COLUMBUS, MS – Courtesy of Emma McRae and the Dispatch

The City Council recently approved a buyout of the former Woody’s on the Water location on Marina Drive in Columbus. DJ Mantooth of Daknas Holdings, LLC is purchasing the property. He said that “This is not just going to be a restaurant. It’s going to be an experience. It’s going to be a place where people can come with their families and enjoy something. … What we’re going to do, it’s not around here, especially in Columbus. We don’t have this type of space.” A friend encouraged him to chedk the place out: “…I looked into it. I went and drove out there and looked at the property, and I just immediately saw a vision for what that could be.”

The plan is to offer steak and seafood in a high-end restaurant atmosphere, as well as make act as a venue where events of all kinds can be held. They also plan to make it easier for boaters on the water to dock nearby and enjoy a nice meal. The hope is that the revitalization of the property and marina will encourage both locals and people from other cities in the region to come to Columbus: “What I want to see is people coming and having a reason to drive from Starkville and Tuscaloosa to come and actually eat in Columbus,” he said. “I want to … draw them here, and I think it will because there’s not a ton of places … in Starkville that are going to be like what we have.” Mantooth plans to invest about $1.3 million into building improvements, with much of that money going towards visual improvements.

“The biggest thing is, we’ll get it back on the tax roll, and it will also generate sales tax,” Mayor Stephen Jones Jones said. “So one more thing that we can add to good things happening in Columbus.”

Please click here for the original article: https://cdispatch.com/news/high-end-seafood-and-steaks-coming-to-former-woodys-on-the-water/