A new restaurant opening on Main Street in mid-October will offer a new approach to the the Starkville entertainment scene with an upstairs balcony and exotic menu. “The Courthouse Grill is going to be good food and excellent service, and I think that there is a need for restaurants in Starkville,” general manager Kurk Greenlee said. “We saw a definite need for it in the market, and we saw a lot of potential in this building with the balcony seating over Main Street.”
Greenlee said he had blueprints thrown together, and it worked out.
With a tentative opening day of Oct. 15, the Courthouse Grill will seat 139 people, with 24 seated on the balcony.
The menu will consist of steaks, seafood, salads, pasta and much more, according to Greenlee.
The first floor will serve as a grill, and the second floor and balcony is called Dog Ugly Bar.
“We were trying to think of a name that is contemporary and modern,” Greenlee said. “We were also trying to stay in line with a Mississippi State theme, and the name just stuck.”
The bar atmosphere is expected to change around 9 p.m. Specials have not yet been determined but will be set before the grand opening.
“The atmosphere will be fun and upscale,” Greenlee said. “It is a cross between the Burgundy Room at Old Venice and the Grill with a sports flair.”
Local musicians will also be in the bar several nights a week.
Amber Muirhead, a sophomore at MSU, said, “We have such a limited choice of restaurants in Starkville, and I think the Courthouse Grill will be something that I would like to try.”
The building that houses the new establishment was built in 1918 by Buzz Walker Sr., former Mississippi State University president.
“It has been a rental office property since it was built,” Greenlee said. “A lawyer has always practiced law here (Courthouse Grill) until now.”
Greenlee said Garan Construction, the construction company primarily responsible for the remodeling, gutted the whole building and opened it up into three separate rooms¥a kitchen, dining room and upstairs.
“We had to add a 900-square-foot addition to the building,” Greenlee said. “This includes restrooms and food and beverage coolers.”