“Oh snap, they have cornhole on,” one patron said as Hinder’s “Lips of an Angel” blared through the speakers of The Landing on Saturday. The tune was heard by a near-unprecedented bar crowd in the Cotton District as The Landing, the newest and biggest interior bar in the famous Cotton District opened this weekend after nearly a year of anticipation.
Xavier Keys, director of operations for Watch Dawg Protection said he was excited to work the opening weekend.
“It’s a great venue, a good spot for everyone to come out and enjoy themselves, really all around is a great time in here,” Keys said.
Keys, a former MSU student, spoke on how he would have felt as a student when The Landing opened.
“I would have [enjoyed it] especially with the rooftop as big as it is, in the summer times here it would have 100% been a great addition,” Keys said. “I really think it adds more selection and more space for everybody to come and hang out, meet other people and enjoy good company.”
MSU alumnus and Madison, Mississippi, native Allen Hodges is part owner of The Landing and said the idea followed multiple trips back to his college town.
“I’ve been coming here for years and frankly, none of the bars are big enough. You have a hard time getting a drink, going to the bathroom and more,” Hodges said. “We went to Auburn and to Alabama, went to Ole Miss, toured all their bars and that’s where the idea came from.”
Hodges continued to state what he hopes The Landing will bring to the district.
“One thing we noticed going to the other bars, you would see students, you would see 60-year-olds, I mean everybody is there having a good time,” Hodges continued. “We did it for the kids, we want to see them have a good time.”
Everything from 29 televisions for cheering on the Bulldogs to an upstairs outdoor patio, students and locals alike have a new experience to look forward to here.
Cooper Adney, a senior business administration student and employee of The Landing is excited about the change the bar brings to Starkville.
“Starkville has been more or less the same throughout my four years here, and I think The Landing will provide a new cool spot for not only college kids but families as well,” Adney said. “The Landing was [also] a bar in Starkville in the 80s that was a beloved pool hall, so bringing it back now adds nostalgia for the alumni.”
Whether it be a cold beer with a game on during the day or a band rocking out at night, The District’s newest bar definitely has excitement stirring.
