Jackson Jambalaya

Will the last restaurant to leave Jackistan please turn out the lights? Thank you.

Manship and keifers were there when they opened in Jackson.

will the last person leaving Jxn, please turn off the lights.

We are Lou’s sandwich place tonight. Damn good. Not a big crowd in there but we will go back.

Yeah, it’s definitely the competition and not the lack of a flourishing Capital city that is preventing any growth.

Blame on whatever you want but we all know the problem. The grocery store next door has tape covering bullet holes in the doors. No one wants to go to that area, and for good reason. And it’s not because of competition. The competition will close shortly.

Is that area of Fortification going to become a new development or eyesore?

Thank you to the owners of Elvie’s, Fertile Ground, Manship, and Keifer’s. And of course Cap Police and JXN Water. Not sure where Belhaven would be without y’all.

Why aren’t successful people who live and invest in Jackson not getting together and putting forth the best electable candidate for Mayor that will change this trajectory?

8:36 here , here thats the spirit , i like the positive approach !

“ We are Lou’s sandwich place tonight. Damn good. Not a big crowd in there but we will go back.
September 12, 2024 at 8:27 PM”

Not a big crowd. That’s why they are closing.

Simple. A white person CANNOT get elected (I don't give a shit what you liberal dreamers want to think) and the black professional class has hauled ass out of here. The talent pool is totally dry. On top of that, CAL has destroyed the city so badly, recovery is impossible. There are very few businesses law firms, banks etc left in Jackson.....they have left.

9:15 - Those "successful people who live and invest in Jackson" are mostly RINOs who are afraid they'll be called names if they do.

I went to the Ridgeland location 3 weeks ago, my first time at either one. I was not impressed with the hamburger and fries or customer service.On a Saturday evening only me and one other customer there. A young man was sitting in the kitchen playing on his phone.
I was thinking to myself this place is going down the drain like Full Stop and Majestic Kitchen. The pool of available workers is pitiful. It’s not just Jackson. The Beagle Bagel in Madison is pathetic but they all got a tip jar placed by the cash register .

Every restaurant has 2-3 employees playing on their phone. I was in Dairy Queen in Ridgeland this week to get a blizzard and all 4 employees were playing on their phones. Someone said this also happened at Enzo's and didn't help their cause.

Kingfish - That was a piss-poor attempt to cover up the reason they're leaving Jackson. The competition you mention was, for the most part, already there over ten years ago.

And your poor attempt to claim they're combining because of a struggling Ridgeland location flopped as well.

Not sure why you're suddenly trying to alibi for Jackson, but it ain't gonna work. Now git back to your old self and get honest.

That's a shame. They had the best burgers in town. I haven't been there in years though. I don't like going to that area any more.

1:06 AM That's a weak and no doubt whiskey-fueled attempt to rebut Kingfish's accurate commentary. There is more vagrancy in that parking lot than there was 10 years ago but the new restaurants are doing very well one block away. Of course they didn't want to say their expansion plan flopped but that's obviously what drove the decision. They knew assholes would swallow that vague shot at Jackson so they couldn't resist feeding it to you. It will cost them a lot of loyalty from the people who built their business.

8:09 pm You really have poor reading skills. And, you know nothing about the restaurant business. The longevity of restaurants is usually short ,even very good ones. Families don't always want to continue in the restaurant business or the family member that inherits can't retain staff or food quality. Sometimes, they sell out and maintain customers, but not always.

Next-

Louis is a better man that I. I would have left after I was held at gunpoint locking up for the night. Or even when I had to shut down multiple times due to not having water. Both events were way before this announcement.

It would make sense to blame the closing on "Jackson Problems" a couple of years ago, but with JXN Water and Capital Police on the scene, those excuses just don't hold at present. Sadly, people are just eating out less due to inflation.

The principle of competition: The principle of competition holds excessive profits in any line of business will trigger excessive competition – and this excessive competition will, in turn, destroy profits.

Consider a store that opens in a stable area. The store does extremely well and provides a significant return on the investment. Two entrepreneurs separately, and independently, observe the success of the business and open two similar stores in the same neighborhood simultaneously. As a result, the revenue and profits of the original store drops – as does its value. Further, the two new stores don’t perform as well as anticipated.

