to beasts of burden.

“The more I traveled, the more I saw how different the world is from place to place.

Our way is only one way,” she says.

Her observations and experiences helped DeMonte to see that in many other parts

Blue Monday Jessie “Guitar” Smith no cover 5pm-9pm

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35

music

by Chris Nolen

CHRIS NOLEN

The Big Bang Theory

M

agenta and green spotlights hit the smoke-covered stage, casting nearly opaque beams of light as a crowd draws near. Dust particles in the smoke swirl and reflect, resembling the twinkling stars of distant galaxies. They expand and contract in unpredictable ways—a cosmic theater of chaos and creation that played out in seconds. As my focus shifts through the smoke, images flash on a projection screen, interlaced with flashes of the word "Spacewolf."

The new—yet familiar—band Spacewolf made its debut last month at Martin's in downtown Jackson. Spacewolf had formed only two months earlier from a collision of vastly different musical ele-

May 13 - 19, 2010

36

Chester will perform.

The Crawdad Hole is bringing back honkytonk juke of Jimbo Mathus & the Tri-State Coalition this Saturday night, 7-10 p.m., $5, all-ages, BYOB. Also, mark your calendars now for Shucker’s annual Cajun Fest with live music and all the spicy cuisine, May 29-30.

Beatles fans, this Saturday night, Ole Tavern is hosting Rubber Soul, a Beatles tribute band, at 9 p.m. You can hear them perform at www.rubbersoul.us.

Next Friday, Ole Tavern is bringing back a regional favorite with Lucero, May 21, 9 p.m. $15 at the door. Local favorite Taylor Hildebrand will open for the Memphis rockers. Lucero has its live show finely honed, with this local show sandwiched between Coachella and next month’s Bonnaroo in Manchester, Tenn., June 10-13. Check out the complete Bonnaroo lineup at bonnaroo.com. For $250, you can hear Dave Matthews, Kings of Leon, Stevie Wonder, Flaming Lips performing Dark Side of the Moon, Jack White’s The Dead Weather, The National, Phoenix, Jimmy Cliff, LCD Soundsystem, Miike Snow, OK

"Murph will play something, and I'm like, 'That's exactly what I wanted him to play!”” Hawkins adds. “(Drew and I) haven't changed our style, either. ... It’s been a good meld.”

The proof of the meld’s success is in the tightness and creativity of the band's songs, which it only practiced a handful of times before the first show. Spacewolf's aural assault recalls ’90s radio-friendly alternative acts such as Dinosaur Jr. and early Radiohead, mixed with a little of the darker Seattle sounds of Nirvana.

McKercher's vocals, filtered through his beercan microphone, have a coolly detached drone to them, reminiscent of Matt Berninger from The National, and his guitar playing is similar in character and energy to "The Bends"-era Jonny Greenwood, using feedback and effects to create textured walls of sound that embrace the sharply syncopated flow that Hawkins and Caicedo supply.

Spacewolf's songs, like the downbeat pop of "Wolf" and the prog-rock-like "Crystal High Heels," are complex and surprising, sounding as if the strong pop melodies ran through a deconstruction process.

“It started off, Drew had lots of verse/ chorus type stuff," Caicedo says. "Then we started playing here, and we were like, 'We can do better than that.' So then we started adding stops and stuff ... and that's when it really started becoming fun.”

Go, The Black Keys, The XX, The Gaslight Anthem, Dave Matthews, Galactic, Dropkick Murphys, Weezer, Spearhead, Jay-Z, Calexico, Blitzen Trapper, Tenacious D, Ween, Tokyo Police Club, and many more.

Be sure to mark next Saturday, May 22, on your calendar for the return of legendary New Orleans street-jazz icons Dirty Dozen Brass Band at Martin’s.

For those new to the area (or living under a rock), check out the party at dirtydozenbrass.com.

For something a little different, head to Hal & Mal’s Thursday, May 20, for red beans and rice and the Mystery Dinner Theatre. For classical and swing music suitable for the whole family, the Mississippi Community Symphonic Band and Mississippi Swing! will present a free concert next Saturday, May 22, 7 p.m. at the Belhaven Center for the Arts on Riverside Drive. Call 601-6052786 or visit www.mcsb.us for details.

Also next Saturday, Soulshine Pizza in the Township at Highland Colony will put on an outdoor blues festival throughout the afternoon and evening. Local favorites The Juvenators will kick things off

That’s when it started becoming really good, too.

“Murph has a thing about strong song structure … which is something that Roosevelt Noise didn't worry about too much," Hawkins adds. "The structure is definitely stronger as far as parts go.”

As the band honed its skills, it was in the tightly precise, yet unexpected rhythms and arrangements that Spacewolf found its teeth.

Two weeks later, the moment had come to bare those teeth for the first time.

The audience stands in anticipation, waiting for that first chord. The electrical hum of amplifiers warble as frequencies reverberate off each other like repelling magnets. As the band makes their last adjustments, the lights zero in on the stage, and the imagery on screen increases in intensity. Suddenly, the particles I had observed suspended in the smoke swirl away as the speakers push the air away from the stage. And then, like a meteor impact, the bass thump hits my chest.

Spacewolf howls at last.

Spacewolf will play the Rockin' Cochrans’ show May 22 at Hal & Mals. The show's proceeds benefit Pat and Mary Elizabeth Cochran, who recently lost their child Henry to SIDS. They will share the bill with Andrew Fox, Los Buddies!, Used Goods, Party Dots and The Church Keys. Find out more about Spacewolf at www.facebook.com/spacewolfband.

COURTESY LES KERR

I

f you’re a fan of Jimmy Buffet’s “Margaritaville” and the music of New Orleans, be sure to check out Les Kerr’s solo acoustic show at Hal & Mal’s this Thursday night, 8 p.m. The Nashvillebased songwriter was born in Louisiana and grew up in Jackson. He’ll be supporting his new album “New Orleans Set.” If cancellation of the Miller Lite Crawfish Boil has you bummed, cheer up, because Fire has stepped up its game, bringing a few triple-bill Rock 93.9 shows.

This Friday, Fire features Saliva, Since October and Splendid Chaos, 9 p.m. $20; $25 for ages 18 to 20. And speaking of crawfish, it’s that time of year to get in some head sucking. Every Wednesday and Thursday from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., the Parker House in Ridgeland has live music and a crawfish boil on the patio.

This week Chris Gill and friends play Wednesday, and Scott Albert Johnson and Bob Gates are scheduled for Thursday. Next Wednesday, May 19, Virgil Brawley (of the Juvenators) with Steve

ments. Guitarist/vocalist Drew McKercher and bassist Don Hawkins were members of Roosevelt Noise, one of Jackson's most popular indie groups that had recently gone on hiatus. Meanwhile, drummer Murph Caicedo was playing with heavy metal and punk acts like The Tuff Luvs.

Fans knew Roosevelt Noise as a band that added pop-infused sweetness to its rock sound— a world away from the genre Caicedo was accustomed to. But no one knew what to expect when Caicedo met McKercher and Hawkins, and they agreed to give Spacewolf a go. Even before its first show, the group had achieved a high-level of hype through social media outlets and word of mouth, drawing a large crowd that first night curious of about the new band's sound.

“We all had the agreement that if it didn't work, we'd walk away,” Caicedo says as he wipes the sweat from his face at an intense practice two weeks before the show. Caicedo’s energetic and hard-hitting style could have been at odds with what McKercher and Hawkins wanted to do. Instead, the dynamic seems to have worked out, as there is a palpable level of trust between the new bandmates.

“What has influenced me is the way that these guys play and the way that I can still be me," McKercher says as he looks up from his array of effects pedals. "I can still play like me."

Nashville-based Les Kerr will perform from his album “New Orleans Set” at Hal & Mal’s Thursday night.

at 2 p.m. Visit the JFP music calendar for updates as we have them.

Looking for an excuse to put the top down and hit the road? Big Star is at the Levitt Shell in Memphis Saturday. John Prine is at the Cannon Arts Center in Memphis, June 5. Tickets are about to sell out for Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band at Beau Rivage in Biloxi Sunday, July 18 and Kings of Leon in Birmingham Sept. 20.

—Herman Snell

BANDS/DJS FOR HIRE Disc Jockey (DJ) Service Professional DJ - 20 Years Experience - Holiday Parties/Weddings/Birthdays/Private Parties, Lights/Fog/Etc available, Photography Services Available, Live Band Availble (601) 850-4380

GEAR Warwick bass 4 sale Warwick Corvette Standard bubinga 4 string passive with gig bag, warranty, manual, hercules stand, and acoustic B20 practice amp. $850. obo (601) 278-7854 Bass gear Quality professional gear. Swr Silverado combo.

350 watts RMS. $400. New aoustic 200 watt bass head $200. Two Swr 1 15’ and horn cabinets $250 ea. Loud and Clean Sold seperately or together.

(601) 214-4412 Profess‚nal Sound Engineers Need sound equipment or just a couple of engineers at your next event call Daniel 601.488.0436 any venue large or small anywhere in the south.

Complete PA Huge carvin pa for sale, all accessories, cables, processors, mics, stands, lights, amps, etc. Over $20,000 in gear to sell for best offers. Equipment is in as new condition. (225) 341-9391 Guitar Gear - Must Sell!!

Vox AD120VTH Valvetronix Stereo Head $400, 1x12 and 2x12 cabinets- $80-$125. (601) 540-1739

MISCELLANEOUS Need A Few Good Musicians Interested in helping to set up music non-proflt organization (centered around the BLUES) for disadvantaged youths in the Jackson metropolitan area? If so, I am looking to talk to you. Need musicians who can teach everything from banjo, guitar, dobro, mandolin, flddle, accordion, harmonica, piano, etc., etc. COME BE A PART OF THIS GREAT PROJECT! (601) 924-0210.

MUSICIANS AVAILABLE Alternative guitarist 30 ish alternative singer/songwriter guitarist in‡uenced by 90’s alternative and Modern Rock/Pop styles. Practice 2x week. 601-316-6330.

