Jackson Jambalaya

Once upon a time it was Gridley’s.

Gridley’s was in the building currently housing Last Call.

Back in the early 2010’s, I was stuck at home on a snow day with a 6 year old and a 2 year old. Hoping like hell to get out of the house and to not have to entertain the two all day, I called the Cherokee to see if they were open for lunch. The guy who answered the phone said, “Yeah, we’re pretty tough, so we’re definitely open.” It was music to my ears. We got dressed and headed over. The kids and I spent the next several hours eating cheeseburgers and batter fries, playing video games and fooseball, and listening to music from the jukebox. It wasn’t ever as good as the spot on State Street, but I taught both my sons how to shoot eight ball, operate a jukebox and hang out in a dive bar at that spot, so I’m a little sad to see this.

The Cherokee died when it disappeared from North State Street.

Gave Tokyo Tasty a try twice. Nothing was ever good. It was always lousy. Mr. Chen’s is closed too so there is really no reason to risk our lives to go to Jackson.

China Belle used to be great. Long lines every day with good food and it was somewhat inexpensive. Then the prices went up and the quality went down. All the sudden you could walk in and get a table with no wait. After a while, you walked in and it was half full. My last visit I ate some fruit and spit it out as it tasted rotten. Then I saw it shut down.

I'm sure that the restaurant business is hard. But lowering quality while raising prices doesn't work in any business.

Why tear it down? It is not like real estate in Jackson it going for a premium. Was it turning into a crack house?

There aren't many authentic neighborhood bar restaurants left any more. I would have thought that a resurrected Cherokee somewhere in Madison would be a big hit.

I was in Los Angeles about 6 years ago and drank at an old school bar that was packed. Talking to the manager and he said they sold more longneck beers than any other establishment in SoCal. His business philosophy was: "No one is from LA. They all moved here from somewhere else. And this is like the bar they grew up drinking in when they were kids."

Nostalgia is big business if it's done right.

That building was originally a "Poor Richard's" or the sorts some kind of Ben Franklin themed budget plate dinner of supposedly home style meals that had very little taste. It never was Gridleys but it was across the street from Mr. Gatti's pizza .

5:30 -

You couldn’t do the Cherokee in Madison because you can’t bribe them into allowing underage drinking. That’s a big chunk of why it failed in its newer location.

God loves those dignity local economies. One less business that has to worry about surface sewage discharges and no water for weeks.

Kingfish has had one too many craft beers. The Quarter was/is on Lakeland Drive. The Cherokee ain't never been there.

You're ignorant.

Actually, that building was built for Spuds, a potato themed restaurant with lots of video games. It was awesome!

Is Five Happiness still open on McDowell Road?

It was originally the aforementioned Spuds, built by the Davis family who also owned an arcade called Video Village in McDowell Square. It was a manufactured building from inception (1982 I believe) and way outlasted the lifespan for such a structure. The Davises turned it into Poor Richard's (Family Food for Frugal Folks) and served home cooking for about a year. After that closed, it was several things, including the Cherokee and an Asian restaurant, among other things.

Just to round it out, Mars & Steel was originally a KFC, and Thai Time was originally Mr. Gatti's Pizza. All next to Lawril Lanes. Good memories.

That corridor has been a revolving door for years. Chris Newcomb, one of the most resected fast casual restaurateurs in the country, couldn't make a Moe's work back there.

What is going there?

4/25 @ 10:15 - Five Happiness was gone long before COVID. It changed hands and the quality plummeted.

It’s the new location for STAT (Special Therapy and Tactics) Team. Any time there’s a situation in Mississippi that requires the SWAT team, the STAT team will be the first responders. They’ll cuddle the suspects into surrender. Great central location.

@4:49...say it ain't so about mr chens... used to pass through jxn regularly and it was always a good stop.

Anyone know why they tore it down?

RIP to another iconic Jackson Hot Spot. Remember when we could go there or the Dutch Bar without fearing for our lives? Good times.

Should have sold it to UMMC first...... a la Johnny Black

Mr. Chen's is still open for takeout. I had it last week. In dining is temporarily suspended.

Seems like they should also tear down the smaller building near the frontage road to make a larger lot and have good visibility from the Highway. I can’t imagine anything really going there. The old building must’ve been a hazard and the taxes were probably outrageous.

@9:33
Sadly, there are a lot of places like that in Jackson that will always live on in our memories, thankfully. (At least until the dementia really sets in.)

Never to be again, though.

Anyone know why Chens is still take out only? The employees themselves have figured out Covid was a hoax. The food is apparently only good dine-in, since they've been take out, its been crap.

Spuds! RIP birthplace of Spuds. Also, Moe's did very well on that street as long as Newcomb owned it. It failed under other owners.

The food at Mr. Chen’s is currently prepared by illegal aliens from South America. You will notice that the illegals from South America also cut the meat at the wet market and stock the shelves. The Chinese are the only people who speak English in the entire store. Their job is to interface with Americans and keep up the appearance of an Asian Market.

Enjoyed the "new" Cherokee and miss it.

I heard all those properties, including the bowling alley, got scooped up by pro med mj group. Grow op and dispensary in the works.

For those seeking a MR. Chen's fix, they have a takeout location called TY Bowls in Clinton. You can find it in the Kroger parking lot next to Shipley's.

It's crazy to think when a restaurant/business changes location the quality of the grub would fall off, but when they were China Belle and located off Lakeland, their food was truly good.

Then they took it to the next level when they started doing the Mongolian BBQ, because no one on that end of town was doing that. Great location, great prices, just a great bargain for good food.

It sucks when the metro area loses a good restaurant.

The old China Bell would make a great dive bar. Big apartment complex going in behind it. How cool would it be to able to walk to your joint. Big pool going in right behind it. No cheap rent in those apartments, but that’s a thing of the past.

Anybody know what this is gonna be?