Forgive me if I am wrong, but doesn't Fertile ground have a gated parking lot with security? Pulito and the others are able to block off the streets to vehicle traffic with police located where they are blocked off creating a secure "block party" feel to them? I Know of several people who had vehicles broken into at Kiefers and it took some hell raising from those for Kiefers to finally do something about their security. Spin it any way you want to, but I bet competition isn't the driving factor, it's "Jackson things" more than anything.

Lous has some of the best food around. Lous does not have a large enough customer base to support his great food. Lous is moving to an area with more people with more money to spend on Lous good food. Louis is a fighter. I’ll go eat with him and enjoy it af.

There is security visible at all times in front of those new Belhaven businesses. That tells you something.

It's going to get worse - rumor has it that Trustmark has acquired a large building in Ridgeland.

Fenian’s Pub, located a block away from Lou’s, made the decision to close. They didn’t have much competition. Wonder why they shut down?

The question is what is the owner referring to when he posts about "obstacles in this Jackson location"? Can’t both sides be right? Both crime and competition are to blame for them relocating. It appears that Jacksonians believe it’s the competition and others believe it’s the crime. It could also be the poor utility services provided by the City of Jackson as a contributing factor. We’ll never know.

Sad to see the area lose businesses. Walgreens closing has affected Belhaven, Northtown, Georgetown & many other residents. The closest pharmacy is in Meadowbrook.

Keifer's Madison location is killing it. Customers don't have to think twice about their safety. Only a matter of time.

Sad to hear that they are leaving. I used to eat there often when I worked in Jackson.

7:43 is correct. Belhaven resident, frequent visitor to Lou's. Will also add Martin's has destroyed his former lobbyist crowd.

"However, recent years have provided obstacles in this Jackson location that are proving more difficult to hurdle as time goes on."
"We are so excited for this change and cannot wait to bring our passion for fine dining southern cuisine to the Madison County area."

Says it all...

The Walgreens on Meadowbrook is closing. There is almost nothing in there. The Walgreens next to Hickory Pit has very little stock as well. I had to get a salesperson in that store to unlock deodorant after searching all over town for one that didn't contain cheap perfume. I don't know of any drugstore in the North Jackson area that is well-stocked. You have to leave Hinds County to purchase some very basic things.

Lou's is my overall favorite restaurant in Jackson. I'll support them in Ridgeland for sure. I just hope this isn't a last grasp to hang on.

I love JJ, it’s one of the few places I can go to listen to the Mississippi refugees come to play the “my trailer park is better than your trailer park” game. What a bunch of wimpy cowards…

Yes, it tells me they have better landlords.

Sales tax diversions to Jacktown are down (meaning sales tax collections) as are the special collections for infrastructure, the convention center and to fund the JCVB. No f'ing way this recent spate of closings was factored into the just passed budget. Also, as predicted, the migration of the I55 auto dealers corridor north of the county line is in full swing with more announcements pending any day. This next fiscal is going to be absolutely brutal.

Any comments out of Belhaven's career politician David Blount yet?

I like Lou’s food. I can’t wait to have them close to home and my work. Will be a Great place to meet for work lunches too now.

On the upside, I recently saw an article predicting an upswing for businesses (office space) coming back to Jackson. But the reason was that the suburbs have run out of office space.

I recently saw an article predicting an upswing for businesses (office space) coming back to Jackson.

Link?

Every time I read about a restaurant closing, I think about Nicks on Lakeland. I don't care why Nick closed his dining establishment. I still miss it so much. University Club, too. Several others that only demonstrate my ancient roots.

I own some city of Jackson municipal bonds. Is there any body out there who wants to buy them?

there is a group of drug addicted street people who hang out around the grocery store next door so the can use the grocery store bathroom. no wonder restaurants leave.

Lou's should've sought a location near Fertile Ground. The synergy in that area really affected the Lou's crowd. Their Jackson customer base will not follow them to Ridgeland. Ridgeland has more competition for them. I wish them well.