Rock Singer Ava·able Male Rock/Metal Singer looking for experienced cover band. Many years experience. Contact myspace or facebook: Crystal Quazar. Phone: 601-572-6253 Drummer Ava·able Mature/seasoned drummer available. Have played everything from country to Christian Contemporary.

Would like to join existing band or form new one with seasoned musicians ONLY...no beginners please! Would like to play classic rock, blues and/ or contemporary. Call if interested. (601) 613-5835 Looking to Start Band I am a bass player new in town and am looking to start a band in the Jackson area. I need a guitarist, drummer and lead vocals. No speciflc genre is preferred, but the band will be based on rock and metal (no death or black metal). I’ve played in several bands and played out hundreds of times and am able to get gigs. If interested or for more info please call Chris @ 386-365-2944 Female Vocalist Seeking Band I am a 16-year-old female vocalist seeking a synthpop or rock band. Ages of band members preferrably 25 years or younger due to parental objections. Contact by email at freezepopforever10 29@hotmail.com.

Drummer ava·able 42 year old drummer looking to play with existing group or start one. Great love for the instrument and really want to put something together for fun and proflt (gigs 1-3 month). Rock, classic rock, pop, jazz, and swing. Good chops and attitude, no ego, just want to play. Been done wrong a few times, looking for mature guys/girls who have their act together and are serious. Call bill @ 601-955-7924 or e-mail at wricha2796@aol. Com. (601) 955-7924 Old Drummer Ava·able!

DRUMMER AVAILABLE: Most recently, I have played with The Veterans of Foreign Bars band.

Interested in playing Blues, Funk, Soul, maybe Country. I am an older guy and settled in for the duration. I would be interested in a steady band, flll-in, and, possibly, a new start-up. Let me hear: mcdrum89@yahoo.com or call 601-832-0831 Musician Ava·able 25 Years experience playing Drums, Guitar & Bass.

Recently relocated to Jackson from Memphis, TN. All genres of music. Contact Tim at 601-665-5976.

Or email: reeves@cgdsl.net Serious inquires only.

Drummer Looking For Band I’m an experienced drummer looking to form/join a band. I have mostly played metal, but I am open to rock/hard rock/metal, etc. Call Dave at (769) 226-0845.

Female Vocalist/Songwriter Seeking fellow musicians. Serious inquiries only. Call Nikki 601-259-1288.

MUSICIANS WANTED Church Gospel Pianist needed Seeking p/t gospel pianist in brandon, ms. Please contact 601-720-5878 for more info.

A New Sound Need original band. Old Deftones/old Clutch/ She Wants Revenge. www.myspace.com/anzalduasongs Radio-play. Album on iTunes. anzaldua@mail.com (512) 787-7840 Deathcore guitarists Metal band looking for 2 exp’d guitarists. In‡uences include WhiteChapel, Carnifex, Opeth, etc.

Call David for more info (601) 201-3815 Metal Singer & Bassist Wanted AnnX is looking for a Experienced Energetic METAL Vocalist and a Bass Player to play shows and write new material. (601) 383-4851 Become our Next Instructor Major Scales Studio is accepting applications for a classical or rock or jazz guitar teacher. Must have professional appearance. Please email your resume to Majorscales@aol.com.

Cellist Needed For Album/tour Cellist needed for my album and possibly to tour shortly after. I am signed with South City Records. I need to start recording ASAP! Must be reliable and dedicated. Please contact me at scorpiano31@gmail.com Drummer/Bassist needed - Metal We are in need of a drummer and a bassist. Experience in metal (death, black, etc.) is preffered, but not completely necessary. Call Buddy at (601)5025647. Thanks for reading.

-Buddy Bass Player Needed for eclectic cover band that features pedal steel guitar. -Vocals a plus- want to gig once or 2x a month and have lots of fun -Buck Owens to REMcall 601 488 6907 +leave msg All acoustic blues band is forming.

Any acoustic musician who wishes to joins and pay hardcore blues call Mr. Blues at 601-785-9148 or 601-480-3670 Y’allses Blues Band is Coming All acoustic blues band is forming. Any acoustic musician who wishes to joins and pay hardcore blues call Mr. Blues at 601-785-9148 or 601-480-3670

Looking for band mates? Wanting to sell your gear? Advertise here for free! Visit JFP Classifieds.com. If you are interested in sponsoring the Musicians Exchange call JFP Sales at 601-362-6121 ext. 11.

jacksonfreepress.com

BANDS WANTED vocalist looking for band im a rock vocalist looking for a band in need of a lead singer please call at any time my name is shane (601) 940-0510

37

livemusic MAY 12, WEDNESDAY HAPPY HOUR

OPEN M-F 4P M ‘ T IL

M -TH 5 -7

UPCOMING SHOW: JUNE 2ND

LIVE MUSIC CALENDAR

STONEY LARUE

ALL SHOWS 10PM UNLESS NOTED

KARAOKE W/ MIKE MOTT

WEDNESDAY

5/12

LADIES NIGHT

$10 ADVANCE, $15 AT DOOR WEDNESDAY - MAY 12 THURSDAY - MAY 13

DJ DANCE PARTY LADIES NIGHT (FREE DRAFT CUP 9-11)

FRI & SAT - MAY 14 & 15

LADIES DRINK ALL YOU CAN

THE COLONELS

8PM-12AM FOR $5 - NO COVER THURSDAY

MAY 13, THURSDAY

5/13

80’S NIGHT

DIFFERENT THEME EACH WEEK FRIDAY

5/14

CHANCE FISHER BAND

Voted Best Country Band Best of Jackson 2010

SUNDAY - MAY 16

8 BALL TOURNAMENT TUESDAY - MAY 18

POOL LEAGUE NIGHT 2636 S. Gallatin Jackson, MS 39204

601-961-4747

www.myspace.com/popsaroundthecorner

SATURDAY

5/15

FUNKY BUTTER SUNDAY

MONDAY

5/17

OPEN MIC JAM TUESDAY

5/18

MATT’S LATE NIGHT KARAOKE $2 MARGARITAS $1 HIGHLIFE & PBR WEDNESDAY

5/19

May 13 - 19, 2010

LADIES NIGHT

38

ROCK 93.9 and FIRE present: MAY 14

SALIVA

5/16

KARAOKE

LADIES DRINK ALL YOU CAN 8PM-12AM FOR $5 - NO COVER 214 S. STATE ST. • 601.354.9712 DOWNTOWN JACKSON WWW.MARTINSLOUNGE.NET

Hal & Mal’s Restaurant - Jade Buttons w/Laurel Isbister & Scott Albert Johnson 8 p.m. free F. Jones Corner - Sherman Lee Dillon (blues lunch) free Regency Hotel - Snazz 8:30 p.m. myspace.com/snazzband2 Parker House (patio) - Chris Gill & friends (crawfish) 6:30-9:30 p.m.

Underground 119 - Virgil Brawley & Steve Chester (blues) 8-11 p.m.

Fitzgerald’s - Rainmakers (classic rock) 8-12 a.m. free Shucker’s - Tooz Co. 7:30-11:30 p.m. free Steam Room Grille - Ms Sinatra 6 p.m.

Footloose - Karaoke 8-12 a.m. free Electric Cowboy - Karaoke Pelican Cove - Brian of Full Moon Circus 7:30 p.m.

MAY 28

FRAMING HANLEY

TOPTEN SONGS THIS WEEK 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

SHAMANS HARVEST - Dragonfly DROWNING POOL - Feel Like I Do SEVENDUST - Unraveling THREE DAYS GRACE - The Good Life STONE TEMPLE PILOTS - Between the Lines BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE - Your Betrayal OZZY OSBOURNE - Let Me Hear You Scream CYPRESS HILL - Rise Up SKILLET - Hero NONPOINT - Miracle

Hal & Mal’s - Les Kerr (acoustic/ singer-songwriter) 8 p.m. free www.leskerr.com Hal & Mal’s Red Room- Easy Company Lumpkin’s BBQ - Jesse Robinson (blues lunch) 11:30-1:30 p.m.

F. Jones Corner - Sherman Lee Dillon (blues lunch) free; Blues at Sunset Challenge Band 8-12 a.m. free Underground 119 - Electric Co. 8-11 p.m. free Cups, Fondren - Alyse Black 8 p.m. free, AlyseBlack.com 930 Blues Cafe - Jackie Bell, Norman Clark & Smoke Stack Lightning 8 p.m. $5 Footloose - Karaoke 8-12 a.m.

Soulshine, Township - Fingers Taylor & friends 7-10 p.m. free Parker House (patio) - Scott Albert Johnson & Bob Gates (crawfish/ blues)6:30-9:30 p.m.

Cherokee Inn - D’lo Trio (Americana) 6:30 p.m.

Regency Hotel - Snazz 8:30 p.m. free Shucker’s - Will & Linda 7:30-11: 30 p.m. free Pelican Cove - Team Trivia 7 p.m. signup Poets II - Karaoke 10 p.m.

Electric Cowboy - DJ Cadillac (country/dance/rock) 9 p.m.

McB’s - Karaoke 7 p.m. free Hot Shots, Byram - Karaoke 8 p.m. free Eli’s Treehouse, V’burg - Karaoke 8 p.m.

MAY 14, FRIDAY Fire - Saliva, Since October, Splendid Chaos, Anchored (active rock) 9 p.m. $20; 18+ $25 myspace.com/saliva Martin’s - Chance Fisher Band 10 p.m.

Hal & Mal’s - Wes Lee Underground 119 - The Fearless Four 9-1 a.m.

The Auditorium - Jason Turner Band & Friends 9:20 p.m. $15 Jackson Zoo - Zoo Brew: Time to Move Band 6-9 p.m. 601-3522580 ext. 228

Afrika Book Cafe, 404 Mitchell YoungVenom/DJSketch 7 p.m. $5 Shucker’s - Dreamer 8-1 a.m. $5 Fenian’s - Scott Albert Johnson (blues/juke) 9 p.m.

Ole Tavern - Hank Overkill 10 p.m.

McB’s - Greenfish 8 p.m.

Scrooges - Larry Brewer (classic rock) 7-11 p.m.

Soulshine, Old Fannin - Danny Ray 6:45 p.m. free Soulshine, Township - Ben Payton (blues) 8 p.m. free Regency Hotel - Faze 4 - 8:30 p.m.

