Jackson Jambalaya

Not a big blow. Marketplace at work. Parlor market took their customers.

Cue the jackson bashers. We know what you are going to say........save your time

Parlor Market? don't really see how the two compete.

I enjoyed Univ Club for years...had many Christmas Party there....hate to see it go.

last time i went, yrs ago,sub par. with butler snow gone...

The market share only shifts from one business to another. Yes the marketplace works but downtown there is no net new growth in the size of the pie.

Cue the shooting last night.

802. Are you kidding......I moved here in 1996 and there is much more going on downtown at night. parlor market, underground 119, king edward, mayflower is always packed........private clubs are closing across the country.

I've worked with these customer's in the past (who remembers Amer Golf?). A lot of their management from AG went to CC. Jackson is not worth their investment as they are retreating; AG did a tremendous job of doing just that. Golf courses are CC's primary concern and they have been cutting back on those for years.

If they lose one dollar on a club at this point, I guarantee you it's closed. Every other major city club has lost corporate perk dollars. They will maintain those, with larger expectations of membership, instead of losing here in Jacktown with a smaller membership.

Sad it is happening, but it's all business.

re: August 23, 2011 7:37 PM

Cynical are we?

Not cynical, just know that there are people on here who clearly don't want to live in jackson but can't just quietly make their own choices. They have to criticize others.

I predicted something like this would happen when the Jackson Zoo failed to maintain accreditation to keep
two or three elephants.

Ah, toss em' a bone.

Yeah, hate to see it close, too... went to several events there. But it is still a nice space. My bet is it becomes something else that caters to meetings, parties, receptions, etc. Time marches on.

Oh, c'mon 7:37! Aren't you going to call us all racists while you're at it?

I have a challenge for all the people who are screaming how great it is to live in downtown Jackson - instead of holing up in the King Edward, buy a house over there by the New Deal supermarket on the corner of Monument and Farish. Since downtown Jackson is statistically the safest place in the state (according to Ben Allen), you should have no worries. Don't let the bars on the windows and doors of each house dissuade you! Don't you care about your city? Are you just a racist who won't move there because most of the residents are black?

When is the JFP going to move its offices there? Why doesn't Ben Allen relocate the DJP headquarters to that area? It's downtown, after all.

For all the blather about downtown, it seems only certain parts of downtown are worth consideration. When all these people who are playing New York loft dweller move to E. Church Street, then I'll give some credence to the notion that downtown is a vibrant residential area.

Reed, since you obviously don't live downtown, what's it to you?

Why do you care?

The last nail in the coffin of the University Club was when the State Personnel Board moved into the Butler Snow space. Now the building is filled with people who can't afford to be members of the club.

Reed, have you never been to another city ANYWHERE?

Nobody is moving to areas in Madison and Rankin that have rusted cars in the yard and an old trailer for the relatives "out back" either.

And, how are the symphony and museums doing in Rankin and Madison? And, do you want to brag about your private clubs or architectural treasures now?

824 makes a good point about other private club restaurants around the country - would enjoy seeing those stats to see if this is just a national trend, see how many other cities our size have more than one private club, etc.

I agree there is more going on downtown than in 1996. But what I personally miss most is that area just west of the viaduct at the King Edward: Living Room Coffee Shop, 5 Points Amphitheater, Corner Bar / Midnight Sun, Ironhorse, etc

"When is the JFP going to move its offices there?"

Soon.

demographics changed and you know what follows...

When Mississippi began to morph into a more diverse employment and societal community (twenty years ago) there was no longer a need for a snooty, high-tower bunker for the self appointed pillars of society to gather for ten dollar chicken plates. And the chance to look out over a decaying city from the penthouse had already begun to lose its attraction.

The high brows and lawyers now put on jeans and meet at Shuckers (with me) for oysters and a long neck.

Time marches on.

You were not quite finished SF...

On a Harley, looking your age, acting like your 18 again. Thank you, but, no thank you. You can keep your "ho's" too (as you have so eloquently referenced in your past comments).

The food at the U Club sucked anyway. Capitol Club is better.

I hope the Capital Club moves to the space the U club uses now.

Anon 10:55. I've heard that gin will sho-nuff mess up some heads. Thanks for the evidence.

This is a great opportunity for Freelon's.

B F D. Capital Club food kicks the UC's ass.

So Shadow, while off topic of thread, lets focus for a second on the MCSO and the Ridgeland PD.

Are you relieved by the election? Or, are you worried?

You brought up the pearl bar. Are you concerned a'la Soto and his ilk will ramp up efforts in Ridgeland as a result and what do you see as the impact of such a situation?

Worried at all?

