Mississippi Barbeque Company sold, to be rented as condos and smaller restaurant space

Published 1:40 pm Thursday, January 20, 2022

: The Mississippi Barbeque Company building on Grove Street was recently purchased by Two River Cats, LP. (Photo by Terri Cowart Frazier | The Vicksburg Post)

The desire to live in downtown Vicksburg continues to grow, and to meet the demand additional rental property will soon be developed.

Mary Jane Wooten and Robert McConnell, owners of Two River Cats LP, have purchased The Mississippi Barbeque Company property on Grove Street and will be converting part of the building into six, one-bedroom apartments.

The pair also purchased the single-family house located behind the former restaurant, and Wooten said plans are to convert the home into a duplex, with each apartment having two bedrooms.

While the home appears to be dilapidated and looks like it’s going to fall down, Wooten said, “It does have good bones.”

The approximately 4,500 square-foot property, Wooten said, has high ceilings, beautiful windows and a great view of the Mississippi River.

“I have contemplated selling them because it’s going to be gorgeous,” she said, especially since they will have two bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms. “I think I can sell something like that, which will help us start comps.”

Currently, Wooten said there are no condominium-like properties being sold downtown, because there is no price-point comparison for a seller.

“The whole dilemma with condominiums is that we don’t have comps (which are a comparison of two or more similar properties in the same market that were recently sold and are used as a tool for evaluating the potential value of an investment property),” Wooten said.

The problem was almost remedied with the construction of the now-defunct condominium projects at Washington Street Park and Mulberry Street, but the Jackson-based developer for that project backed out earlier this month.

“I was hoping the guy from Jackson would be first to the market,” Wooten said, but since he backed out, someone else will have to “fight the battle” of finding comparable properties or having their buyer pay cash.

Wooten said a portion of The Mississippi Barbeque Company property will remain a restaurant; it will just have a smaller footprint.

“I am looking for a restaurant tenant,” she said.

Construction is set to begin on converting part of the restaurant into the six high-end apartment spaces in about two weeks, Wooten said, with the hope they will be finished by late spring or early summer.

“The building is in great shape. All I have to do is put firewalls up and put in kitchens and bathrooms. This is not a hard renovation,” she said.

Renovations to convert the adjacent home into a duplex have yet to be scheduled.

Wooten said the duplex will be phase two of the company’s project.

About Terri Cowart Frazier

Terri Frazier was born in Cleveland. Shortly afterward, the family moved to Vicksburg. She is a part-time reporter at The Vicksburg Post and is the editor of the Vicksburg Living Magazine, which has been awarded First Place by the Mississippi Press Association. She has also been the recipient of a First Place award in the MPA’s Better Newspaper Contest’s editorial division for the “Best Feature Story.”

Terri graduated from Warren Central High School and Mississippi State University where she received a bachelor’s degree in communications with an emphasis in public relations.

Prior to coming to work at The Post a little more than 10 years ago, she did some freelancing at the Jackson Free Press. But for most of her life, she enjoyed being a full-time stay at home mom.

Terri is a member of the Crawford Street United Methodist Church. She is a lifetime member of the Vicksburg Junior Auxiliary and is a past member of the Sampler Antique Club and Town and Country Garden Club. She is married to Dr. Walter Frazier.

“From staying informed with local governmental issues to hearing the stories of its people, a hometown newspaper is vital to a community. I have felt privileged to be part of a dedicated team at The Post throughout my tenure and hope that with theirs and with local support, I will be able to continue to grow and hone in on my skills as I help share the stories in Vicksburg. When asked what I like most about my job, my answer is always ‘the people.’

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