Starkville can add a new restaurant to its dining selection. The Veranda offers a unique set of traits which can help to distinguish itself from the heavily populated college town dining menu. Even the location of the restaurant is far from ordinary. It’s situated in a residential area near several neighborhoods and apartment complexes.
“We figured this to be a really good location for a restaurant because it’s close to campus and within walking distance for a lot of college students,” head chef and part owner Jay Yates said of Starkville’s newest eating establishment.
The restaurant had long been an idea of Yates’, whose culinary experiences are rooted in Southern/Cajun cuisine and span across the borders to southern Florida culture.
Yates’ dream began to come true when he and partners Frank Jones and Reed Douglas broke ground on July 4, 2002.
“Starting from the ground up, I knew that I could set up to make for a more efficient restaurant. I’ve worked in restaurants where the layout of the place just didn’t work,” Yates said.
In his planning, Yates designed the kitchen so that it is easily accessible to servers and wait staff in an effort to be able to get food out even faster to the patrons.
“We designed the bar area to be bigger with wider eating space, and … the bar area is sectioned off from the actual restaurant, allowing customers a more intimate dining experience. That’s one of the reasons why we chose to go with booth seating,” Yates said.
Of course The Veranda also has a veranda, furnished with an island bar and retractable doors that create inside and outside seating. Yates said he plans to book live music to perform on the veranda, making it an official post-football game gathering spot.
Freelance interior designer Tracey Milsaps combined textured earth-tone walls with smooth mustard yellow walls, soft lighting and tiled floors to create a pleasing atmosphere. Beyond the entrance doors of The Veranda stands a ceiling-high display wine tower, courtesy of general manager Reed Douglas, who has a passion for wine that he developed while working for other restaurants such as CafZ Reuropa and Olivier’s of Hilton Head, S.C. Douglas has developed an extensive wine collection to chose from.
“We have unique things to offer–it’s an American grill ambiance with seasonally changing tastes,” marketing director Erin Dill said.
“People tend to eat heavier in the winter months, like steaks and stuff, and in the spring they tend to eat lighter, a lot of seafood and things like that,” Yates said. “We want the whole population of Starkville to feel welcome here. We’re going to be progressive with our menu, changing it up seasonally.”
The Veranda currently offers Thai pasta with chicken; Bourbon pecan grouper, their signature dish; crispy chicken with apple-wood smoked bacon and bronzed chicken jambalaya.
The restaurant also includes eight televisions, including one flat screen situated above a fireplace in the main bar. A private dining room, equipped with projectors, VCRs and DVD players. The room seats 40 people and can be extended to seat up to 80 patrons.
“We are living in a culinary world with the popularity of Emeril and the Food Network. Everybody’s talking about, ‘Where did you eat?’ ‘What did you eat?’ The Veranda wants to provide customers with a nice atmosphere along with great food to complement it,” Yates said.
The Veranda opened last week, but the official grand opening will be Jan. 27. The Veranda is located at 208 Lincoln Green St., across from the Polos on Locksley Way. For more information or to make a reservations, call 323-1231.