Looks like the anon crowd continues to rearrange deck chairs on the Titanic.

If the problems in Jackson can be compared to a sinking ship, the whole nation is going under.

Private clubs have closed all over the country, especially private golf courses with club houses and city clubs ( which is what the UC is).

People are more health conscious and don't have big lunches like they use to do. Offices have kitchens with more than a small fridge , coffee pot and drink machine. Business lunches aren't tax deductions anymore. Executives are working through lunch and having food sent in.

The sky isn't falling, Chicken Little .

I'm glad the Depression and two World Wars didn't cause those generations to just give up and stop trying to conquer problems.

Don't stop with your punch list yet, 8:43. You forgot to mention that with email and other types of instant communication, we no longer need to rush off to luncheons to hobknob with our peers or potential clients.

And many of the rotund, bald lawyers and bankers are now meeting at Courthouse and other workout centers, so there's no need to chat over a porkchop, right? Right?

And the news source is no longer limited to the a.m. liberal rag so there's no need to meet up with contemporaries at noon for alternate views of reality. This list could go on forever.

Did anyone mention yet that Rotary and Kiwanis numbers nationwide have experienced a significant dip since, gasp, women were allowed membership. Where can we go with this?

I would say there are more folks willing to move next to a trailer in Rankin County than to E. Church Street. Drive down Cooper Road just east of Dogwood and look at the huge houses across the street from older houses in disrepair. Many of them are not fenced or segregated, unlike the King Edward with its card access and iron security gates to keep out...er, something other than criminals, since they apparently do not inhabit the crime free nirvana that is downtown.

But that's not the point. The point is that no one is giving a false report about Madison or Rankin crime, pretending it doesn't exist, and then trying to shame people who dare to point out the problem, calling them racists or whatever.

Downtown Jackson is NOT "statistically the safest place in the state" (as per Ben Allen). Statistically, the bottom of the Reservoir is the most crime-free place in the state. Silly? Sure, but so is claiming that downtown Jackson is safe as a church and then discounting crimes like the homicide at the Fortification Shell because it's a block or two away from downtown.

The Symphony? You're just being foolish. First, it's the Mississippi Symphony, not the Jackson Symphony. Second, one of their primary sponsors is BCBS, headquartered in Rankin County, as are a number of the other major sponsors. And which museums are solely funded by the city of Jackson, with no state or federal dollars whatsoever? Frankly, I don't know the answer, but I would bet it is pretty close to zero.

"People are more health conscious now" so the club is closing (anon 8:43)? What a hoot of a twist.

Cardiac havens are opening in every corner of the Metro except downtown, and they're thriving, morning, noon and night. St. Dominic Heart Group has doubled in size as a result.

An alternate theory is "people are more afraid now of elevators than they used to be and shoe-shines are no longer available in the foyer to the club".

Don't take any of the spin from Ben 'All-Teed-Up-and-Ready-To-Go' Allen seriously. He's paid to propagandize a perception that doesn't remotely match reality.

How long can a reasonable man prostitute himself?

The answer...my friend...is blowin' in the wind...

You're right Shadowfax, the the chains like McDonald's have healthy options on their menus now simply because it's their civic duty.

And, the aging baby boomers in the market are certainly not a factor in St. Dominics growth and were not a significant part of UC's membership.

All those heart patients in the St's D Heart group are certainly suicidal and continue to eat rich foods.

It just puzzles me that predominately white cities are experiencing the same problems Jackson has experienced and cities with Black leadership like Atlanta and how the Black Chief of Police in Charleston turned that city around. I also don't understand why the socio-economic studies are so wrong in their conclusions about why cities fail.

Failure to protect a city's residential tax base from commercial encroachment can't possibly be a factor.

You really should offer social scientists and economists your intuitive insights.

I'm almost certain that fast food offering salads and apples is not a response to the call of civic duty. But, that's only my wild assed guess.

I'd also guess that growth of the heart clinic at St. D (and elsewhere) is due more to the proliferation of a large number of 'heart drugs', the advent of stress tests and Lipids screening and the uptick in superior marketing efforts. 'The Iceman' and 'I was a ball coach and had a heart attack and they flew me to see Doc Stone' come to mind. Can I get extra gravy with them biscuits please?

But, back to closing down the fancy dining room. Simply, people don't wear ties much anymore, have a certain disdain for the hobknobbery of penthouse dining and don't want to hunt a parking space during a one hour lunch break.

PS: I know this post will be confusing to Kangaroo since it moves back and forth among subject areas.

I think subconsciously most people have gravitated away from the tops of buildings after 9/11, I blame Islam for the fall of the UC.