by Dustin Cardon
Chef Derek Emerson bought Parlor Market and added an Italian flair to the menu. Photo courtesy Devna Bose
The restaurant scene in metro Jackson is constantly changing, growing and becoming more competitive. In the last 15 years, we've watched the region become a food mecca, especially with more locally owned restaurants. Here is some of what happened in the metro area's restaurant scene in the last year.
BRAVO! Closes for Renovations
BRAVO! Italian Restaurant & Bar (4500 Interstate 55 N., Suite 244, 601.982.8111) is closed through Sept. 25 for building repair and renovation. The restaurant celebrated the renovations with a party on Aug. 12, where visitors bid on furniture and other accessories inside the restaurant as well as seats for BRAVO!'s unveiling party for the remodeled restaurant, which will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 26.
Jesse Houston Joins Fine & Dandy
Jesse Houston, the executive chef of Saltine Oyster Bar, will now serve as culinary director and acting executive chef of Fine & Dandy, which is slated to open in The District at Eastover (1250 Eastover Drive, districtateastover.com) this fall. The restaurant is located in the center of The District and will feature outdoor patio seating next to The District Green, which is the development's outdoor common space. The menu will include burgers, snacks, cocktails and more.
Cantina Laredo Opens at The District
Cantina Laredo, a national Mexican restaurant chain, opened a new location at The District at Eastover (1250 Eastover Drive, districtateastover.com) in Jackson on July 25.
The menu at Cantina Laredo includes entrees such as stuffed roasted poblano peppers and spiced beef tamales with roasted red bell peppers, and specialty drinks such as the Casa Rita margarita, which contains Sauza's Giro Silver tequila, Cointreau, and lemon and lime juices. The restaurant's bar has both outdoor and indoor seating.
FEAST Comes to the Hatch
FEAST Specialty Foods, which is an internet-based business that prepares and delivers dinners to homes and offices on Wednesdays and Thursdays, moved into a new commercial kitchen at The Hatch in midtown (126 Keener Ave., 601.941.4757) on July 9.
FEAST offers a different dinner menu each week along with a large selection of frozen food such as soups, gumbos, casseroles and a la carte items. The menu for the following week's deliveries is available on FEAST's website, feast-sf.com with all orders due by 9 p.m. each Sunday, and the business does the deliveries on Wednesdays and Thursdays between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.
Tokyo Tasty Opens in Jackson
Asian fusion buffet Tokyo Tasty (1410 Old Square Road, 769.216.2420) opened in early July inside the former location of the Cherokee Inn in Jackson, which closed in early 2015. Tokyo Tasty's buffet features katsu chicken, baked whitefish, teriyaki beef, jalapeno chicken, shrimp and chicken tempura, sushi and more.
E&L Comes to Metrocenter
E&L Barbeque (1111 Bailey Ave., 601.355.5035) partnered with event space Next Level Experience at the Metrocenter Mall to open a second E&L location—the original is on Bailey Avenue—in the venue's restaurant section, which includes a sit-down dining area, and a rentable space for parties and events.
E&L's full menu is available at the new location along with new additions such as Cajun shrimp or chicken alfredo pasta, loaded nachos, salads and dark-meat jerk chicken. The new location also features live music from local blues and soul bands every Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Big Apple Inn, Stamps Superburger and other local restaurants have also opened in Metrocenter Mall.
Derek Emerson Purchases Parlor Market
Derek Emerson, who owns Walker's Drive In, Local 463 Urban Kitchen and CAET Wine Bar, purchased downtown Jackson restaurant Parlor Market (115 W. Capitol St., 601.360.0090) in July after former owner Matthew Kajdan took a job as executive chef at the Westin Hotel's Estelle Wine Bar & Bistro.
Emerson implemented a new, Italian-focused menu for Parlor Market on July 7 that includes spaghetti and meatballs, carbonara, lobster risotto, chicken thigh picatta, linguini and clams, jumbo shrimp scampi and more, all prepared with noodles made from scratch at the restaurant.
BRAVO! Italian Restaurant & Bar (4500 Interstate 55 N., Suite 244, 601.982.8111) is closed through Sept. 25 for building repair and renovation. The restaurant celebrated the renovations with a party on Aug. 12, where visitors bid on furniture and other accessories inside the restaurant as well as seats for BRAVO!'s unveiling party for the remodeled restaurant, which will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 26.
Jesse Houston Joins Fine & Dandy
Jesse Houston, the executive chef of Saltine Oyster Bar, will now serve as culinary director and acting executive chef of Fine & Dandy, which is slated to open in The District at Eastover (1250 Eastover Drive, districtateastover.com) this fall. The restaurant is located in the center of The District and will feature outdoor patio seating next to The District Green, which is the development's outdoor common space. The menu will include burgers, snacks, cocktails and more.
Cantina Laredo Opens at The District
Cantina Laredo, a national Mexican restaurant chain, opened a new location at The District at Eastover (1250 Eastover Drive, districtateastover.com) in Jackson on July 25.
The menu at Cantina Laredo includes entrees such as stuffed roasted poblano peppers and spiced beef tamales with roasted red bell peppers, and specialty drinks such as the Casa Rita margarita, which contains Sauza's Giro Silver tequila, Cointreau, and lemon and lime juices. The restaurant's bar has both outdoor and indoor seating.
