GOLDEN TRIANGLE AREA, MS – Courtesy of the Dispatch
Sales tax revenues are up by about 10% year-over-year for Columbus and Starkville; West Point has seen an increase of nearly 7% over the same time period. People are out there shopping and contributing to their local economies in the process.
“Fiscally, we are in a much better position than we were this time last year,” Columbus Mayor Keith Gaskin said. “I attribute that to new businesses, retail and restaurants that have opened in the area. I think a lot of people who drive in from around the Golden Triangle and outside enjoy what we have here in Columbus. I think we’re on the right path and will continue to see these numbers increase as we work very hard to bring more business and retail into the area.”
Mayor Lynn Spruill of Starkville said, “I think part of it is that people are still coming into town for our new shopping area that opened near the end of last year (Triangle Crossing). . . So I think that as well as the fact that we are just, we’re growing in popularity as a place to do business and to come in and eat and enjoy the different fare that we have.”
Triangle Crossing Shopping Center opened at 601 Hwy 12 W. in November. It features stores such as ALDI, Ulta Beauty, and Marhshalls.
GOLDEN TRIANGLE AREA, MS – Courtesy of the Dispatch and Grant McLaughlin
COLUMBUS
Ryan’s under renovation in preparation for its new tenant – Hibachi Grill – Grant McLaughlin, Dispatch staff
Props to Grant and the Dispatch for this huge news: Hibachi Buffet in Leigh Mall will soon be moving to their new digs…At the old Ryan’s location on Hwy 45 nearby! They will shut down the original location on March 24th and plan to reopen at the new place, bigger and better than ever, in May. Renovations of the space have been going on since January.
Congratulations to Friendly City Books, 118 Fifth St. N. for winning a people’s choice award in the FedEx Small Business Grant Contest. They are now qualified to be one of a hundred small businesses vying for one of ten national $30,000 grants. To celebrate, they will have 25-percent off sale of all merchandise in the store, excluding books on Friday and Saturday.
WEST POINT
Kristen Stevens is in the process of transforming the old Rose Drug Company building at 595 Commerce St. into Rose Gift Company: “I’ve always wanted to do something like this,” Stevens said. “Rose just couldn’t close because it is the cornerstone of West Point downtown. It was very important to me to keep it going.” She’s looking at a grand opening in May.
GOLDEN TRIANGLE AREA, MS – Courtesy of the Dispatch and Grant McLaughlin
CALEDONIA
African Crested Porcupine with baby. courtesy The Alexandria Zoo
Michele Griffin will soon open the doors at her new petting farm, Patch of Heavens Farm Rescue and Exotic at 1606 Cal Kolola Road in Caledonia; she is looking to be open for business by May or June: “I just have a lot of requirements that I’ve got to get up before the public can actually come to my property,” Griffin said. “I’ve got some more high fences to put up for my kangaroos. I had to have a double fence. So I’ve got all that taken care of. I’ve got to put up a couple more high fences. Just having people here on my property would be best if I put some higher fences.” Among the animals on the farm are a camel, water buffalo, African crested porcupines, and kangaroos.
“Animals are my life. I love them,” she went on to say. “I’ve always loved them since I was a little girl. I would take every animal and if I could, I would take all the abandoned animals I could find. They are like my sanctuary.” In the meantime, check their Facebook page for more info or to schedule an exotic animal visit for events such as birthday parties.
STARKVILLE
Planet Fitness will be ready to accept folks ready to get in some reps later this month; they are located at 844 Hwy. 12 in the former Gordmans building. They are targeted mainly toward people who are new to working out and who just want to improve their own physical fitness without having too much pressure placed upon them.
The Chick-Fil-A at 701 Hwy. 12 is temporarily closed for renovations for the next two weeks. They will be expanding their drive-thru section, making things easier for customers who are on the go by allowing more employees to deliver food to their cars in person. The plan is to facilitate serving more customers in less time, helping to alleviate traffic concerns on busy days. As this will occupy a chunk of the space currently used by the playground area, the playground will be removed and repurposed into additional dining space.
WEST POINT
Samantha Watkins premiered Sam’s Dream Kreations at 658 Commerce St. on Friday, when more than fifty customers showed up to shop and help her celebrate. The business began as a hobby in 2017 and has grown into something much bigger and better. The business produces items such as custom t-shirts, hats, and other crafts. “This is definitely a breath of fresh air,” Watkins said. “To be able to move around and have my own craft room. And we have a party room in the back. So it’s definitely a breath of fresh air.”
