Well, folks, I hope you brought an appetite to this edition of Goings On with Grant. It’s about to get tasty.
To jump things off, Mita’s Himalayan Kitchen, a Nepalese and Indian fusion restaurant, is currently in the works at 2318 Hwy. 45 N. and is expected to open later this month, co-owner Sushmita Bhatta said.
Bhatta moved to Columbus from Nepal to attend Mississippi University for Women’s nursing program in 2019. At times she would cook for her friends, and after rave reviews, she was finally convinced to follow her passion for cooking professionally.
“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.”
However, Bhatta said the restaurant is in the final stages of construction and still needs a food permit. Once open, it will feature a mixture of Nepalese and Indian fusion dishes like butter chicken, dumplings and even a catfish curry, which is interesting, to say the least.
“We are still working on it right now,” she said. “We are working on setting up the equipment we need, but we are shaping up to open the second or third week of March.”
Moving south, Garett + Co., a men’s fashion boutique, opens Friday at 435 Wilkins Wise Road in the Little Woods shopping center.
Co-owner Emma Newman said she decided to open up the business with her partner, Stephanie Studdard, after noticing a lack of available stores with men’s clothes 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.”
Newman began working with Studdard in January and have been working together to open up the new store, named after Newman’s grandfather, with men’s fashion ranging from button-ups and polos to graphic t-shirts.
Newman also noted the store will come with a raffle for a free Yeti cooler. To enter, customers need to come by the store and spend $50 or more. The winner will be announced on Tuesday. I could use a few new shirts, so I might just have to swing by.
Downtown, the Princess Theater at 215 Fifth Ave. S., which reopened in July, is now serving food as well as operating with new hours.
Bartender Aly Simpson Simpson said the business started the new hours and new food offerings like pizza, wings and popcorn chicken on Feb. 23. The Princess is now open Monday through Friday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. on the weekend.
Simpson said the new food options will also help keep more business for its hungrier customers at the bar.
“People would just leave to go get a door dash or something else,” she said. “This helps us do more.”
Finally, my friends, a new soap business hopes to give the good people of Starkville a fresh take on handmade scented suds.
Buff City Soap will open by April 16 at 661 Hwy. 12 W. in Triangle Crossing, next to the Aldi grocery store.
Regional Manager Elizabeth Minchew said the business obtained a lease with the shopping center in 2022 and has been working on interior construction since January. Most of the work is now complete and the team is working on finishing touches and setting up all the equipment they will need to start making soaps of all scents and textures.
Buff City Soaps is a national brand started in Memphis in 2013. The company has more than 200 locations nationwide, Minchew said. The Starkville location will bring the total number of stores in Mississippi to five. Other in-state locations include Hattiesburg, Oxford and Jackson.
Minchew said the store will offer soaps for both men and women, with everything from hand soaps to shampoos and even laundry detergents. My favorite? The patchouli sandalwood soap, because yeah, I’m a guy who likes sandalwood.
Wells folks, that’s it for this edition of Goings On with Grant. Make sure you 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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You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 24 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
