Well, y’all, it’s often been said you have to break eggs to make an omelet.
The same can always be said for property redevelopment, and it’s undoubtedly true for the former Regions Bank branch building at 108 Alabama St.
W Investments, a development company based in Jackson, has had the former bank torn down for future development, and as of Wednesday morning, the building had been completely demolished.
Owner Frank White said the company has yet to make any definitive moves with the property aside from preparing it to build something else.
I guess we’ll have to wait and see what happens next. I know I’m excited to see what the company does with it.
Moving downtown, Chelssie O’Neal opened Lavender Lemon Clothing Company, a new women’s and girls’ boutique shop at 216 Fifth St. S. in the Stone shopping center Saturday.
O’Neal told me she decided to open her own boutique after struggling to find boutique clothing for her two girls, Sophie and Sadie, locally.
“We’ve really had to go to Tuscaloosa to find all of their boutique clothes that they like,” O’Neal said. “I figured we would bring that to Columbus. I just heard from all these other moms that they were struggling to find their girls’ clothes around Columbus.”
O’Neal said the store features clothes for girls and women, with brands such as Hayden Girl, Reset by Jane and Peach Love, just to name a few.
O’Neal said about 20 customers showed up on opening day, and she hopes to wrangle more business as word gets out about Lavender Lemon. Store hours are Tuesday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Elsewhere in Columbus, Yvonne Robinson, a local nurse practitioner, opened MSE Behavioral and Mental Health Services at 2323 Fifth St. N. on June 15.
Robinson said she has been working to provide a mental health clinic in Columbus since May 2022 when she obtained the building, and after more than a year of renovating the space and finding the right staff, she felt the time was right to finally open.
“I wanted to go into psychiatry because there is a well-underserved, unnoticed population of disorders that people just don’t address,” Robinson said. “Especially in the African American community, we do not talk about mental health at all to the capacity where it’s viewed as appropriate to seek and to get treatment for it. I just saw where the need for mental health services was so great.”
Services offered at the clinic include diagnosis for mental disorders such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety, as well as others. The clinic provides counseling as well as psychiatric care with treatments and prescriptions.
Robinson said the office is open to walk-ins or people can schedule an appointment by calling the office at 662-913-8234.
Finally, my friends, we move to StarkVegas.
Jason Roden, owner of Mojo Maroons and the Fountain Bar, both located at 700 University Drive, has set new summer hours for the businesses.
The bars are now open Tuesday through Wednesday from 1 p.m. to 12 a.m. and Thursday through Saturday from 1 p.m. to 1 a.m.
“We are just trying to set some consistent hours for when schools open again,” Manager Anna Cole Ware said. “We are also trying to draw that day’s crowd in. We have a bright, open bar. There’s no reason that we shouldn’t be trying to be a day bar.”
Ware said the new hours were also implemented to bring in more business from Starkville locals as college students left with the end of Mississippi State University’s spring semester.
Well, folks, that’s all for now. 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].
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 33 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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 33 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
Join the Discussion