2 sammiches = 50 bucks and tasteless, tried it 3 times and dissapointed all three. but the worst part was they ask for the tip when you placed the order......how the hell do i know what to tip when the only thing that happened is i just gave you money ? my wife said bring your little tip machine to the table when in finished !

Can we please bring back the great Parkin's pharmacy?

Not sure what the hell you just said, 7:43, and doubt you are either.

Clearly Kingfish (who is probably 7:43) is pretending to suggest these places are NOT leaving town because the town is a shithole where every entrant to the city is very likely going to get shot. Why alibi by making up shit about competition next door and struggling businesses in another town?

People and businesses are flooding out of Jacktown for one reason and one reason only. And it ain't vagrants in a parking lot.

Fenians is already being planned to be a new much nicer venue that will work. It's following the Austin vibe-out Comedy and Drinks club which will serve 7 days a week til 4 a.m. Drinks and unique Hors d'œuvres with open mic and top list comedians coming in to make it a part of the big name tour route from Chicago to New Orleans. Get ready. It doesnt matter if you don't think it will work Joe Rogan is padding the investment pool so as to include this with 8 other Mothership Branches of comedy clubs including Atlanta, Nashville, New Orleans, Biloxi, etc. It will be two stories wide open with a one person laser beam elevator to go from up to downstairs that looks amazing.

And sometimes business and homeowners move away from Jackson for reasons other than crime and inept municipal government, but not always. Said nobody ever.

For their next act @9:59 will tell us that Arena Football is coming to Jackson.

Joe Rogan is directly or indirectly investing in Jackson. ROFLMAO

First, a positive: Lou’s generally had very good food. Only criticism is that, over time, their menu became more and more basic and was half or more burgers/steaks the last few years.

Second, a negative: My experiences at the restaurant generally saw service ranging from average to poor. Hostesses were often surly and generally incompetent. Waitstaff would abandon tables for long stretches, were unfamiliar with the menu, and overall staff quality (much like many places) plunged post-pandemic. My worst experience, which led me to going from a once a month or so customer to a 1-2 times year customer, occurred a few years back on Father’s Day. I had made a reservation to take my parents out and we arrived early to a nearly-empty restaurant and were told the reservation was “lost,” but had likely been made with a recently-fired employee who often forgot to book the call-ins. I asked to be seated anyway and they said they were “booked solid” and had no openings, despite the fact they had already admitted that I likely DID actually have a reservation and that maybe two tables were occupied at that early hour. No apologies or attempts to make things right. Completely non-chalant and rude as hell.

Finally, Lou himself is a complete jerk, and it’s hard to believe he came from his first-class father. Unlike the crews at Manship, Elvie’s, and Pulito, he never made any attempt to become part of the Belhaven community and defiantly (in opposition to even a remote level of business sense) parked his personal vehicle with Madison County plates right at the front door taking up a spot that should have been for PAYING customers. His sandwich shop, which I tried twice, is mediocre and was nearly-empty at peak lunch hours both times I was there. So, not sure that particular location is the magic pill he’s looking for.

Jackson has done little to make restaurants or other types of businesses feel welcome. However, Madison County has been a restaurant graveyard for decades and stretch he’s decamping for has seen Enzo, Biaggi’s, Revolution, Ruth’s Chris, P.F. Chang’s, Majestic Burger, Red 8, Sweet Peppers, Chop’d, Mint, his own sandwich shop, and a host of over places bite the dust over the past decade. Not exactly the track record of an area that will save a restaurant that had already been in decline for some time.

I have always wanted to try Full Serve but did not want my car to be swallowed by the potholes on Fortification. And I am usually alone so not a fan of the vagrants and sketchy parking lot.
We went to the sandwich shop for lunch in Ridgeland and it was very crowded, the service was good, and the food was excellent. Went back the next week and same. I cannot wait to finally get to try Full Serve though.

Say what you want about restaurants failing but Caet stays packed in Ridgeland even on weeknights. Good food in affluent SAFE areas with decent service do survive.
Like it or not, the ones that fail typically do so for very valid reasons.