930 Blues Cafe - Blues/Jazz 5:30-8 p.m.; Jackie Bell, 9 p.m. $10 Poet’s II - Diesel 255 - 10-2 a.m. myspace.com/diesel255 Electric Cowboy - Full Moon Circus (rock) 9 p.m.

Footloose - Karaoke 9-1 a.m. free Dick & Jane’s - Show Night/DJ Allen 9 p.m. $6; 18+ $10 Pelican Cove - Karaoke 7:30 p.m.

Cultural Expressions - Reggae/HipHop/Old School Night 10 p.m. $5 Dreamz Jxn - DJ Reign & DJ Hova 9 p.m.

RJ Barrel’s - Big Juv Brawley (blues) 7:30-10 p.m.

Little Willie’s BBQ, Old Fannin - Mark Whittington & Fingers Taylor 6-10 p.m.

Reed Pierce’s - Trademark 9 p.m. free Hot Shots, Byram - Karaoke 8 p.m. free Bottleneck, Ameristar - Richard Marx, Mike Zito (pop) 7:30 p.m. $40-$50 Bottling Co, H’burg - Red Hill City, Furrows, Static Parade 10 p.m.

MAY 15, SATURDAY Fire - Splendid Chaos 9 p.m. myspace.com/splendidchaos Crawdad Hole - Jimbo Mathus & Tri-State Coalition (rock) 7-10 p.m., $5 (all ages) BYOB, www.jimbomathus.net Hal & Mal’s Big Room - Diabetes Benefit: Fuse X, Yankee Station, Dixieattle Martin’s - Funky Butter (Members of St. Adonis & Sons of the Subway) 10 p.m.

Shucker’s - Mike & Marty 3-7 p.m. free; Dreamer 8-1 a.m. $5 930 Blues Cafe - Blues/Jazz 5:30-8 p.m.; Jackie Bell, 9 p.m. $10 Cultural Expressions - Kamikaze & Yardboy (hip-hop/Soul) 9 p.m. $5 McB’s- Rainmakers (classic rock) 8-11:30 p.m. free Ole Tavern - Rubber Soul (Beatles Tribute) 9 p.m.

Underground 119 - The Juvenators (blues rock) 9-1 a.m.

Regency Hotel - Gravity 8:30 p.m.

Time Out - Diesel 255 - 9-1 a.m. myspace.com/diesel255 Pelican Cove - Jedi Clampett 6 p.m.

Kathryn’s - Fulkerson/Pace 7-10 p.m.

Huntington’s - Ralph Miller 6-9 p.m.

Fitzgerald’s - Doug Frank SurRealLife (Southern Rock/Blues) 8-12 a.m. myspace.com/ dougfrankmusic Reed Pierce’s - Trademark 9 p.m. free

5/05 Saliva - Sam’s Town Casino, Tunica 5/08 Norah Jones - Orpheum, Memphis; 5/09 Birmingham, AL. Theatre 5/15 Big Star - Levitt Shell, Memphis 5/17 Matt Pond PA - Hi-Tone, Memphi 6/05 John Prine - Cannon Arts Center, Memphis 6/10-13 Bonnaroo - Manchester, TN

Dick & Jane’s - House Party/DJ Allen 9 p.m. $6; 18+ $10 Hot Shots, Byram - Karaoke 8 p.m. free Bottleneck, Ameristar - Mike Zito (R&B/Soul) 8 p.m.

MAY 16, SUNDAY King Edward Hotel - Howard Jones Trio (jazz brunch) 11-2 p.m.

Warehouse - Mike & Marty Open Jam Session 6-10 p.m. free Fitzgerald’s - Andy Hardwick (brunch) 11-2 p.m.

Sophia’s, Fairview Inn - Knight Bruce 11 a.m. (brunch) Shucker’s - Will & Linda 3-7 p.m. free Pelican Cove - Larry Brewer (classic rock) 3-7 p.m.

Crawdad Hole - Doug Frank SurRealLife (Southern Rock/ Blues) 4-7 p.m. myspace.com/ dougfrankmusic The Hill - Open Blues Jam 6-11 p.m.

Footloose - Karaoke 7-11 p.m. free Cultural Expressions - Open Mic Poetry 8 p.m. $5 Robert Walthall Hotel - SpokenWord VI: Eclectik Soul & Vice Verse+ 7 p.m. $10 Hot Shots, Byram - Karaoke 6-10 p.m. free

MAY 17, MONDAY Hal & Mal’s Restaurant - Central Miss. Blues Society Jam 8-11 p.m. $5 F. Jones Corner - Stevie J (blues lunch) free Fitzgerald’s - Hunter Gibson & Rick Moreira 8-12 a.m. free Martin’s - Open Mic Free Jam 10 p.m. free Fenian’s - Karaoke 8-1 a.m.

Dreamz - Karaoke/DJ 5:30 p.m.

MAY 18, TUESDAY Hal & Mal’s Restaurant - Pub Quiz 8 p.m.

Fenian’s - Open Mic 9 p.m.

Martin’s - Karaoke 10 p.m.

Shucker’s - The Xtremes 7-11 p.m. free Time Out - Open Mic 8 p.m.

McB’s - Karaoke 7 p.m. free

MAY 19, WEDNESDAY Hal & Mal’s Restaurant - Hal & Connie Jeanes (bluegrass) 7 p.m.

F. Jones Corner - Sherman Lee Dillon (blues lunch) free Shucker’s - Hunter Gibson & Larry Brewer 7:30-11 p.m. free Parker House (patio) - Virgil Brawley & Steve Chester (crawfish) 6:30-9:30 p.m.

Underground 119 - Bill & Temperance (bluegrass) 8-11 p.m. free Pelican Cove - Emma Wynters Duo 7-10 p.m.

Steam Room Grille - Ms Sinatra 6 p.m.

Regency Hotel - Snazz 8:30 p.m. myspace.com/snazzband2 Footloose - Karaoke 8-12 a.m. free Electric Cowboy - Karaoke

venuelist Wednesday, May 12th Freelon’s Bar And Groove 440 N. Mill St., Jackson, 601-353-5357 (hip-hop) Fusion Coffeehouse Highland Colony Parkway, Ridgeland, 601-856-6001 Garfield’s Restaurant & Pub 6340 Ridgewood Court, Jackson, 601-977-9920 Gold Strike Casino 1010 Casino Center Drive, Robinsonville, 888-245-7529 Grand Casino Biloxi 280 Beach Boulevard, Biloxi, 228-436-2946 Grand Casino Tunica 13615 Old Highway 61 North, Robinsonville, 800-39-GRAND The Green Room 444 Bounds St., Jackson, 601-713-3444 Ground Zero Blues Club 0 Blues Alley, Clarksdale, 662-621-9009 Grownfolks’s Lounge 4030 Medgar Evers Blvd, Jackson, 601-362-6008 Hal & Mal’s 200 S. Commerce St., Jackson, 601-948-0888 (pop/rock/blues) Hamp’s Place 3028 W. Northside Dr., Jackson, 601-981-4110 (dance/dj) Hard Rock Biloxi 777 Beach Blvd., Biloxi, 228-374-ROCK Hat & Cane 1115 E. McDowell Rd., Jackson, 601-352-0411 Hauté Pig 1856 Main St., Madison, 601853-8538 Here We Go Again 3002 Terry Road, Jackson, 601-373-1520 The Hill Restaurant 2555 Valley St., Jackson, 601-373-7768 Horizon Casino Mulberry Lounge 1310 Mulberry St., Vicksburg, 800-843-2343 Horseshoe Bar 5049 Hwy 80 West, Jackson, 601-922-6191 Horseshoe Casino Tunica, 800-303-7463 The Hunt Club 1525 Ellis Ave., Jackson, 601-944-1150 Huntington Grille 1001 E. County Line Rd., Jackson, 601-957-1515 The Ice House 515 S. Railroad Blvd., McComb, 601-684-0285 (pop/rock) JC’s 425 North Mart Plaza, Jackson, 601-362-3108 James Meredith Lounge 217 Griffith St. 601-969-3222 Julep Restaurant and Bar 105 Highland Village, Jackson, 601-362-1411 Kathryn’s Steaks and Seafood 6800 Old Canton Road, Ridgeland. 601-956-2803 Koinonia Coffee House 136 S. Adam St., Suite C, Jackson, 601-960-3008 LaRae’s 210 Parcel Dr., Jackson, 601-944-0660 Last Call Sports Grill 1428 Old Square Road, Jackson, 601-713-2700 The Library Bar & Grill 120 S. 11th St., Oxford, 662-234-1411 The Loft 1306 A. Washington St., Vicksburg, 601-629-6188 The Lyric Oxford 1006 Van Buren Ave., Oxford. 662-234-5333 Main Event Sports Bar & Grill 4659 Hwy 80 West, Jackson, 601-922-9987 Manda’s Pub 614 Clay Street, Vicksburg, 601-638-6607 Martin’s Lounge 214 S. State St., Jackson, 601-354-9712 (rock/jam/blues) McB’s Restaurant 815 Lake Harbor Dr., Ridgeland, 601-956-8362 (pop/rock) Mellow Mushroom 275 Dogwood Blvd., Flowood, 601-992-7499 Mississippi Academy of Ancient Music 103 Magnolia, Edwards, 601-977-7736 Mississippi Coliseum 1207 Mississippi St., Jackson, 601-353-0603 Mississippi Opera P.O. Box 1551, Jackson, 877-MSOPERA, 601-960-2300 Mississippi Opry 2420 Old Brandon Rd., Brandon, 601-331-6672 Mississippi Symphony Orchestra 201 East Pascagoula St., Jackson, 800-898-5050 Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium 2531 N. State St., Jackson, 601-354-6021 Monte’s Steak and Seafood 1855 Lakeland Dr., Jackson, 601-362-8182 Mugshots 1855 Lakeland Dr., Jackson, 601-713-0383 North Midtown Arts Center 121 Millsaps Ave., Jackson, 601-497-7454 Okasions 1766 Ellis Avenue, Jackson, 601-373-4037 Old Venice Pizza Co. 1428 Old Square Rd., Jackson, 601-366-6872 Ole Tavern on George Street 416 George St., Jackson, 601-960-2700

Olga’s 4760 I-55 North, Jackson, 601-366-1366 (piano) One to One Studio 121 Millsaps Ave., in the Millsaps Arts District, Jackson One Blue Wall 2906 N State St., Jackson, 601-713-1224 Peaches Restaurant 327 N. Farish St., Jackson, 601-354-9267 Pelican Cove 3999A Harborwalk Dr., Ridgeland, 601-605-1865 Pig Ear Saloon 160 Weisenberger Rd., Gluckstadt, 601-898-8090 Pig Willies 1416 Washington St., Vicksburg, 601-634-6872 Pool Hall 3716 I-55 North Frontage Rd., Jackson, 601-713-2708 Pop’s Saloon 2636 Gallatin St., Jackson, 601-961-4747 (country) Proud Larry’s 211 S. Lamar Blvd., Oxford, 662-236-0050 The Pub Hwy. 51, Ridgeland, 601-898-2225 The Quarter Bistro & Piano Bar 1855 Lakeland Dr., Jackson, 601-362-4900 Que Sera Sera 2801 N. State St., Jackson, 601-981-2520 Red Room 200 S. Commerce St., Jackson (Hal & Mal’s), 601-948-0888 (rock/alt.)

