For years myths have circulated of the origin of piano burning.
These stories range from honoring fallen pilots to celebrating an end to music lessons. After hearing of the folk tales, Ben Sala, construction manager for Columbus Air Force Base, knew he found the perfect name for a “new type of bar” he plans to open early next year in Columbus: The Burning Piano.
Sala, along with his sister and brother-in-law, Lisa and Stephen Sims are in the midst of renovating the former Catfish and Chords building at 2222 Military Road, into a 21 and up piano bar.
The idea first came to fruition when siblings Sala and Sims watched a dueling piano show at Dock on the Island in Fort Walton Beach, Florida.
“The whole way back home we just kept saying Columbus needs something like this,” Sims said. “Everything just kind of started falling into place.”
Once opened, The Burning Piano will offer customers high-end cocktails and fresh food. But on weekends, the bar will host a dueling piano show with two pianists facing each other, taking song requests from the crowd and encouraging those in the audience to sing and laugh along.
With a lot of room to work with — nearly 4,000 square feet — the sibling duo started renovating the building into a New Orleans vibe. Hoping to add a Big Easy and beachy flair, Sala said he plans to remodel an upstairs room into a cigar lounge for patrons. The owners are currently looking for bartenders, a mixologist and local musical artists interested in testing their skills at the keys.
Moving to Main Street, Mira Mira boutique will celebrate its two year anniversary Friday, but in a new building. After two years of fruitful business, owners Margaret Ann Borland and Tami McBryde moved from 511 Main St. to 404 Main St., the former Purple Elephant location. With more space to boot, Borland and McBryde decided to expand the store’s merchandise, now adding garland, wreaths, bath products, candles and more. Check out Mira Mira’s new location Monday through Friday from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. -3 p.m.
With Halloween upon us, it’s also time for the scariest tale of all time. There you are, at a restaurant laughing with your friends and your pricey phone falls off the table face down. Your gut starts to turn, you know what happened. You decide to go ahead and pull off the band-aid and it’s just as you suspected: a shattered screen.
If that scary story sounds all-too-familiar, you have probably stopped at one of many cell phone repair shops across the country. Speaking of, Cell Phone Repair at 1803 Hwy. 45, formerly known as Repair Geeks, has rebranded after joining CPR Cell Phone Repair Franchise Network. CPR started in Orlando Florida in 1997, when my dad had a bag phone for his car, and has expanded to hundreds of stores nationwide, including dozens in Mississippi and one in Starkville. If you drop your phone and you’re scared, check out CPR Monday through Friday from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Moving over to Starkville, we’ve got food on the go now. Riley J. StrEATery, a Mexican food truck, made its first Starkville stop in downtown on Monday. Cameron Parker, of Parker-McGill car dealership, opened the food truck offering customers tacos, tamales, burritos, salads and nachos. Named after his daughter Riley, Parker said the food truck will hit Main Street Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m. He added he hopes to have the truck making stops throughout Starkville five days a week in the coming weeks.
Also, if you’re hoping to add a little something extra to your private parties, you can hit up Riley J’s on its social media accounts. Stay up to date on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to see when and where you can grab something to eat while you hit the streets.
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