FEAST Comes to the Hatch
FEAST Specialty Foods, which is an internet-based business that prepares and delivers dinners to homes and offices on Wednesdays and Thursdays, moved into a new commercial kitchen at The Hatch in midtown (126 Keener Ave., 601.941.4757) on July 9.
FEAST offers a different dinner menu each week along with a large selection of frozen food such as soups, gumbos, casseroles and a la carte items. The menu for the following week's deliveries is available on FEAST's website, feast-sf.com with all orders due by 9 p.m. each Sunday, and the business does the deliveries on Wednesdays and Thursdays between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.
Tokyo Tasty Opens in Jackson
Asian fusion buffet Tokyo Tasty (1410 Old Square Road, 769.216.2420) opened in early July inside the former location of the Cherokee Inn in Jackson, which closed in early 2015. Tokyo Tasty's buffet features katsu chicken, baked whitefish, teriyaki beef, jalapeno chicken, shrimp and chicken tempura, sushi and more.
E&L Comes to Metrocenter
E&L Barbeque (1111 Bailey Ave., 601.355.5035) partnered with event space Next Level Experience at the Metrocenter Mall to open a second E&L location—the original is on Bailey Avenue—in the venue's restaurant section, which includes a sit-down dining area, and a rentable space for parties and events.
E&L's full menu is available at the new location along with new additions such as Cajun shrimp or chicken alfredo pasta, loaded nachos, salads and dark-meat jerk chicken. The new location also features live music from local blues and soul bands every Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Big Apple Inn, Stamps Superburger and other local restaurants have also opened in Metrocenter Mall.
Derek Emerson Purchases Parlor Market
Derek Emerson, who owns Walker's Drive In, Local 463 Urban Kitchen and CAET Wine Bar, purchased downtown Jackson restaurant Parlor Market (115 W. Capitol St., 601.360.0090) in July after former owner Matthew Kajdan took a job as executive chef at the Westin Hotel's Estelle Wine Bar & Bistro.
Emerson implemented a new, Italian-focused menu for Parlor Market on July 7 that includes spaghetti and meatballs, carbonara, lobster risotto, chicken thigh picatta, linguini and clams, jumbo shrimp scampi and more, all prepared with noodles made from scratch at the restaurant.
Char Restaurant opened its new private dining and event space in the former Mozingo’s Clothiers building at Highland Village. Photo courtesy Char Restaurant Char Opens Private Dining Area
Char Restaurant (4500 Interstate 55 N., Suite 142, 601.956.9562) formally opened its new private dining and event space in the former Mozingo's building adjacent to the restaurant on Aug. 1.
The private space contains five rooms of various sizes, each with an audio-visual screen and projector. The largest, the Highlands Room, has two projector screens with a flat-screen TV behind the room's bar. Char's new space also features a separate, dedicated bar available for large events.
Char's smallest private dining room, the Jacksonian Room, can seat up to 20 people. The Eastover Room seats up to 38 people, the Northside Room seats up to 60 people, the Lefleur's Bluff Room seats up to 108 people and the Highlands Room seats up to 150 people, with cocktail receptions also available in the room for up to 200 people.
The restaurant will offer its full menu for parties of 19 guests or less and a limited menu for groups of 20 or more. Limited menus include guests' choice of appetizer, salad, entree and dessert options, with optional hors d'oeuvres. Customized menus are also available for groups of any size.
Char Restaurant (4500 Interstate 55 N., Suite 142, 601.956.9562) formally opened its new private dining and event space in the former Mozingo's building adjacent to the restaurant on Aug. 1.
The private space contains five rooms of various sizes, each with an audio-visual screen and projector. The largest, the Highlands Room, has two projector screens with a flat-screen TV behind the room's bar. Char's new space also features a separate, dedicated bar available for large events.
Char's smallest private dining room, the Jacksonian Room, can seat up to 20 people. The Eastover Room seats up to 38 people, the Northside Room seats up to 60 people, the Lefleur's Bluff Room seats up to 108 people and the Highlands Room seats up to 150 people, with cocktail receptions also available in the room for up to 200 people.
The restaurant will offer its full menu for parties of 19 guests or less and a limited menu for groups of 20 or more. Limited menus include guests' choice of appetizer, salad, entree and dessert options, with optional hors d'oeuvres. Customized menus are also available for groups of any size.
After 28 years in business, longtime Best of Jackson winner Two Sisters’ Kitchen served its last fried chicken in July. Photo courtesy Piko Ewoodzie Two Sisters' Kitchen Closes
This year, Jacksonians had to say goodbye to a local staple. Diann Irving Alford, who owns longtime Best of Jackson winner Two Sisters' Kitchen, closed the restaurant in July after nearly three decades in business. Alford posted to the restaurant's Facebook page in July that the closing was due to her mother falling ill. By July 22, the page went offline. Irving had previously posted on July 18 that the restaurant would be temporarily closed for air-conditioning repair.
To see more restaurant news, visit jfp.ms/food and subscribe to jfpdaily.com.
This year, Jacksonians had to say goodbye to a local staple. Diann Irving Alford, who owns longtime Best of Jackson winner Two Sisters' Kitchen, closed the restaurant in July after nearly three decades in business. Alford posted to the restaurant's Facebook page in July that the closing was due to her mother falling ill. By July 22, the page went offline. Irving had previously posted on July 18 that the restaurant would be temporarily closed for air-conditioning repair.
To see more restaurant news, visit jfp.ms/food and subscribe to jfpdaily.com.
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