After Godfather’s Pizza news hit Starkville in 2018, there’s been very little movement on University Drive for the incoming pizzeria.
While taking an afternoon drive near downtown, I saw a new sign across from the Episcopal Church. Life has been detected once again. The Starkville Godfather’s restaurant’s future is alive and well with a new sign poised above its doors. According to the company’s Facebook page, the chain pizza restaurant will be opening by December.
When contacted on Facebook Messenger, a representative said shipping delays were the primary concern for the restaurant’s delayed opening. Originally slated to open in January 2020, the restaurant should open “definitely by Jan. 1” of next year.
Be on the lookout for Godfather’s Pizza located at 401 University Drive in the Midtown Development.
Speaking of University Drive, there’s a new store coming in December.
Andy Hunt posted in the Starkville Strong Facebook group his new business coming to Starkville. Disc and That will open Dec. 1 at 329 B University Drive.
“Some of you know I have a passion for disc golf,” his post reads. “I’ve wanted to open a disc golf store since I started playing. That dream is coming to fruition.”
The store will carry disc golf supplies, accessories, yard games and toys.
“Let me introduce (you) to the game of disc golf,” his post continues. “It’s a great way to get outside and get moving.”
The Dispatch could not reach Hunt by press time today. However, as a person who has never played disc golf, I’ve grown curious as I’ve seen the sport grow over the years. It seems like every time I go camping or hiking for a weekend I notice more and more people playing disc golf. With the new store popping up in Starkville, I found myself Google-searching disc golf. The sport itself is pretty much self-explanatory. It’s golf with frisbees and essentially encourages people to stay outdoors.
Through a couple Google searches, I noticed that disc golf has grown over the past few years. In fact, according to a Sports Illustrated article, disc golf is one of the few sports that increased in popularity during the pandemic. There was a more than 60-percent increase of disc golf courses from May 2017 to November 2020. The article also cited that approximately 91 percent of all disc courses are free to play.
There are even several courses in the Golden Triangle, including Lakeside Golf Course, Lake Lowndes, Propst Park, Choctaw Lake, J.L. King and more. Be sure to check out Disc and That when they open!
Moving on, there’s some fast food news happening in Starkville.
You may have noticed a new building in the midst of construction near Dirt Cheap on Louisville Street. According to City Planner Daniel Havelin, Jack’s Family Restaurant is hitting the last point in the Golden Triangle.
Jack’s has locations in Columbus and West Point already. The building in Starkville appears to be fairly far along. A representative from Jack’s could not be reached by The Dispatch before press time today.
Jack’s first opened in 1960 in Homewood, Alabama. Since then, it has expanded throughout the Southeast with more than 145 locations in Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi and Georgia.
Havelin also added that the McDonald’s located in the Spirit gas station at 817 Hwy. 12 is being renovated. You may have noticed the gas station portion has closed down and already cleared out of the facility. Marc O’Ferrall, the Starkville McDonald’s owner sent The Dispatch renderings of the new restaurant which will be a freestanding facility rather than one in a gas station.
“We are excited to begin construction on a new standalone McDonald’s location,” O’Ferrall said. “The restaurant will feature the latest technologies, including self-service kiosks, digital ordering at the table, curbside service and more. We look forward to serving the Starkville community at their local McDonald’s in the near future.”
Moving to Columbus, the former Marvin’s building remains on the market.
The warehouse at 2915 MS 50 is listed at $1.3 million. The 52,000 square foot building is situated on a little more than 7 acres and is listed with Rhett Real Estate. The building has been listed since September 2019.
In West Point, there’s also a building that hit the real estate market. The Dollar Tree building, located at 5859 Hwy. 45., is up for sale. The building is listed at $1.6 million. It is a little larger than 10,000 square feet on a little more than an acre. The building is listed with Trinity Real Estate Investment Services.
We’ve had a couple major buildings listed, auctioned and sold in this area in the past few weeks.
Former Dispatch reporter Mary Pollitz writes about business openings and closings, as well as other unique business news. Send tips to [email protected]
