Troubled Madison County development to be transformed by Flowood firm
When The Gathering restaurant closed in the development of Livingston in rural Madison County, there was a sense anxiety around the area.
Livingston Township Fund One, which owned the front three buildings of the development, filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy on Nov. 6. Other businesses in the buildings were left to winder what was next.
However, Michael Wimberly of Insight Group in Flowood, is working to buy the front three buildings out of bankruptcy, including The Gathering restaurant and gas station and are planning for the future.
In fact, Wimberly has already worked a deal with Joseph Stodghill of Martin's Downtown of Jackson to takeover the restaurant and the gas station, which was the first phase of the purchase. The second phase of the purchase includes one building that is home to the Briar Patch, among others, as well as the building that is home to The Farmer's Table Cooking School.
The hope is the new Martin's will be open in May.
"Honestly, these two are the hardest deals I have ever done, but it is all going to be worth it," Wimberly said. "In the end, we will likely sell the first phase to Joseph for Martin's and we will retain the Briar Patch building and the cooking school."
He said everything at the cooking school will stay as is.
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Wimberly did say there will be some changes to the Briar Patch building that will include expanding an area for more entertainment. However, he said those plans are not final at the moment. He did say it will be in conjunction with the Briar Patch.
All of this comes nearly 10 years to the day after the opening of the anchors of the commercial portion of Madison County's Town of Livingston in 2014.
General store Livingston Mercantile and The Gathering were the centerpiece of the Town of Livingston's 44-acre town square. All was meant to be built in the style of the 1880s, when Livingston served as Madison County's first county seat, which was originally developed David Landrum.
"Things are so different than they once were," Wimberly said. "It's not all owned by one person and there is more of sense of hope and excitement now. I think that new blood and some of our plans is going to make this what it was always meant to be."
There are still roadwork and other maintenance that has to be done, but Wimberly said that is just part of the process.
Martin's Downtown in Livingston
As for the Martin's part of the project, Stodghill says he is excited.
"I actually don't live very far from there. So, we have a vested interest in making sure this goes well and is a success," Stodghill said. "There have been different things tried there but for various reason, they haven't worked."
Stodghill said he is bringing his menu from Martin's Downtown and won't be changing much from that. He will also have live music, but not to the scale he has at the venue in Jackson.
"We'll mix it up and cater to the audience that we will have in the Livingston area, but yes we will have the live music," Stodghill said.
He also said that other than the kitchen, he is remodeling the inside of the restaurant to fit what they need and believes that and of May date can be achieved.
"You can't just slap paint on the walls and put a new sign out front and expect things to change," he said. "When you walk in, it will be a completely different environment in the design and the way we want to have it done. It will be a noticeable difference when you walk into that restaurant."
Stodghill has taken many of the people who were working at The Gathering and training them and keeping them on board for Martin's.
He said the bar will be newer and larger. There will be a new air conditioning system as well as a new audio-visual system with 10 new televisions around the restaurant for patrons to enjoy.
There will also be new bathrooms and a private dining area.
As for the gas station and convenience store part of the building, Stodghill said he is less sure of the exact details on it expect to say it will be different and that he has many ideas he hasn't completely worked through.
He said he would like to use the convenience store as more of store that has staples for the nearby residents, instead of what it has been recently. He also said there could be an area for a full breakfast for workers riding up an down Mississippi 22 early in the mornings between Canton and Flora.
If you have a story idea, Ross Reily can be reached by email at rreily@gannett.com or at 601-573-2952. You can follow him on Twitter @GreenOkra1.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Madison County MS development may be transformed by Flowood MS firm
