Some fast, short items this week.
Late last year, Kroger purchased the spaces that sit on either side of it in Kroger Plaza on Hwy. 45 North in Columbus. That means the strip from AutoZone to UPS now belongs to the grocery store. Robert Rhett, with Rhett Real Estate, confirmed the purchase Wednesday. Rhett said he did not know what plans, if any, Kroger had for the space.
We won’t speculate, either.
Monograms Plus has moved. Since it opened in the spring of 1997, the locally owned and operated store that specializes in embroidering, engraving and personalized gifts had been located at University Mall, beside Belk, on Hwy. 45 North. But that area has a DICK’s Sporting Goods and Michaels scheduled to open this fall, and Monograms Plus had to make room for the retailers. The business, owned by Paula Gable, closed on Dec. 31 to move. It reopened Monday a little bit further south down the highway, in Kroger Plaza.
Emily Castle, the manager, said the new location offers a bigger selling space and the business is excited about the future. There is a temporary sign out front as a new permanent one is being built.
Monograms Plus is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Tandoori Oven, an Indian restaurant that was scheduled to open in Columbus today, will instead open doors Feb. 1. Pankaj Patel, one of the owners, said the recent cold snap delayed delivery of several items the restaurant needs. Tandoori Oven will be located at Columbus Inn & Suites, in the spot that once housed Good Time Lounge, at 506 Hwy. 45 N.
Meanwhile, Starkville now has an Indian restaurant.
Bombay Spice Kitchen opened at 108 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive earlier this month. The restaurant serves lunch and dinner and opens at 11 a.m. seven days a week. On its Facebook page, the restaurant says it uses “authentic fresh ingredients” and “time honored Indian cooking methods and traditional recipes.”
In keeping with this week’s theme, here’s a little fast food for thought.
Of all the restaurants in the United States, 27 percent are fast food establishments. In Mississippi, 54 percent are fast food.
Looking at Lowndes County specifically, 46 percent of our restaurants are fast food. There are 33 fast food places.
In Oktibbeha County, 45 percent are fast food (that’s 31 establishments) and in Clay County 36 percent are fast food (that’s eight establishments).
In Amite County, there are three fast food restaurants and no other places to eat out. Same goes for Sharkey and Wilkinson counties.
These figures, released late last year, came from the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps program, a collaboration between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.
Browning on Business is a weekly column that runs each Thursday. We want your input. Send items and tips to [email protected] or [email protected].
William Browning was managing editor for The Dispatch until June 2016.
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