Reed Pierce’s 6791 Siwell Rd., Byram, 601-376-0777, 601-376-4677 Regency Hotel Restaurant & Bar 420 Greymont Ave., Jackson, 601-969-2141 Rick’s Cafe 318 Hwy 82 East, #B, Starkville, 662-324-7425 RJ Barrel 111 N. Union 601-667-3518 Sal and Mookie’s 565 Taylor St. 601368-1919 Sam’s Lounge 5035 I-55 N. Frontage Rd., Jackson, 601-983-2526 Sam’s Town Casino 1477 Casino Strip Blvd., Robinsonville, 800-456-0711 Schimmel’s Fine Dining 2615 N. State St., Jackson, 601-981-7077 Scrooge’s 5829 Ridgewood Rd., Jackson, 601-206-1211 Shuckers on the Reservoir 116 Conestoga Rd., Ridgeland, 601-853-0105 Silver Star Casino Hwy. 16 West, Choctaw, 800-557-0711 Soop’s The Ultimate 1205 Country Club Dr., Jackson, 601-922-1402 (blues) Soulshine Pizza 1139 Old Fannin Rd., Brandon, 601-919-2000 Soulshine Pizza 1111 Highland Colony Parkway, Ridgeland, 601-856-8646 Sportsman’s Lodge 1220 E. Northside Dr. at I-55, Jackson, 601-366-5441 Steam Room Grille 5402 Interstate-55 Frontage Road. 601-899-8588 Stone Pony Oyster Bar 116 Commercial Parkway, Canton, 601-859-0801 Super Chikan’s Place 235 Yazoo Ave., Clarksdale, 662-627-7008 Thalia Mara Hall 255 E. Pascagoula St., Jackson, 601-960-1535 Thirsty Hippo 211 Main St., Hattiesburg, 601-583-9188 Time Out Sports Bar 6270 Old Canton Rd., 601-978-1839 Top Notch Sports Bar 109 Culley Dr., Jackson, 601- 362-0706 Touch Night Club 105 E. Capitol St., Jackson, 601-969-1110 Two Rivers Restaurant 1537 W. Peace St., Canton, 601-859-9979 (blues) Two Sisters Kitchen 707 N. Congress St. 601-353-1180 Two Stick 1107 Jackson Ave., Oxford, 662-236-6639 Tye’s 120 N. Congress St., Jackson, 601949-3434 Under the Boardwalk 2560 Terry Rd., Jackson, 601-371-7332 Underground 119 119 S. President St. 601352-2322 VB’s Premier Sports Bar 1060 County Line Rd., Ridgland, 601-572-3989 VFW Post 9832 4610 Sunray Drive, Jackson, 601-982-9925 Vicksburg Convention Center 1600 Mulberry Street, Vicksburg, 866-822-6338 Walker’s Drive-In 3016 N. State St., Jackson, 601-982-2633 (jazz/pop/folk) The Warehouse 9347 Hwy 18 West, Jackson, 601-502-8580 (pop/rock) Wired Expresso Cafe 115 N. State St. 601-500-7800

Ladies’ Night w/ Snazz 8:30 p.m. - Guys’ Cover $5

BUY 1, GET 1 WELLS Thursday, May 13th

Weekly Lunch Specials

Bike Night w/ Krazy Karaoke 7:00 p.m. - No Cover

$2 MARGARITAS!

Parking now on side of building

Friday, May 14th

Open for dinner Sat. 4-10pm Faze 4 8:30 p.m. - $5 cover Saturday, May 15th

Gravity 8:30 p.m. - $5 cover

LUCERO

w/ Taylor Hildebrand L i v e M a y 21s t !

Tickets on sale now.

thursday

MAY 13

Exquisite Dining at

The Rio Grande Restaurant

LADIES NIGHT with MR. NICK! LADIES DRINK FREE WELLS & PONIES 9PM-2AM

friday 400 Greymont Ave., Jackson 601-969-2141 www.regencyjackson.com

BASEBA LL SEASON IS FINALLY HERE! WATCH YOUR TEAM @ THE LODGE lunch specials $7.95 - includes tea & dessert

Smoke-free lunch

weekdays 11am-3pm

WED. LADIES NIGHT & KARAOKE

THURS.

BUDWEISER GAMES NIGHT

$10 Buckets of Beer during Tournaments

PRIZES & FREE SCHWAG

FRI.

3 HAIL MARY JANE 9:30PM - 1:30AM NO COVER CHARGE

COLLEGE NIGHT BRING STUDENT ID

SAT. MAJOR LEAGUE

BASEBALL MON.

S.I.N. NIGHT TUES. JACKPOT TRIVIA $2 DOMESTICS

ON SUNDAY, BLOODY MARYS $4 & MIMOSAS $3 THURSDAY 2-FOR-1 MONDAYS, $1.50 PINTS ON

MAY 14

Hank Overkill! saturday

MAY 15

Rub⁄r Soul:

A Beatles Tribute tuesday

MAY 18

OPEN MIC with Cody Cox *DOLLAR BEER* wednesday

MAY 19

KICK ASS KARAOKE w/ KJ JOOSY FREE WiFi Open Mon-Sat, Kitchen open Mon-Fri 11 am-10 pm & Sat 4-10 pm

jacksonfreepress.com

61 South - Rainbow Casino 1380 Warrenton Rd., Vicksburg, 800-503-3777 88 Keys 3645 Hwy. 80 W in Metrocenter, Jackson, 601-352-7342 930 Blues Cafe 930 N. Congress St., Jackson, 601-948-3344 Alamo Theatre 333 N. Farish St, Jackson, 601-352-3365 Alley Cats 165 W. Peace St., Canton, 601-855-2225 Alumni House Sports Grill 574 Hwy. 50, Ridgeland, 601-855-2225 America Legion Post 1 3900 W. Northside Dr., Jackson, 601-605-9903 Ameristar Casino, Bottleneck Blues Bar 4146 Washington St., Vicksburg, 800-700-7770 Beau Rivage Casino 875 Beach Blvd., Biloxi, 800-566-7469 Belhaven College Center for the Arts 835 Riverside Dr, Jackson, 601-968-5930 Bennie’s Boom Boom Room 142 Front St., Hattiesburg, 601-408-6040 Borrello’s 1306 Washington St., Vicksburg, 601-638-0169 Buffalo Wild Wings 808 Lake Harbour Dr., Ridgeland, 601-856-0789 Burgers and Blues 1060 E. County Line Rd., Ridgeland, 601-899-0038 Capri-Pix Theatre 3021 N. State St., Jackson, 601-981-9606 Central City Complex 609 Woodrow Wilson Dr., Jackson, 601-352-9075 Cerami’s 5417 Highway 25, Flowood, 601-919-2829 Char Restaurant 4500 I-55, Highland Village, Jackson, 601-956-9562 Cherokee Inn 1410 Old Square Rd., Jackson, 601-362-6388 Club 43 Hwy 43, Canton, 601-654-3419, 601-859-0512 Club City Lights 200 N. Mill St., Jackson, 601-353-0059 Club O’Hara 364 Monticello St., Hazlehurst, 601-894-5674 Club Total 342 N. Gallatin St., Jackson, 601-714-5992 The Commons Gallery 719 N. Congress St., 601-352-3399 Couples Entertainment Center 4511 Byrd Drive, Jackson, 601-923-9977 Crawdad Hole 1150 Lakeland Dr., Jackson, 601-982-9299 Crickett’s Lounge 4370 Hwy 80 West, Jackson, 601-922-0500 Crossroads Bar & Lounge 3040 Livingston Rd., Jackson, 601-984-3755 (blues) Cultural Expressions 147 Millsaps Ave., Jackson, 601-665-0815 (neosoul/hip-hop) Cups in Fondren 2757 Old Canton Road, Jackson, 601-362-7422 (acoustic/pop) Cups in the Quarter 1855 Lakeland Dr., Jackson, 601-981-9088 Davidson’s Corner Market 108 W. Center St., Canton, 601-855-2268 (pop/rock) Debo’s 180 Raymond Road, Jackson, 601-346-8283 Diamond Jack’s Casino 3990 Washington Street, Vicksburg, 1-877-711-0677 Dick & Jane’s 206 Capitol St., Jackson, 601-944-0123 (dance/alternative) Dixie Diamond 1306 Washington Street, Vicksburg, 601-638-6297 Dollar Bills Dance Saloon 103 A Street, Meridian, 601-693-5300 Edison Walthall Hotel 225 E. Capitol St., Jackson, 601-948-6161 Electric Cowboy 6107 Ridgewood Rd., Jackson, 601-899-5333 (country/ rock/dance) Executive Place 2440 Bailey Ave., Jackson, 601-987-4014 F. Jones Corner 303 N. Farish St. 601983-1148 Fenian’s 901 E. Fortification Street, Jackson, 601-948-0055 (rock/Irish/folk) Fire 209 Commerce St., Jackson, 601592-1000 (rock/dance/dj) Final Destination 5428 Robinson Rd. Ext., Jackson, (pop/rock/blues) Fitzgerald’s Martini Bar 1001 E. County Line Road, Jackson, 601-957-2800 Flood’s Bar and Grill 2460 Bailey Ave., Jackson, 601-713-4094 Footloose Bar and Grill 4661 Hwy 80 West, Jackson, 601-922-9944

