Goodbyes don’t need to be forever. But still, I’m sorry to say Sweet Peppers Deli located at 2017 Hwy. 45 N. in Columbus will be temporarily closing on Monday for a month-long remodel.
Owner John Bean told me it was time to update the aesthetic of the deli. After all, he and his team have been in that location for a quarter-century.
“We will have been in this location for 25 years in November,” Bean said. “It’s time to remodel and refresh it.”
Bean said customers might not recognize the restaurant after all the changes he plans to make, including a new color scheme, signage and a pickup window on the restaurant’s north side for online orders.
“We’re doing all new floors, and it’s going to be repainted with fresh colors; it’s going to be a lot lighter,” Bean said. “There’s one particular wall that goes into that front dining area that we’re completely opening up.”
Bean plans to finish the remodel within four weeks and reopen Nov. 29. The Starkville and West Point locations will remain open.
Elsewhere on the highway, George Terrell Pittman and his family are about to renovate the old Fitzner-Pontiac building at 901 Hwy. 45 N. for their new medical marijuana dispensary, Magnolia Cannabis Services.
Pittman said he warmed to the idea of opening a dispensary after seeing a friend open their medical marijuana business in Arkansas and even more so when his sister-in-law Becky Boyd mentioned her interest in a grow operation.
Pittman expects to begin working on the building next week and, not long after, start on the area behind the storefront, which will house the company’s grow house operation.
“We’re going to start and get our dispensary up and running,” Pittman said. “But at the same time, we’re going to make headway back there (the grow house). Hopefully, we’ll be starting to build that out within about a month.”
New dispensaries aren’t the only thing popping off in Columbus.
pOpshelf, a general retail store, is opening its Columbus location at 1800 Hwy. 45 N. on Friday, according to the company website.
The store was once home to Rite Aid, which closed in May 2018. The majority of its inventory will cost less than $5 for everything from home decor to party supplies, according to its website.
With all these exciting updates, you might have forgotten to get out the door for your hair appointment. But fear not, Starkville resident Angie Carnathan will open Daisy and Sage Hair Studio at 112 Willow Road on Tuesday, just down the street from the Farrell-Calhoun Paint store.
Carnathan told me she always wanted to open her own salon ever since becoming a hair stylist 20 years ago in Starkville. She knew that once an opportunity came along, she would take it and make it her own.
“In the back of my mind, I had always said if an opportunity presented itself for me to open my own little place, that’s what I wanted to do,” she said. “I love the idea of a salon taking on the owner’s energy.”
Carnathan sees the business, which she named after her and her mother’s love of daisies and her own affection for sage, as a place where clients will come to relax and enjoy the experience of getting a nice haircut.
“I want Daisy and Sage to be a place where people feel like they’re going to their friend’s house to have coffee and while they’re there, going to get their hair done,” she said. “I mean, I’m almost obsessed with my clients’ happiness.”
Finally, Hungry Howie’s, Insomnia Cookies and Salsarita’s will be throwing a Halloween Trick or Treat event from 5-8 p.m. Monday at the Cotton Mill Marketplace at 327 Hwy. 12, according to a Facebook post made Tuesday.
Leading up to the event, Salsaritas will have a raffle for spooky baskets. Insomnia will be handing out free cookies for kids dressed in costumes at the event, and Howie’s will bring games for attendees to play.
Well, folks, that’s all for now. Have a happy Halloween and make sure to check back in next week for more goings on in business.
Dispatch reporter Grant McLaughlin writes about business openings and closings, as well as other unique business news. Send business tips to [email protected].
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