By Staff
MOVING THE WALL' – Birmingham mural artist Bob Pruitt pulls up the last bit of painter's tape on "The Wall" inside the new Village Kitchen building. Pruitt, who also painted "The Wall" inside the old building, said the new one will be bigger. Photo by Kyle Carter/The Meridian Star
By Kyle Carter / staff writer
March 29, 2004
Regular customer Delma Frazier sums it up best, "This is just a great place to eat."
That is music to the ears of Village Kitchen co-owner Connie Shannon. She and her aunt, Thelma Pierce, have owned the restaurant since it opened in 1987.
And now, Shannon said, it's "just time to move."
On Sunday, she will lock the doors and begin to move the final pieces of equipment to a new location off North Hills Street.
That atmosphere is the one thing Shannon and her aunt have tried to preserve, no matter what else changed.
Feeding her 9-month-old nephew, Colby Brown, mashed potatoes from the buffet, Shannon said, "We have expanded this building several times with the help of the lady we lease from and now we think it is just time for us to own our own building."
Shannon says the current Village Kitchen can seat 140 people comfortably.
The new building will seat 260 people, and include two dinning areas and a private dining hall a far cry from the eight-table establishment Shannon and her aunt opened in May 1987.
Shannon said the menu will still include favorites like fried chicken and peach cobbler: "I think there are people that come here and eat that every day."
Currently, "The Wall" only covers one wall in the restaurant, but mural artist Bob Pruitt said expansions are planned as advertisers buy space.
Shannon said the staff at the restaurant has come to know some customers so well that they know which days they come and save their favorite tables.
Frazier drives from Kemper County to Village Kitchen every day, Sunday through Friday, for lunch at 10:30 a.m. The restaurant isn't open on Saturdays.
Frazier said that he doesn't know what he will do during the week Village Kitchen will be closed for the move, but " … you can bet I will be there at 10:30 when they open the doors of the new building."
The new location, 6648 N. Hills St. behind Dollar General, is scheduled to open April 12, a Monday.