39

dining

by Sarah Ribstein

Local Eats Sampler

SARAH RIBSTEIN

Mimi’s

SARAH RIBSTEIN

May 13 - 19, 2010

BBQ Fever

ribs. The restaurant may look like it did as a Chinese buffet in a previous incarnation, but Chef Kelly succeeds in giving the place its own personality. Hours: Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Congress Street Bar & Grill (120 N Congress St., 601-968-0857) is downtown Jackson’s newest restaurant and bar. It offers a New Orleans–themed menu that includes po boys, red beans and rice, pasta dishes, and several specialty burgers; at night the restaurant also serves appetizers in what owner Debbie Rankin (of the downtown Basil’s next door) hopes will be a laid-back, neighborhood-bar atmosphere. Debbie’s son, Nathan Glenn (of Rooster’s and Basil’s in Fondren) will make guest appearances on Thursday nights to cook a special, and Debbie hopes to eventually have live music some evenings. Hours: Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

SARAH RIBSTEIN

Amos Polk’s family does everything at Po-Polk’s (4865 N. State St., Suite D, 601-366-2160), which opened in February.

Amos, who has been in restaurant management for years, runs the place, while his mother, Mary, does the cooking and his niece works the register. Mary’s soul-food plate lunches are $5.30 for a meat and two sides—try the smoky red beans and rice, and the yams that double as dessert.

Amos says the “Po Burger” is one of his best sellers, which is no wonder considering it comes topped with fried onions and fried pickles. Hours: 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Rosemary Emmanuel, the owner and cook at Chitoes African Deli and Catering (1700 Terry Road, Suite 5, 769233-7647), brings a new kind of cuisine to Jackson. She and her family moved here from Nigeria in 2003 and opened Chitoes

this April, looking to fill a wide-open niche for African food in the area. Rosemary’s son Fidelis, who helps run the restaurant and cook, says their most popular dish is the African Stew, which people try out of curiosity and then come back and get again. Chitoes has some of the most unique food in Jackson—I recommend the curried chicken and plantains—but they also offer fried chicken and fish for those looking for something more familiar. Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

William Lee “Chef” Kelly has been cooking since he was 7. At BBQ Fever, (5046 Parkway Drive, 601-957-1345) he arrives around 6 a.m. every day to prepare 15 to 20 items for the buffet before the restaurant opens at 11 a.m. The all-youcan-eat buffet ($8.99) includes eight to 10 vegetables, carefully arranged so that the colors complement each other, and about as many types of meat. Besides the buffet, BBQ Fever offers fried seafood and chicken, sandwiches and Chef Kelly’s signature SARAH RIBSTEIN

window, old-fashioned booths and stools inside, and offers almost 30 types of fried pie—including fruit pies (some sugar free), cream pies, breakfast pies and meat pies. I recommend the blackberry pie, but anything enfolded in Tom’s crispy pocket of fried dough is bound to be good. Hours: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday Suniora Page opened Suniora’s Sidewalk Café (200 S. Lamar St., 601-3551955) downtown last fall. She serves an allyou-can-eat soul-food buffet, made entirely by her mother, for $10 ($5 on Wednesdays), and also offers an extensive salad bar, pizza and recently added breakfast. The restaurant is a sunny, pleasant place to eat in. Take advantage of multiple trips to the well-stocked buffet. The options include three meats and seven or eight veggies every day, such as the popular fried chicken and baked chicken, fried green tomatoes, rutabagas and other classics. Hours: 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Friday.

SARAH RIBSTEIN

Tom’s

SARAH RIBSTEIN

40

SARAH RIBSTEIN

Jim and Linda “Mimi” Burwell have been in the Jackson restaurant business for 30 years. In March, they opened Mimi’s Family & Friends (3139 N. State St., 601366-6111) in a converted, art deco-style service station in Fondren. Mimi’s breakfast features eggs, biscuits and Jim’s fluffy cheese grits. The lunch menu offers some staples—like a pressed Cuban and a daily quiche—and alternating specials, including the popular pork or catfish tacos and the surprisingly spicy shrimp and grits.

The Burwells are always around to chat and check in on diners, between cooking and serving food, and a meal there feels, appropriately, like a visit with friends or family. Hours: 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

R i c k Tucker, with his co-owners Gary Damon and Jimmy Shelton, wanted to give people in Jackson (including those who relocated here after Katrina) the New Orleans restaurant experience without the three-hour drive. Zydeco’s chef, Charles Broad III, went to culinary school in New York City and has been cooking in New Orleans restaurants for 13 years. The menu items at Zydeco (6340 Ridgewood Court Drive, Ridgeland, 601-977-9920) range from po-boys to boudin balls to a pork porterhouse, with nothing more than $15. And the atmosphere is festive; there’s a full bar, TVs tuned to sports and plenty of Mardi Gras and Saints paraphernalia.

Hours: Monday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m to 2 a.m.; Sunday 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Taqueria Guanajuato (1651 Terry Road, 601-212-2256) is new to Jackson, but not new to the area—it moved to its current location from Richland in March. Guanajuato is owned and run by the Gonzales family, who are from Guanajuato, Mexico, and everything here is cooked in their home region’s style. They offer tacos, tortas, quesadillas and soups—I especially recommend the al pastor (pork & pineapple) taco—and they go all out on the toppings, serving cilantro, onions, limes, two salsas, roasted green onions and roasted cactus with each taco order. Enjoy the cheerful décor and brush up on your Spanish with the soap operas often playing on the restaurant’s TV. Hours: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day Most Jacksonians have heard of Al Stamps’ burgers, which he’s been selling at Cool Al’s (formerly Stamps Superburgers) since 1998. Burgers and Blues, (1060 E. County Line Road, Suite 22, Ridgeland, 601-899-0038) a joint venture of Al Stamps and Steven Sahler, Burgers and Blues also features the famous Stamps burgers and fries, but that’s where the similarities end.

Unlike Cool Al’s (which is still open and being run by Al’s ex-wife, Kim), this is a full-service restaurant with a kitchen big enough for a quick turnaround on every made-to-order burger, and they serve several draft and bottled beers. The family-friendly restaurant also has an icecream bar, flat-screen TVs, a giant deck and live music. Check out one of the 14 specialty burgers, most of which are different from those at Cool Al’s. Hours: Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to midnight.

Tom Cook grew up eating his mom’s fried pies in Kentucky, but had almost forgotten about them after living in Jackson for 40 years. After becoming reacquainted with this delicacy while traveling in Oklahoma, Tom decided he had to have a fried pie shop of his own in Jackson. Tom’s Original Fried Pies (255 E. McDowell Road, 601-655-4030) has a drive-up

SARAH RIBSTEIN

S

ome of Jackson’s favorite restaurants may have been around for more than 50 years, but the food scene here is constantly growing. In the last six months, we have gained several dining options in and near downtown, some cuisines that are new to Jackson and, of course, more great southern food. Here are 10 new places worth checking out:

Chitoes

DINEJackson

Telephone:

601-665-4952

Paid listyour yourrestaurant.r restaurant.r Paid advertising advertising section. section. Call Call 601-362-6121 601-362-6121 x11 x1 totolist

Broad Street Bakery

(4465 Interstate 55 N. 601-362-2900) NEW MENU! Hot breakfast,coffee espresso drinks, fresh breads and pastries, gourmet deli sandwiches, quiches, soups, pizzas, pastas and dessert.

A “see and be seen” Jackson institution!

COFFEE HOUSES Cups Espresso Café (Multiple Locations, www.cupsespressocafe.com) Jackson’s local group of coffeehouses offer high-end Arabica beans, a wide variety of espresso drinks, fresh brewed coffee and a selection of pastries and baked goods. Free wi-fi!

Wired Espresso Café (115 N State St 601-500-7800) This downtown coffeehouse across from the Old Capitol focuses on being a true gathering place, featuring great coffee and a selection of breakfast, lunch and pastry items. Free wi-fi.

For the sizzling taste of real hickory smoke barbeque...

LUNCH: MON.-FRI., 10AM-2PM See Us Come kfast! a e r B r o F

7AM -10AM

168 W. Griffith St. • Sterling Towers Across from MC School of Law

601-352-2364 • Fax: 601-352-2365 Hours: Monday - Friday 7am - 4pm

THIS IS THE PLACE! B.B.Q., Blues, Beer, Beef & Pork Ribs LIVE BLUES BAND Starting June 4th and 5th Friday & Saturday Nights!

Lunch & Dinner Hours: Tuesday - Thursday 11a.m. to 8p.m.

Friday & Saturday 11a.m. to 10p.m.

932 Lynch Street in Jackson (Across from the JSU Baseball Field)

BAKERY Crazy Cat Bakers (Highland Village Suite #173 601-362-7448 & Fondren Corner Bldg) Amazing sandwiches: Meatloaf Panini, Mediterranean Vegetarian, Rotisserie Chicken to gourmet pimento cheese. Outlandish desserts. Now open in Fondren Corner on North State Street.

Campbellʼs Bakery (3013 N State Street 601-362-4628) Now serving lunch! Cookies, cakes and cupcakes are accompanied by good coffee and a fullcooked Southern breakfast on weekdays in this charming bakery in Fondren.

For Heavenʼs Cakes (4950 Old Canton Road 601-991-2253) Cakes and cupcakes for all occasions including weddings, parties, catered events. Owner Dani Mitchell Turk was features on the Food Network’s ultimate recipe showdown.

ITALIAN Basilʼs Belhaven (904 E. Fortification, Jackson, 601-352-2002) The signature Paninis are complimented by great Italian offerings such as spaghetti and meatball, tomato basil soup, cookies and cupcakes. Dinner menu includes fresh tilapia, shrimp and risotto, seafood pasta, generous salads—and don’t forget the crab cakes. Party menu includes a “panini pie.” BYOB.