GOLDEN TRIANGLE AREA, MS – Courtesy of the Dispatch and Grant McLaughlin
STARKVILLE
Buff City Soap plans to open their doors by April 16 at 661 Hwy. 12 W. in Triangle Crossing, next to the Aldi grocery store. Regional Manager Elizabeth Minchew reports that this will be their 5th location in the state, and that it will offer specialty soaps for both men and women, alongside items such as shampoos and detergents.
COLUMBUS
Mita’s Himalayan Kitchen, a Nepalese and Indian fusion restaurant being out together at 2318 Hwy. 45 N. in Columbus, is on schedule to to open later this month, co-owner Sushmita Bhatta said. “I really just wanted to do something with my cooking skills,” Bhatta said. “I would cook for people and they would really like it. They would ask me all the time about it, so I just decided to take a break and cook more. . . [W]e are shaping up to open the second or third week of March.”
New men’s fashion boutique Garett + Co. opens Friday at 435 Wilkins Wise Road in the Little Woods shopping center. Co-owner Emma Newman recognized a need for more men’s clothing availability in the area: “I know firsthand what it’s like for them not to have anything to wear or they’d have to order online and then send it back,” Newman said. “So I wanted to make it where you know they could come in and find something affordable that they want to wear and they felt comfortable in.”
Downtown, the Princess Theater at 215 Fifth Ave. S. is now serving food as well and has new operating hours. they are offering new items such as pizza, wings and popcorn chicken. Monday through Friday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. on the weekend.
Golden Triangle Development LINK CEO Joe Max Higgins speaks to the Columbus Exchange Club – Grant McLaughlin – The Dispatch
Finally, in big business news, LINK CEO Joe Max Higgins gave a report to the Columbus Exchange Club recently regarding the development of another megasite location – these are areas set up and put into place to accommodate large factories and other industries such as Yokohama and Steel Dynamics. “We bought this last megasite 10 years ago,” Higgins said.” We were working on the water and sewer 11 years ago. But had we not bought that site and watered and sewered it, we might have lost to the other states and the other communities. . .
“The fact that we owned it, had water on it and sewer around it . . . that put us lightyears ahead of the other towns.”
In education news: Having faced difficulties in the past few years in increasing the number of students there, EMCC President Scott Alsobrooks has announced that they are “going to have a big press release later this spring. The partnership with Mississippi State that is effectively going back to the Communiversity that is going to have the Communiversity at capacity.” The school’s enrollment has been steadily increasing recently, and local businesses have also pledged to send people there for training.
GOLDEN TRIANGLE AREA, MS – Courtesy of the Dispatch, and Grant McLaughlin
COLUMBUS
Ashley Furniture is open for business as the prep work for the renovation begins. Staff photo/Good for Business with Colin Krieger
The Ashley Home Store at 1721 Hwy. 45 N. will be shutting its door temporarily beginning March 5 for a month-long renovation. They will also be offering customers half off of all furniture until then, so strike while the iron is hot!
Slim Chickens at 1923 Hwy. 45 N. – next to Mike’s Liquor – has had a few minor issues getting off the ground, but they’re almost there, contractor Frank Culpepper said. They are currently on schedule to open up their doors in April.
Sol Y Luna, in the former Logan’s Roadhouse location at 589 18th Ave. N., was hoping to open in time for Valentine’s Day, but fate had other plans. The interior looks like it;’s just about ready to rock, but there has not yet been any word about a new opening date.
Barksdale Catfish Lakes at 130 Hillcrest Drive plans to open for business on March 1 and have a grand opening ceremony on March 4. Fishing at the lake will cost you a small entry fee of $2, plus an additional $2.85 for every pound of fish you catch and take home. they also offer a cut and fillet service for $3.85/lb. The lake will be open for eager fishers through November of each year.
STARKVILLE
El Rodeo, a new Mexican restaurant located in the Triangle Crossing Shopping Center at 665 Hwy. 12 W in Starkville (near ALDI), is ongoing, just a bit slower than originally anticipated. Castle Properties developer Luke Castleberry reports that they plan to be open by the end of March.
