Despite tough alcohol ordinances, Starkville has a few places to grab a brew, whether it be a tried and true domestic or an exotic import.
Several gas stations and grocery stores in town sell a variety of beers and ciders, but city ordinance prohibit the selling of cold beer there. Most bars and some restaurants in town sell cold draft and bottled beer.
Brewski’s on Miss. Highway 12 and Coconuts on University Drive offer walls of beer, selling anything from college favorite Natural Light to premium Guinness Draught. Starkville’s three grocery stores also offer a good beer selection.
For drinkers willing to spend a little more for cold beer and a bar atmosphere, Starkville has several watering holes that offer good selections.
Roxie’s Square Table Spoon has one of the best beer selections in town, keeping 18 beers on tap.
“We really try to keep a steady collection,” Roxie’s employee Monty Singletary said.
Roxie’s specializes in draught beer, keeping a large selection of domestics, premiums and imports available.
“We try to rotate our premiums and we always keep three Abita beers,” Singletary said. “Unfortunately, we have very little control or choice over what the distributor brings us.”
Singletary added that Roxie’s is one of the only places in town to find two of their most popular beers-Sierra Nevada and Blue Moon.
“I know that we’re the only ones who have my favorite beer, Abita Amber,” Singletary said.
However, Roxie’s isn’t the only place in town to find some unusual, different tastes. Just down the street, The International Bistro carries 28 bottled imports.
“We try to carry everything the state of Mississippi will let us,” Bar manager Doug Callender said. “But because the state does control what we can have due to the percentage of alcohol in the beer, we sometimes have to choose something else.”
Callender said the Bistro is constanty trying to introduce new beers to its menu. “We’re always open to new beer suggestions and if something new comes out we really work hard to get it,” he said.
With new beer becoming available, it appears that more and more young people-especially college students-are branching out and moving away from the typical Bud Light and Coors Light.
Still, other restaurants in Starkville have experienced great success with combining domestics and drink specials to boost business. The Veranda designed one Monday night drink special around domestics and football.
Manager Spencer Morrill says that their business has increased dramatically on Monday nights due to $5 pitchers of Bud Light and Coors Light. This beer special paired with football keeps a steady flow of demand for domestics.
“We’ve also seen Michelob Ultra grow in popularity because of the Atkins Diet. Michelob Ultra allows people on this low-carb diet to still enjoy beer,” says Morrill.
The Veranda, along with Roxie’s and the Bistro, has an impressive list of imports and premiums, which includes everything from Blue Moon to Red Stripe.
On tap, the Veranda carries two premium beers, Abita Purple Haze and New Castle. Morrill said both have been excellent choices to have as draught beers.
“We serve the New Orleans based Purple Haze with an orange. It is something different to Starkville but has been very popular,” Morrill said.