Here’s why Keith Miller has purchased and is reviving the iconic Cotton Boll Grill
Fans of the down-home cooking at one of Shreveport’s legendary eateries can celebrate the rebirth of The Cotton Boll Grill under new ownership and management.
Forecasted to close at the end of February, Shreveport businessman Keith Miller, who lives just three blocks from the restaurant on Fairfield, purchased the business March 4 and has plans to continue the patrons’ favorite recipes long into the future.
“My accountant said I was crazy to do this at my age,” said the 67-year-old Miller. “But I hated to see it close because it was one of the favorite places for me to dine with my father before he passed in 2021. He really loved the chicken and dumplings.”
Learning the recipes and taking over as manager of the restaurant, which opened in the 1930s, is longtime Miller friend Jill Justus, who plans to use her 40 years of experience to blend the old with something new. She’s found picking up the recipes of daily fixtures, like beef stew and red beans and rice, easy.
“I’m well-versed in cooking and have worked from some great chefs,” said Justus, who has recruited her boyfriend, Shaun James, her mother and others to assist her with building the business. “I love to bake bread and we plan to make homemade buns for our hamburgers.”
Daily specials will continue including baked chicken/chicken and sausage gumbo (Monday), meatloaf/fried pork chops (Tuesday), fried chicken/beef tips (Wednesday), Cane River pork chops/chicken and dumplings (Thursday) and fried catfish/shrimp gumbo (Friday). Daily specials will run from $10-12 and the grill will be open 6 a.m. until 2 p.m. Monday through Friday. Breakfast is served all day and there is a drive-through for pick-up orders, but patrons should call ahead.
“We will have lots of vegetables including turnip greens, peas, cabbage, succotash and carrot souffle,” Justus said. “The dumplings are homemade and totally from scratch and they are a feature to be conquered. The dough is rolled out so thin, it’s almost like pasta.”
Lemon, strawberry, coconut and chocolate ice box pies will be on the menu and Justice plans to add peach and blackberry cobblers in the near future.
The Cotton Boll originally opened on Southern Avenue as the Toddle House and moved to its current location at 1624 Fairfield Avenue in 1976.
IF YOU GO
Where: 1624 Fairfield Ave.
Hours: 6 a.m. – 2 p.m. Monday-Friday
Info: (318) 221-9397; Call ahead for drive-through orders
Daily specials: $10-$12
Jimmy Watson covers North Louisiana for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at jwatson@shreveporttimes.com and follow him on Twitter @JimmyWatson6.
This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: The Cotton Boll Grill is now open and serving up chicken and dumplings
