Rand McNally taps ‘unique’ road stop
Published 12:03 pm Friday, August 13, 2010
A favorite Vicksburg roadside stop for locals looking to relax over lunch has been selected as a unique destination by a top travel information source.
The Tomato Place on U.S. 61 South near the Warrenton Road intersection was chosen by Rand McNally over hundreds of locations as a unique travel destination for the prestigious Best of the Road award program for the publication’s 2011 road atlas, a designation that highlights a handful of road-less-taken attractions annually.
“We congratulate The Tomato Place for being identified in our 2011 Best of the Road listing,” said Dave Muscatel, CEO of Rand McNally, in a release from the Skokie, Ill.-based company. “While there are multiple options for planning an on-the-road navigation, Americans continue to rely upon the Rand McNally Road Atlas each year to give them the big picture and the finer details of each road they travel.”
Known for its eclectic mix of fresh produce, frozen fruit drinks, apparel, crafts, potted plants and outdoor furniture, the U.S. 61 South eatery packs most of its loyal customers into its tiny gravel parking lot with an array of tasty plate lunches.
“We try to come here once a week,” said Diane Cargill of Vicksburg, whose favorite is the chili cheese hot dog “with everything on it!”
Owner Luke Hughes, who sold hats from a roadside stand on 61 North before opening The Tomato Place in 2001, said the honor comes at a time when summer travelers brave the heat, roll in for a fruit drink and perhaps a burger.
“We get a lot of tourists who come through here who use the atlas,” Hughes said. “We’re kind of lucky, I guess.”
Travel experts with the longtime travel guide scoured the country for “outstanding trips and stops, representing the best America has to offer,” the release said. Vicksburg is along the route of the coming year’s five new road trips recommended by the publication’s editors, a trip dubbed “Following Old Man River.” The full route goes from Natchez to Tunica and, along with The Tomato Place, features three other places — Natchez in Historic Photographs, McCarty’s Pottery in Merigold, and Tunica RiverPark in Robinsonville. Also mentioned as great stops are Natchez City Cemetery, St. Catherine Creek National Wildlife Refuge, also in Natchez, Mount Locust Inn in Tupelo, Grand Gulf Military Monument and The Mississippi Gift Company, in Greenwood.
Each suggested driving trip is 150 to 200 miles and geared to be a two- to three-day jaunt. Others for 2011 include:
• “Wild, Warm Alaska”: Anchorage to Valdez, Alaska
• “Earth Tones”: Reno, Nev., to Yosemite, Calif.
• “Seaside to Summit”: Manchester to Bretton Woods, N.H.
• “Around Lake Erie”: Cleveland, Ohio, to Windsor, Ontario
Editors develop trips by considering lesser-known, off-the-beaten-path” locales showing “special character, capture the region’s essence, and appeal to a broad range of people,” the release said. Each trip includes maps and directions and lists of “best known” spots, such as The Tomato Place, which are chosen to showcase the differences of each region, it said.
Besides its printed maps, long available at conven-ience stores and motorist rest stops, Rand McNally has branched out into interactive information sources for travelers including truck routing software and GPS devices. The company said the 2011 atlas arrives in stores this month and retails for $13.95.
Scenes of The Tomato Place’s dining area were featured in the Vicksburg Convention and Visitors Bureau’s “The Key to the South” television ad campaign launched last year.