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BRAVO! (4500 Interstate 55 N., Jackson, 601-982-8111)

Southern-style Italian cuisine features their signature Shrimp Cerami (white wine sauce, capers artichokes) along with veal, tilapia, crawfish, chicken and pasta dishes. Now with liquor license!

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Ceramiʼs (5417 Lakeland Drive, Flowood, 601-919-28298)

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Wood-fired pizzas, vegetarian fare, plus creative pastas, beef, and seafood specials. Wonderful atmosphere and service. Bravo! walks away with tons of Best of Jackson awards every year.

Fratesiʼs (910 Lake Harbour, Ridgeland, 601-956-2929) “Authentic, homey, unpretentious” that’s how the regulars describe Fratesi’s, a staple in Jackson for years, offering great Italian favorites with loving care. The tiramisu is a must-have!

BARBEQUE

2003-2010, Best of Jackson

Hickory Pit Barbeque (1491 Canton Mart Rd. 601-956-7079) The “Best Butts in Town” features BBQ chicken, beef and pork sandwiches along with burgers and po’boys. Wet or dry pork ribs, chopped pork or beef, and all the sides.

Lumpkins BBQ (182 Raymond Rd. Jackson 866-906-0942)

707 N. Congress Street Downtown Jackson • (601) 353-1180 Open 11am-2pm, Sunday thru Friday

Specializing in smoked barbeque, Lumpkin’s offers all your favorites for on-site family dining or for catered events, including reunions, office events, annivesaries, weddings and more.

Rib Shack B.B.Q. & Seafood (932 J.R. Lynch Street, Jackson, 601-665-4952) Hickory-smoked BBQ beef or pork ribs, BBQ chicken, giant chopped BBQ beef or pork sandwiches. Fried catfish, pan trout, fried shrimp, po boys. Tues-Thurs (11-8pm) Fri-Sat (11-10pm).

Come see Why We Were Voted One Of Jackson’s Best Mediterranean Restaurants

BARS, PUBS & BURGERS

DINE LOCAL, see pg. 42

Mediterranean & Lebanese Cuisine

jacksonfreepress.com

Burgers and Blues (1060 E County Line Rd Ste 22 Ridgeland 601-899-0038) Al Stamps’ famous burgers, veggie burgers and sweet potato fries -- now in Ridgeland! Full bar, beer on tap, patio for local music and flat panel TVs to get your sports fix.

Alumni House (574 Hwy 51 Ridgeland 601-605-9903, 110 Bass Pro, Pearl, 601-896-0253) Good bar food, big portions and burgers (with “blackened” as an option) known for their sweet buns. Televisions throughout, even small tubes at your table. Po-boys, quesadillas; good stuff!

Fenianʼs Pub (901 E. Fortification St. 601-948-0055) Classic Irish pub featuring a menu of traditional food, pub sandwiches and beers including Guinness and Harp on tap. Free live music most nights; Irish/Celtic bands on Thursdays.

Lunch starting at just $6 .99 Hours of Operation: Everyday 11am-until

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DINEJackson BAKERS Now with TWO locations to better serve you

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still need help paying off our student loans

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NEW! FONDREN CORNER | 11AM - 2PM HIGHLAND VILLAGE | 10AM - 6PM 601.362.7448 • CRAZYCATBAKERS.COM

Bring this ad for a FREE order of Beignets!

KaRAOKE TUESDAY Family Karaoke at 8pm

Wasted Wednesday .50 Wells starting at 9pm

Karaoke Thursday 2 for 1 Margaritas at 9pm

Sunday Brunch 10:30am-2pm 6340 Ridgewood Court, 601-977-9920

Paid advertising section.

Cool Alʼs (4654 McWillie, 601-713-3020) A standard in Best of Jackson, Al’s stacked, messy, decadent, creative burgers defy adjectives.

Or try pineapple chicken, smoked sausage...or the nationally recognized veggie burger.

Fitzgeralds at the Hilton (1001 East County Line Road, 601-957-2800) Bar favorites with a Gulf Coast twist like Gumbo Ya Ya, Shrimp Cocktail and Pelahatchie artisan sausage and cheese antipasto. Plus grilled oysters, tournedos of beef, chicken pontabla and of course the fried stuff—oysters, catfish, shrimp, seafood or chicken. Did we mention the bar?

Hal and Malʼs (200 S. Commerce St. 601-948-0888) Pub favorites meet Gulf Coast and Cajun specialties like red beans and rice, the Oyster Platter or each day’s blackboard special. Repeat winner of Best of Jackson’s “Best Place for Live Music.”

Last Call (3716 I-55 N. Frontage Road 601-713-2700) Burgers, sandwiches and po-boys, plus sports-bar appetizers and specialities. Try chili cheese fries, chicken nachos or the shrimp & pork eggrolls. Pay-per-view sporting events, live bands.

Martinʼs Restaurant and Lounge (214 South State Street 601-354-9712) Lunch specials, pub appetizers (jalapeno poppers, cheezsticks, fried pickles) or order from the full menu of po-boys and entrees. Full bar, massive beer selection and live music most nights.

Shuckerʼs Oyster Bar (116 Conestoga Road, Ridgeland 601-853-0105) Serious about oysters? Try ‘em on the half shell, deep-fried, charred from the oven or baked in champagne. Plus po-boys, pub favorites, burgers, mufalettas, pizza, seafood and steaks!

The Regency (400 Greymont Ave. 601-969-2141) Reasonably priced buffet Monday through Friday featuring all your favorites. Daily happy hour, live bands and regular specials.

Time Out Sports Café (6720 Old Canton Road 601-978-1839) 14 TVs, 1 projector and two big-screens. Daily $9 lunch specials, pub-style appetizers, burgers, seafood and catfish po-boys, salads, and hot entrees including fish, steak and pasta.

Ole Tavern on George Street (416 George St. 601-960-2700) Pub food with a southern flair: beer-battered onion rings, chicken & sausage gumbo, salads, sandwiches and weekly lunch specials. Plus, happy hour 4-7pm Monday through Friday.

Pelican Cove Grill (3999A Harbor Walk Drive 601-605-1865) Great rez view! Shrimp and seafood appetizers, soups, salads, burgers and sandwiches, plus po-boys, catfish baskets, and dinners from the grill including mahi-mahi and reggae ribs.

Sportsmanʼs Lodge (1120 E Northside Dr. in Maywood Mart) 601-366-5441 Voted Best Sports Bar in 2010, Sportman’s doesn’t disappoint with plenty of gut-pleasing sandwiches, and fried seafood baskets. Try the award-winning wings in Buffalo, Thai or Jerk sauces!

Underground 119 (119 South President St. 601-352-2322) Jumbo lump crabcakes, crab quesadillas, beef tenderloin parfaits, orange-garlic shrimp, even “lollipop” lamb chops. Add a full bar and mix in great music. Opens 4 p.m.-until, Wed-Sat.

ASIAN Meet fellow Jackson creatives in Sal + Mookie’s Pi(e) Lounge Thursday, May 20th 6 - 10 PM FREE entry and munchies!

STIX (109 Marketplace Lane off Lakeland Dr Flowood 601-420-4058) Enjoy the quick-handed, knife-wielding chefs at the flaming teppanyaki grill; artful presentations of sushi; the pungent seasonings and spicy flavors of regional Chinese cuisines.

Nagoya (6351 I-55 North #131 @ Target Shopping Ctr. 601-977-8881) Nagoya gets high marks for its delicious-and-affordable sushi offerings, tasty lunch specials and high-flying hibachi room with satisfying flavors for the whole family.

Ichiban (153 Ridge Drive, Ste 105F 601-919-0097 & 359 Ridgeway 601-919-8879) Voted “Best Chinese” in 2010, cuisine styles at Ichiban actually range from Chinese to Japanese, including hibachi, sushi made fresh with seafood, and a crowd-pleasing buffet.

May 13 - 19, 2010

SOUTHERN CUISINE

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Best Butts In Town! since 1980

601-956-7079

1491 Canton Mart Rd. • Jackson

Mimiʼs Family and Friends (3139 North State Street, Fondren) 601-366-6111 Funky local art decorates this new offering in Fondren, where the cheese grits, red beans & rice, pork tacos and pimento cheese are signature offerings. Breakfast and lunch, Mon-Sat. Julep (1305 East Northside Drive, Highland Village, 601-362-1411) Tons of Best of Jackson awards, delicious Southern fusion dishes like award-winning fried chicken, shrimp and grits, blackened tuna and butter bean hummus. Brunch, lunch, dinner and late night.

Primos Cafe (515 Lake Harbour 601-898-3400 and 2323 Lakeland 601-936-3398) A Jackson institution featuring a full breakfast (with grits and biscuits), blue plate specials, catfish, burgers, prime rib, oysters, po-boys and wraps. Save room for something from the bakery.

Sunioraʼs Sidewalk Cafe (200 South Lamar Street 601-355-1955) Homecooking, soul food, buffet and pizza for lunch in downtown Jackson. Soup and salad bar every day, plus daily lunch specials. “Mama’s in the kitchen!” Mon-Fri, 11am-2pm.

Sugarʼs Place (168 W Griffith St 601-352-2364) Hot breakfast and weekday lunch: catfish, pantrout, fried chicken wings, blue plates, red beans & rice, pork chops, chicken & dumplings, burgers, po-boys...does your grandma cook like this?

DINEJackson

Paid advertising section.

The Strawberry Café (107 Depot Drive, Madison, 601-856-3822) Full table service, lunch and dinner. Crab and crawfish appetizers, salads, fresh seafood, pastas, “surf and turf” and more. Veggie options. Desserts: cheesecake, Madison Mud and strawberry shortcake.

Two Sisters Kitchen (707 N. Congress St. 601-353-1180) 2010 Best of Jackson winner for fried chicken offers a sumptious buffet of your choice of veggies, a salad bar, iced tea & one of three homemade desserts. Lunch only. M-F 11-2, Sun. 10:30-2.