COLUMBUS, MS – Courtesy of the Dispatch, Slim Smith, and Grant McLaughlin
The Gateway Shopping Center, 221 Alabama St., has been put up for sale for $9 million. The center is home to popular stores such as Food Giant and Walgreens.
“There are multiple ways that a new investor can add value to the shopping center by either filling the vacant spaces with more tenants or by converting some of the square footage into additional climate-controlled units for the storage business,” the published listing reads.
Gateway Shopping Center at 221 Alabama St in Columbus. Courtesy of Crexi
The center originally opened up on Sept. 15, 1965. “It wasn’t just the biggest strip mall/shopping center. It was the only one,” said longtime Columbus resident and businessman Jimmy Graham. “The big store there was Woolco, and that was one of the biggest names in retail back in those days. It meant a lot to folks. It was a big deal.”
“We see tons of upside on this transaction for a new buyer to lease vacant units at the shopping center and manage revenue at the storage facility,” Meridian Storage agent Patrick Kidder said. “It’s even priced below replacement cost at $9 million. So we think that there are pretty big advantages here.”
COLUMBUS, MS – Courtesy of the Dispatch and Grant McLaughlin
Swoope Insurance Agency over on Bluecutt has been acquired by larger firm Oakbridge Insurance Agency. “Oakbridge is a regional agency and gives us access to a lot of resources that we just did not have access to in the past,” Swoope owner Mark Hardy said. “It also helps with the standpoint of employees. I think every small business out there has had problems finding and recruiting employees, and Oakbridge has a much larger footprint, so they’re able to attract new people. And that’s something that certainly is a big benefit to us.”
The Essle Center for Perceptual Development, an applied behavioral analysis therapy business helping children with autism, will hold its grand opening on Feb. 17 at 2102 Fifth St. N., office manager Kat Grady said. Owner Andrea Morris is a pediatrician with Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle.
In food news: The Jalisco Mexican Grill, 1921 Hwy. 45 N., is becoming the Guadalajara Cantina and Grill, per company secretary Andrea Prang. They plan to carry over much of the old menu, in addition to new offerings such as classical Mexican cuisine.
Foxhole Games and Comics, which opened up shop near City Diner last Fall, has moved to bigger and better digs at 411 Main St, near the Varsity. Owner Daniel Criddle reports that they “went from about roughly around 900 square feet to 2,000 . . . We needed the space for the gaming scene in Columbus that has grown exponentially to a point where we need to go ahead and try to capitalize on it. When they come into a shop, they shouldn’t be crowded and cramped up trying to figure out how to play. . .We have D&D now three nights a week in the store. So even if the groups get too big, we can break them up into other groups and put them in separate rooms.” They also hold game nights for players of games such as Magic: the Gathering nightly and Pokemon on Saturdays.
Freshly’s Market will open for business this Saturday on Hwy 8 in Aberdeen. The facility will include a bakery, deli, and floral shop, along with all of the usual grocery goodness.
Helen’s Kitchen and Catering, located on 7th Avenue North & 15th St, is preparing to hold a grand re-opening later this year. 86-year-old Proprietess Helen Jones-Karriem shares her secret to good ol’ soul food cooking: “The love of people. . . I don’t get in there and warm up stuff and order stuff from the truck. I cook. Do you know this morning, we got up and prepared everything that had been cooked? Cook, we’ve been cooking.”
Her business was one of those affected by the tornadoes in 2019, but she hasn’t let that slow her down. She has done all she can to keep on cooking for and giving to the community.
The city council recently voted to accept a $4+ million settlement in the Negligence lawsuit which was filed against both Max Marine and Cooper Marine and Timberlands, regarding a barge that collided with and damaged a bridge on the Tenn-Tomm Waterway in February 2020. The respondents offered the settlement, which is expected to cover the repair costs in full, so there should be no cost to taxpayers.
Pictured is the eastern support pier of the pedestrian bridge at Riverside Park, which was struck by a runaway barge back in 2020 – Brian Jones, Dispatch Staff
City Attorney Jeff Turnage said that “It’s pretty rare to get a settlement for the whole amount. . . I don’t think there will be any other issue there,” he went on to say. “It will be built back to look just like it does now.”
Work is anticipated to take six months to a year, he said.
