Starkville is getting a restaurant for people who want to eat healthy, locally-grown food.
Jason Roden told The Dispatch on Wednesday his plan is for Crush’n On Nature’s Eatery to have a soft opening next week. It will be located at Suite 13, 100 Russell St., in College Park Shopping Center. (That’s the old home of Lenny’s Sub Shop, which closed in late March.)
Roden said the goal is simple: give locals a healthy option when eating out.
“There’s not too many around,” he said with a laugh. “Especially in the South.”
There will be vegan options. Options for people on the Paleolithic diet. Organic items. Free range chicken options. A smoothie and salad bar. A menu geared toward children. Specialty drinks. And most of the produce will come from local farms.
The service style, Roden said, will be something like that at a Chipotle Mexican Grill: get your order quick, eat it there, or take it with you.
Crush’n will employ 10 people, including two dieticians, at its 1,800 square foot restaurant.
It will be Roden’s second Starkville restaurant — he opened STAGgerIn Grill, a sports bar and grill in the Cotton District, in April 2011.
In Columbus, Kayla’s Place opened Sept. 2.
It is a pick-up or delivery only eatery with daily lunch specials. Terri Cole, a local nurse, is the owner. She named her venture after her 10-year-old granddaughter, Kayla Murray.
The eatery specializes in lunch brought to you and the menu revolves. One day this week, for example, they offered chicken spaghetti. Next Friday they will offer chicken and dressing, vegetables, sweet tea or lemonade and a slice of caramel cake. For each day’s offerings, call 662-242-8277. They deliver anywhere in Columbus, in west Lowndes, New Hope and Caledonia.
Staying in Columbus, The Pod Salon & Spa is up and running on Bluecutt Road.
Lara Frasher and her husband own the business, which opened Aug. 5. Frasher has been a nail technician for 12 years and felt it was time to establish her own business. A month in, she said, “It has been amazing.”
The Pod — it’s at 3502 Bluecutt Road, right beside the The Boat Gallery of Columbus, in a 3,100 square foot space — has two nail technicians, two hairdressers and a massage therapist. In all, the business employs six people, according to Frasher.
It is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday; from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday; and by appointment only on Saturday. The phone number is 662-245-1420.
Lastly, DICK’S Sporting Goods has announced when its Columbus location will begin business.
The Highway 45 North retail store will open at 8 a.m. Friday, Sept. 19. Two days later, on a Sunday, Eric Moulds, a former MSU and NFL wide receiver, will make an in-store appearance from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., according to a DICK’s spokesperson. The first 100 shoppers at the store on Saturday and Sunday will have a chance at gift cards ranging from $5 to $500, according to the spokesperson.
The store will be the sixth DICK’s in Mississippi and the 580th in the U.S.
It will employ approximately 50 people.
Browning on Business is a weekly column that runs each Thursday. We want your input. Send items and tips to [email protected] or [email protected].
William Browning was managing editor for The Dispatch until June 2016.
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