JAPANESE SUSHI BAR & HIBACHI GRILL

CELEBRATING 10th Anniversary

STEAK, SEAFOOD & FINE DINING Huntington Grille at the Hilton (1001 East County Line Road 601--957-1515) Chef Luis Bruno offers fresh Gulf seafood, unique game dishes and succulent steaks alongside an expansive wine selection; multiple honors from Best of Jackson, Wine Specator and others.

Schimmelʼs (2615 N. State St. 601-981-7077) Creative southern fusion dishes at attractive prices make the appointed dining room that much more enticing. Daily lunch specials, red beans and rice, angus burgers. Dinner menu includes pork tenderloin, basil-pesto pasta with chicken, cajun shrimp, steaks, seafood and more.

Steam Room Grille (5402 I-55 North 601--899-8588) Known for seafood featuring steamed lobster, crab, shrimp and combo patters. Grilled specialities include shrimp, steaks, and kabobs. Fresh fish fried seafood, lunch menu, catering, live music.

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NAGOYA JACKSON 6351 I-55 North, Ste. 131 (next to Target) in Jackson | 601-977-8881

MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EASTERN Aladdin Mediterranean Grill (730 Lakeland Drive 601-366-6033) Delicious authentic dishes including lamb dishes, hummus, falafel, kababs, shwarma and much more. Consistent award winner, great for takeout or for long evenings with friends.

Jerusalem Café (2741 Old Canton Road 601-321-8797) Yes, it’s a hookah bar in Jackson, which also happens to have a great Meditterean menu, including falafel, lamb shank, feta salad, kabob, spinach pie, grape leaves and baba ghanouj.

Kristos (971 Madison Ave @ Hwy 51, Madison, 601-605-2266) Home of the famous Greek meatball! Hummus, falafel, dolmas, pita sandwiches, salads, plus seasoned curly fries (or sweet potato fries) and amazing desserts.

Petra Cafe (104 West Leake Street, Clinton 601-925-0016) Mediterranean and Lebanese cuisine in the charm of Olde Towne Clinton. Stuffed grape leaves, spinach pie, shrimp kabobs, greek salads, hummus and more. Lunch and dinner served seven days a week.

PIZZA Mellow Mushroom (275 Dogwood Blvd, Flowood, 601-992-7499) Pizzas of all kinds, munchies, calzones, grilled hoagies, salads and more make up the extensive and “eclectic” menu at Mellow Mushroom. Award-winning beer selection. Dine in or carry out.

The Pizza Shack (1220 N State St. 601-352-2001) 2009 and 2010’s winner of Best Pizza offers the perfect pizza-and-a-beer joint. Creative pizza options abound (“Cajun Joe, anyone?”), along with sandwiches, wings, salads and even BBQ. Sal & Mookieʼs (565 Taylor St. 601-368-1919) Pizzas of all kinds plus pasta, eggplant parmesan and the local favorite: fried ravioli. Voted Best Chef, Best Dessert, Best Kid’s Menu and Best Ice Cream in the 2010 Best of Jackson reader poll.

MEDITERRANEAN GRILL

lso We a r! cate

Dine in or Take Out! Sun-Thurs 11am - 10pm Fri and Sat 11am - 11pm

WE DELIVER!

730 Lakeland Dr. - Jackson, MS Tel: 601-366-3613 or 601-366-6033 Fax: 601-366-7122

Fondren / Belhaven / UMC area

Visit our Gro cery Store next door

163 Ridge Way - Ste. E - Flowood, MS Tel: 601-922-7338 Fax: 601-992-7339

CARRIBBEAN Taste of the Island (436 E. Capitol, Downtown, 601-360-5900) Jerk chicken or ribs, curry chicken or shrimp, oxtails, snapper or goat, plus bok choy, steamed cabbage and Jamaican Greens, Carry out, counter seating or delivery available. 11a-7p.

VEGETARIAN

jacksonfreepress.com

High Noon Café (2807 Old Canton Road in Rainbow Plaza 601-366-1513) Fresh, gourmet, tasty and healthy defines the lunch options at Jackson’s own strict vegetarian (and very-vegan-friendly) restaurant. Daily lunch specials -- like Mexican day and the seaside cakes on Fridays -- push the envelope on creative and healthy; wonderful desserts!

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Before You

SNAP...

Let’s Talk It Out.

NOW OPEN ON SUNDAYS!

Dinner Entrees Served All Day!

TROUBLED? STRESSED?

Guinness Stout Cheese- $3.99

Need someone to listen?

SATURDAY, MAY 15 Movie, “Horsefeathers” (8 a.m., TCM): College president Groucho Marx is trying to improve his football team and accidentally recruits two lunatics. Some things never change in college sports. … Southern League baseball, West Tenn at Mississippi (7:05 p.m., Pearl, 103.9 FM): The MBraves and Diamond Jaxx open a five-game series at the T-P.

The Reuben- $8.99 Classic, Awesome!

Marianara Chicken Sandwich- $8.99 Messy but good!

WEDNESDAY 5/12

Doug Frank (Blues & Rock)

THURSDAY 5/13

Sound Wagon (Ole Time) FRIDAY 5/14

Scott Albert Johnson Band (Blues & Soul)

SATURDAY 5/15

Brad Baird & Eric Neely (Acoustic Alternative) SUNDAY 5/16

Ceili 2pm-4pm Brunch 11am-3pm

Open 11am - Midnight MONDAY 5/17

Karaoke w/ Matt TUESDAY 5/18

May 13 - 19. 2010

THURSDAY, MAY 13 NBA basketball, Cleveland at Boston (7 p.m., ESPN): Mo Williams and the Cavaliers face the Celtics in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

FRIDAY, MAY 14 College baseball, Southern Miss at Rice (7 p.m., Houston): The Golden Eagles and Owls open a series that will decide who wins the C-USA title.

Spread with crostinis

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Tiger Woods says he has a pain in the neck, at least until the divorce is final.

Open Mic with A Guy Named George

Call:

--HELP We are available to you 24 - 7.

Confidential.

Anonymous.

SUNDAY, MAY 16 College baseball, Ole Miss at Alabama (2:05 p.m., Tuscaloosa, Ala., 97.3 FM): The Rebels and Crimson Tide conclude their weekend SEC series. Can the Rebels gain some ground on Arkansas?

Curses, Foiled Again Robby Rose pleaded guilty to felony cheating in a fishing tournament in Rockwall County, Texas, after he was caught stuffing a one-pound lead weight into a bass to try to win top prize: a bass boat. Tournament officials became suspicious when they placed the fish in a holding tank before weighing it, and it sank to the bottom. “As far as we’re concerned, the case was about a $55,000 boat,” county prosecutor Kenda Culpepper said, “not a 10-pound fish.”

(NBC News)

Unfriendly Skies Europe’s Ryanair confirmed it intends charging passengers to use the restroom on flights lasting an hour or less. The coin-operated lavatory will cost either 1 euro or 1 pound.

The airline also plans to reduce the number of restrooms. “By charging for the toilets, we are hoping to change passenger behavior so that they use the bathroom before or after the flight,” Ryanair’s Stephen McNamara said.

“That will enable us to remove two out of three of the toilets and make way for at least six extra seats.” (Britain’s Daily Mail)

MONDAY, MAY 17 Major League baseball, Boston at New York Yankees (6 p.m., ESPN): Do these two play every week or what?

TUESDAY, MAY 18 College baseball, Mississippi State at Southern Miss (6:30 p.m., Hattiesburg, 105.9 FM): The Golden Eagles are rolling toward the postseason; the Bulldogs are playing out the string and waiting until next year.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 19 College baseball, Grambling State at Jackson State (6 p.m., Jackson): The Tigers host the G-Men in a crucial SWAC game.

They’re all crucial at this time of year. …

Movie, “Trouble Along the Way” (7 p.m., TCM): College football coach John Wayne will do anything to turn a bankrupt college’s team into a winner. If this looks familiar, footage from this movie was used in a beer commercial a few years back.

The Slate is compiled by Doctor S, who reminds you that you don’t have to play a sport to be one. RIP Morris Curry. Find out how to be a good sport at JFP Sports on www.jackson freepress.com.

Paula Wolf, 41, who explained, “She liked to hear people say ‘ouch.’” (Wausau Daily Herald)

Schoolwork in Later Life After a camera caught his wife running a red light in Collier County, Fla., math tutor Mike Mogil insisted the ticket was illegal because the yellow light didn’t last long enough.

County guidelines state the yellow light should be 4.5 seconds, but Mogil tested it 15 times and found it averaged only 3.8 seconds. He challenged the ticket, and a special magistrate dismissed it. Not content to stop there, Mogil said he checked 65 of the county’s 200 intersections with red-light cameras and found that only seven yellow lights are long enough. (Southwest Florida’s WBBH-TV News)

ET Stay Home Astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, 68, warned that communicating with aliens could be “too risky.” He explained that a visit to Earth by extraterrestrials would be like Christopher Columbus arriving in the New World, “which didn’t turn out very well for the Native Americans.” (Discovery Channel)

Reasonable Explanations

Eighth-Amendment Follies

Police said Hope L. Neff, 35, admitted setting a fire that destroyed an apartment building in Juniata, Pa., explaining she was curious to see “how fast a mattress would burn.” Fire officials estimated the damage at between $350,000 and $500,000. (Altoona Mirror) After four people reported they were shot with blow darts from a passing van while walking in downtown Stevens Point, Wis., police arrested

After a Nevada judge sentenced Michelle Lyn Taylor, 34, to life in prison for forcing a 13-year-old boy to touch her breasts, public defender Alina Kilpatrick pointed out, “She is getting a greater penalty for having a boy touch her breast than if she killed him.” (Elko Daily Free Press) Compiled from mainstream media sources by Roland Sweet. Authentication on demand.

