Jeff Burnett is the owner of a venue soon to open that will host a variety of food trucks on Highway 61 South. It will be called The Gathering.

He said one reason he wanted to open the location was because of the lack of businesses in the area.

“It’s no secret to anybody in our town that my feeling of 61 South is that we have been, I hate to use the word depressed, but it has been a less than active area in the last 20 years,” he said. “Growth has definitely not been on that end of our town. So the last thing that I wanted to do was board up the building or just have a big vacant building sitting down there. I hate driving around town and seeing the multitude of boarded-up buildings that we already have.”

The building, which is owned by Burnett, formerly housed a Dollar General that closed down earlier this year. After it closed, Burnett said he was approached with the opportunity to sign a lease with a wholesale cannabis distribution center, but declined.

“It was just not an industry that I cared to profit from,” he said.

Instead, Burnett started to invest in The Gathering.

“With the new port going in literally across the street… I decided that I thought the timing was good for something different,” he said.

His goal is to create a family-friendly atmosphere where customers have many dining options to choose from.

“So I named it The Gathering, where good people and good food come together,” Burnett said. “I envision walking in and being able to see, you know, 30 families in here sitting down, eating from hot dogs to gourmet pizzas to Creole Pie.”

The venue will have covered and uncovered seating and will be alcohol and smoke-free.

“I am building a really cool courtyard with a stage in it,” he said. “I’ve had probably a half a dozen local musicians that have offered to come in and play.”

Burnett is still finalizing agreements with truck vendors, and wasn’t at liberty to say which companies he would be partnering with. However, he will be licensed to have up to eight food trucks operating on the premises.

Burnett has been running a soft opening, having food trucks operate on the lot with limited hours. He said the response he has gotten from both vendors and customers has been excellent.

He said he hopes to be in full operation by August 1.