Y’all, the Louisiana Shrimp Shack is coming back to Columbus.

Hoping to open in the next couple weeks, owner Kenneth Helmer is in the process of renovating the former Pumpkin Patch at 6188 Hwy. 45 N. into a Cajun food eatery.

In September 2016, Helmer, of Barataria, Louisiana, first opened the Louisiana Shrimp Shack in Columbus, before closing shop in March 2017. Struggling with the travel, Helmer said he decided to dock his commercial shrimp boat and settle up north. Now, he is officially moving in and embracing Columbus as his new home.

“I made up my mind about the shrimping,” Helmer said. “When you commercial fish for a living, we don’t always get what we should for our seafood. I just decided I’m up in the age now, I don’t want to fight the season. I just want to find me a place up here, settle in and make a restaurant and get good help where I can watch it more than work it.”

Everywhere Helmer goes, he says electricians, grocery store patrons and Columbus residents have ensured him he’s making the best decision.

“They want it. They need good places to eat,” Helmer said. “I’m so tired of burgers and chicken and I’ve only been here a few weeks. You can only eat it so much, I just want to give them another restaurant.”

Each week, Helmer said he’ll have a “runner” picking up fresh shrimp, crawfish, crabs and more from Louisiana and the coast of Mississippi to bring The Friendly City some seafood they can count on.

Once open, The Louisiana Shrimp Shack will be open every day from 11 a.m.-8:30 p.m. and will seat up to 70 patrons.

“Get ready for a little spice,” Helmer said. “We’re going to put out good quality food. Whatever we do, we’re going to cook it from scratch. … Whatever I cook in here, in this building, it ain’t coming from a jar.”

Get ready to see a lot of gumbo, jambalaya, boiled and fried seafood in your future, ladies and gentleman.

“People are excited about me coming back,” Helmer said. “The people up here, I like it. It’s a nice community, a lot of good folks.”

Moving to downtown, Columbus has a few buildings for sale that are in prime locations for potential businesses. With Brunini Law firm moving to its new location at Brickerton, its former office building and the former Castle Properites office building — 410 and 412 Main St., respectively — are for sale. Both are listed online for $575,000 on Real Living, offering up some prime offices and conference rooms.

In addition, since Fred’s closed shop downtown, it’s left a vacancy in the area. The building at 304 Fifth St. S., which boasts more than 13,000 square feet, is listed for $350,000. It’ll be exciting to see which businesses might take these opportunities in our downtown region.

I’ve started sneezing again, which means spring has arrived. I’ve had to change the clocks in my kitchen, care and office. Each time around this year I remember two things: it’s time to refill my allergy medicine and it’s time to enjoy some seasonal snowcones.

The Southern Snow Shack has reopened for the season at Chubby Drive, near Mi Toro. In Mississippi the heat starts early so enjoy some snowcones while we have them Monday through Saturday from noon-6 p.m. at the Southern Snow Shack.

If you’re in Starkville, Starkvegas Snowballs in the Cotton District and on MLK Drive also opened for the season and will be open every day from 2-7 p.m.

Also in Starkville, Two Brothers Smoked Meats is now open at its new location. The restaurant was formerly located on Rue Du Grand Fromage, in the Cotton District. The high-end barbecue restaurant could only serve about 35 customers at its former location. Now, Two Brothers will serve its customers from a two-story, more than 100-person capacity building on University Drive. Be sure to check out the local restaurant’s newest pad. Two Brothers is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m.-10 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m.-4 p.m.