BY MATT JONES

AURUS (Apr· 20-May 20) “I can’t live the button-down life,” cartoon character Homer Simpson says. “I want it all: the terrifying lows, the dizzying highs, the creamy middles.” Born May 10, Homer is unusual for a Taurus. Many of your tribe love the creamy middles but are quite content to live without the terrifying lows, even if that means being deprived of your fair share of dizzying highs. While that may sometimes seem like a boring limitation, I don’t expect it to be any time soon. The creamy middles that are looming for you are the lushest, plushest creamy middles I’ve seen in a long time. rrifying lows and dizzying highs will be irrelevant.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20)

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

Spanish painter Francisco Goya created an etching entitled “El Sueño de la Razón Produce Monstruos.” Its two possible translations have very different meanings: “The sleep of reason produces monsters” or “The dream of reason produces monsters.” The flrst version suggests that when our reasoning faculties go dormant, we’re susceptible to doing dumb and crazy things. The second version implies that if we rely excessively on our reasoning faculty, it acquires a lunatic hubris that devalues our emotions and distorts our imagination.

You’re more susceptible to the former than the latter right now, Gemini, but it’s crucial that you avoid both. A way out of your pain is available if you use your reason just right—neither too little nor too much.

Some experts say methamphetamine is more addictive than any other drug. Here’s one reason why, according to “Mothers Against Methamphetamines” founder Dr. Mary Holley: “The effect of an IV hit of methamphetamine is the equivalent of 10 orgasms all on top of each other lasting for 30 minutes to an hour, with a feeling of arousal that lasts for another day and a half.” At least that’s what it’s like in the early stages of using the drug.

After a while, hell sets in and the body is no longer happy. Luckily, you Scorpios won’t be tempted to fall victim to meth splurges any time soon. Without relying on anything more than your natural powers, your capacity for experiencing erotic pleasure will be substantial.

Across SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

Some of your illusions seeped into you before you learned to talk. Others sneaked into you later, while you were busy flguring out how to become yourself. Eventually, you even made conscious choices to adopt certain illusions because they provided you with comfort and consolation. There’s no need to be ashamed of this. It’s a natural part of being a human being. Having said that, I’m happy to announce that you’re entering a phase when you will have the power to shed at least some of your illusions—especially the ones you consciously chose—in ways that don’t hurt you. To begin the process, declare this intention: “I have the courage to see life as it really is.”

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) According to a statute in the state of Indiana, you may not use your bare hands to catch a flsh from a lake.

In Fairbanks, Alaska, you’re breaking the law if you let a moose slurp an alcoholic drink. In Flowery Branch, Ga., you may be arrested if you shout out “Snake!”

Arizona doesn’t permit you to let a donkey sleep in your bathtub. And yet I’ve got to say that you Leos could probably get away with all of these acts and more in the coming weeks. The omens suggest that your levels of freedom are extremely high, as is your amount of slack.

You’ll have clearance to do many things you wouldn’t normally be able to do.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) I didn’t think it was possible, but paranoid visions of doom and gloom have become even more popular in the past few years than ever before. Apocalypse watching is no longer a fringe hobby reserved for conspiracy fetishists; it has gone mainstream. And yet here I am in the midst of the supposed mayhem, babbling my eccentric ideas about how we are living in the single most wonderful time in the history of civilization. So let me ask you a crucial question, especially if you’re one of the millions of normal people who believes that cynicism is a supreme sign of intelligence: Do you really want to be getting your fortune told by a rebel optimist like me? You should know that all my horoscopes are rooted in the hypothesis that expecting the best makes you happier, safer, kinder, wilder, stronger and smarter.

What happens in the coming weeks will, in my opinion, be dramatic proof of that.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) The bad news is that climate change is really underway.

That’s why Purbasha Island in the Bay of Bengal has sunk beneath the waves, swallowed up by rising sea levels and shifts in monsoon patterns. The good news is that its disappearance has ended a dispute between India and Bangladesh, both of which claimed it as their own. There’s nothing left to flght over. I foresee a metaphorically comparable scenario coming to your life, Libra: an act of nature that will render a con‡ict irrelevant.

Your eyes can discriminate between about 500 various shades of gray. Let’s hope your moral compass is as precise in its power to distinguish subtle differences.

Why? Because there will be no easy black-versus-white decisions to make in the near future; no simple, foolproof way to determine the distinctions between good and bad. I recommend that for now you give up hope of achieving utter certainty, and instead, celebrate the reflned pleasures of nuanced, complicated truth.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) These days you have an extraordinary capacity to perform magic. And when I use that word “magic,” I mean it in a very speciflc sense: causing practical changes to occur in accordance with your most noble and beautiful desires. I’m not talking about the kind of “magic” that helps you gratify mediocre wishes or tawdry fantasies.

I’m not saying you should go on an acquisitive binge as you gather up booty and bragging points. Rather I’m letting you know that you have the power to create inspiring transformations in the way your life works.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) Do you want to know where all the power lies for you right now? It’s nowhere. Do you want to know what the nature of that power is? It’s nothing. But before you jump to conclusions about the meaning of what I just said, read this passage from Lao Tzu’s “Tao Te Ching,” translated by Stephen Mitchell: “We join spokes together in a wheel, but it is the center hole that makes the wagon move. We shape clay into a pot, but it is the emptiness inside that holds whatever we want. We hammer wood for a house, but it is the inner space that makes it livable.”

1 Big-eyed bird 4 Addis ___, Ethiopia 9 “___ and Abner” (old radio comedy) 12 “Well, ___-di-dah!”

13 He followed George 15 “___ Few Dollars More” 16 Appetizer of bread, tomatoes and olive oil* 18 Wading bird in hieroglyphics 19 “Bless you” preceder 20 Super ending?

21 Nine-digit IDs 22 Morning brew* 26 D.C. clock setting 29 Burt Reynolds co-star DeLuise 30 Toothpaste holder 31 Present add-ons 33 Buster?

36 Hides in the shadows 39 Where the 2010 Winter Olympics was held* 42 Church council 43 Totally uncool 44 Half of 62-across 45 Potting need

47 Constricting snake 49 “Akeelah and the ___” 50 Actress in 1997’s “Jackie Brown”* 55 Sound like a heavy smoker 56 Most common word in English 57 1998 Edwin McCain hit 61 “___ boy!”

62 Celeb couple in tabloids* 65 Depilatory brand 66 “Who, me?” response 67 Taint 68 Armenia, once: abbr.

69 “At Last” singer James and namesakes 70 Peak ___

Down

©2010 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com) For answers to this puzzle, call: 1900-226-2800, 99 cents per minute.

Must be 18+. Or to bill to your credit card, call: 1-800-6556548. Reference puzzle #0460.

Last Week’s Answers

1 Exile island 2 “Unwrapped” host Summers 3 “Not gonna happen” 4 Fastest Finger options on “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?”

5 Scrooge’s word 6 “___ you insane?!”

7 Traditional cloth dyeing technique 8 ___ God (natural disaster) 9 Seafood restaurant cover 10 Pee

BY MATT JONES

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) A Pisces woman I know was harried by ant swarms invading her kitchen. She could have run out to the drug store and brought home loads of poisonous little ant hotels. Instead, she gave her imagination the go-ahead to brainstorm. Soon she’d come up with a solution. She scooped up a host of ants and threw them in a blender with the other ingredients of her smoothie, then drank it all down. The next day, all the ants had departed, as if scared off by the Great Devourer. I suggest you learn from her example, both in the sense of being open to outlandish possibilities and in the sense of flnding alternate ways to deal with adversaries.

Last Week’s Answers

ARIES (March 21-Apr· 19) What happens when someone “sells out”? Typically, it refers to a person who overrides her highest artistic standards or her soul’s mandates in order to make a bundle of money. But I want to enlarge the deflnition to encompass any behavior that seeks popular appeal at the expense of authenticity, or any action that sacriflces integrity for the sake of gaining power. I think you have to be especially on guard against this lapse in the coming days, Aries—not only in yourself but also in those you’re close to.

For help in reinterpreting your problems as opportunities, go here: http://bit.ly/ShadowBless. Send testimony to Truthrooster@gmail.com.

“Strip Sudoku” No, you don’t have to take your clothes off to play Strip Sudoku. Just flll each square in this grid with a digit from 1 to 9 so that, as in a standard sudoku, no digit is repeated in any row, column, or 3x3 box (as marked off by shading in the grid). Each three-square strip (as marked off by heavy black lines) contains an S, M, and L-marked square, which stand for small, medium, and large. The S will be the smallest of the three digits in its strip, the M will be the middle digit, and the L will be the largest digit. Now solve!!

jacksonfreepress.com

CANCER (June 21-July 22)

“Stuff It”—my cup runneth over.

11 Former New York congressman Eric in a March 2010 scandal 14 Gold purity unit 15 Handshake alternative 17 Cry convulsively 23 Long times to wait 24 “___ and the Night Visitors” 25 “Star Trek” role 26 Dies down 27 Ellen DeGeneres’s role in “Finding Nemo” 28 Mary-Kate, to Ashley 32 Stuck flrmly with one’s opinion 34 Co. whose mascot is Nipper 35 Meal with fries and a drink 37 “The ___ Runner” 38 Fill to excess 40 Beatnik’s assent 41 Kings of ___ 46 Allow to pass 48 Grenoble goodbyes 50 Cereal aisle ingredients 51 Hotel postings 52 “Schoolhouse Rock” magic number 53 Take advantage of the buffet 54 The largest share 58 Nice wheels 59 ___ B’rith 60 “My Name Is ___” 63 Big paper, for short 64 “We all ___ little mad sometimes” (quote from “Psycho”)

45

www.ichibangrill.com

GRILL & SUSHI

3

Organizing Your Closets?

Bring any gently worn, high quality items to Bargain Boutique and let us find them a new home.

Bargain Boutique accepts donations of men’s, women’s and children’s clothing, household goods, furnishings, small appliances and décor from individuals and local retailers.

YOUR QUALIFYING PURCHASE OF

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153 Ridgeway, Ste. 105F • Flowood Telephone: (601) 919 - 0097

COLONIAL MART SHOPPING CENTER

5070 Parkway Dr. • 601.991.0500 Mon - Fri 9:30am - 6pm • Sat 9:30am - 5pm Donations accepted Mon - Fri 10am - 4:30pm and Sat 10am - 4pm *All donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

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May 13 - 19, 2010

BO BOUNDS, host of “Out of Bounds”

46

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jacksonfreepress.com

MAY 18TH TUESDAY

47

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Immediate need for detail- oriented individuals.

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