The Main Street Now Conference’s annual gathering will be held in Birmingham, Alabama, May 6-8, bringing in leaders from across the country. Before the conference begins, Doing More Today is looking at Main Street’s impact in small-town America.
The weekday crowd has arrived, and the Starkville Cafe is packed with customers seeking a good burger, delicious meat-and-threes or some duck butter to take home. But owner John Peeples III notices something more than people chowing down.
He sees animated conversations from a diverse crowd sharing tall tales and good news with smiles and laughter.
“To me, this is not a restaurant – it’s an institution,” said Peeples the proprietor. “I’m the caretaker, so I can’t take credit for something that was built way before me. But I do take responsibility for this restaurant remaining open.”
Founded in 1945, the Starkville Cafe is a must-visit in its namesake Mississippi campus town and booming city center.
I was a student here 25 years ago, and I remember even then the Starkville Cafe was a fixture.Justin Casano, Starkville market executive for Regions
A Mississippi State University grad, Peeples took over the cafe 15 years ago after a distinguished career with Ducks Unlimited. His savvy as a restaurateur led to other successful eateries. But the original one remains his primary focus, so much so that during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown, which affected the entire restaurant industry, he paid his staff out of his own pocket to ensure his workforce returned intact when restrictions eased.
“I love cooking food – tasty food,” Peeples said. “But my plan all along was to give the place back to the people by keeping this great food coming and this place open because it’s all about tradition.”
A few blocks down Main, from the building Regions Bank has been located since the 1970s, Starkville market executive Justin Casano is ready to show downtown off.
“I was a student here 25 years ago, and I remember even then the Starkville Cafe was a fixture,” Casano said. “Downtown was unique. But in the last few years, the transformation has been incredible, and the impact is something my children can enjoy. On a Friday after school, they can come downtown for coffee, ice cream and shopping while meeting their friends in a safe environment.”
“Pardon Our Progress’
While the tradition continues, there’s change in the air. A sign above Main Street proclaims, “Pardon our progress.” It’s a polite reminder that Starkville’s downtown is presently undergoing a metamorphosis, part of a master plan of improvements that go beyond better infrastructure.
“I grew up on Main Street,” said Mayor Lynn Spruill. “I saw ‘Old Yeller’ at the Rex (Theater) and ‘Ben Hur’ at the other historic theater. When I was a kid, this was an Andy Griffith downtown. But things cycle.”
A graduate of Starkville High, Spruill blazed the skies as a U.S. Navy pilot, becoming the first female in the branch to qualify as an aircraft carrier pilot back in 1979 before flying for Delta Airlines as a civilian. She’s now been the mayor in her hometown for seven years. From her gleaming glass-and-steel office on Main Street, she can see beyond the blueprints of the master renovation in the works.
I grew up on Main Street. I saw ‘Old Yeller’ at the Rex (Theater) and ‘Ben Hur’ at the other historic theater. When I was a kid, this was an Andy Griffith downtown. But things cycle.Lynn Spruill, Mayor of Starkville
“Beautification is something I never worried about before,” Spruill said. “Now I see the impact. I see the beauty in the murals, the walking trails and the biking lanes we are creating. If you don’t have a place where people want to live, you won’t give these young people a reason to stay when they graduate.”
‘If You Can Think It, We Can Make It’
For a town its size, Starkville is full of amenities – great restaurants, world-class golf and an expanded campus that triples in size on autumn Saturdays when cowbell-ringing alums return for Mississippi State football games.
Spruill is the first to tell you that Mississippi State’s growth has benefited everyone, from the Dak Prescott-led No. 1 ranking in the AP Top 25 football poll a decade ago to the women’s basketball Final Four run and the baseball team’s College World Series title.
But it’s the connection with the university that’s also helping a new generation of entrepreneurs launch businesses from inside a 2,000- square foot Main Street space called the MSU Idea Shop. Operated in partnership with the university’s College of Business and School of Human Sciences, the Idea Shop contains workshop and retail space for budding businesses. Oh, and 10 3D printers. It is 100-percent student run.
“This project is about getting early-stage entrepreneurs exposure at minimal cost,” said Steven Bailey, a Landscape Architecture grad student at MSU who serves as manager and team lead for the Idea Shop. “Our motto is, if you can think it, we can make it.”
Next door is the corporate headquarters of Glo , which produces light-up ice cubes and light-up toys for children with sensory needs. Like the Idea Shop, it benefitted from brainstorming by MSU students to produce a thriving enterprise.
In the back of what used to be the Rex Theater, boxes of Glo merchandise line the walls ready for shipping across the globe. The light-up sensory toys are especially big hits in Europe.
The former mayor of nearby Columbus, Jeffrey Rupp helped the Glo creators get their business going. Now, he serves as director of business operations.
“College kids want to be downtown, they want to be near the coffee shops and the great downtown vibe, so this is the perfect location for us,” Rupp said. “Glo was one of the first startups in the incubator space. Now, we have the Ecenter on campus, which is doubling its size to 4,000-square feet, the Idea Shop and the Co-Work space – and we’re still growing.”
Pumpkins, Crawfish and Murals
On a sunny spring day, Paige Watson and Hunter Harrington give visitors a tour of Main Street, pointing out everything from the historic Hotel Chester, built in 1925 and lovingly restored, to the hip coffee shops and story-tall art work.
Watson is Director of Starkville Main Street and works hand-in-hand with Harrington, the membership director of the Chamber of Commerce. Their goal as part of a partnership between the Starkville Main Street Association, Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau and Oktibbeha County Economic Development Authority do drive economic development and quality-of-life initiatives.
Many of the projects are just for fun, like the Pumpkinpalooza, where locals send orange Halloween gourds down Main Street on electric carts. Others, like concerts, crawfish boils and the annual Bulldog Bash, routinely lure thousands downtown.
“This streetscape is such a wonderful undertaking,” Watson said. “It’s changing how people perceive downtown. But there are other benefits, and I tell our board that all the time: better lighting reduces crime and murals reduce vandalism. But, more than that, these changes make this a Main Street everyone wants to visit.”
Regions’ Casano has seen the impact of the work from Main Street Association and this partnership transform the community.
“You can tell by Paige’s enthusiasm that she wants to bring as many people as possible to downtown Starkville,” Casano said. “Having more events and bringing people together throughout the community has been impactful.”
‘The Results are Amazing’
The Book Mart & Cafe is another longtime Starkville fixture, although the original 1971 building was a few blocks away before the business moved into a converted pool hall on Main.
“My mom started this,” said Carolyn Abadie, the owner. “We lived in Los Angeles, but Dad was an engineering professor and wanted to move to the South.” She takes a minute to scan the rows of books and the meandering customers who seek a specific read. “This is a special place. It reminds me of my mom. And we continue to try to provide people what she did – a relaxing place they can think of as home.”
Abadie was a child when her family moved here, but she witnessed downtown Starkville’s changes over the years.
“Frankly, it was dead during the ‘80s and ‘90s,” she said. “Not many things happened here. Then The partnership was formed in 2001, and the results are amazing.”
A long-time Regions customer, Abadie said she can turn to Casano and his team for various reasons. That’s just fine with the local banker.
“Our role is supporting the businesses we bank with and to help them grow their business in unique ways,” Casano said. “We view our role more as an advisor than transactional. And by supporting Main Street and the Partnership, we are all helping ensure Starkville’s growth for years to come.”
From the Doing More Today Archives
Good Town: Starkville, Mississippi