Their positive energy and optimistic outlook for the future of Yazoo is what makes Jet Griffin and Pat Cheatham a cut above the rest.
The two downtown business owners were recently selected as Man and Woman of the Year by the readers of The Yazoo Herald.
With Griffin’s popular Downtown Marketplace and Cheatham’s delicious Dixie Lane Tearoom and Bakery, they have invested in the Yazoo community. And they are both having the time of their lives.
“Yazoo is like a family,” Cheatham said, sitting inside her restaurant. “It feels like home. It is so warm and complimentary. Everyone makes you feel really good about what you are doing.”
Both Cheatham and Griffin said the recent revitalization of downtown Yazoo City was always in the works. With Main Street’s unique buildings and special shops and businesses, it was only a matter of time before people returned to the historic area.
“Our downtown is awesome,” Griffin said. “There is no other place like it.”
Cheatham said the overall look of downtown Yazoo is what typically attracts visitors in the first place. Once they arrive, they truly see what all the area has to offer.
“We have a lot of out-of-town people come, and I think it’s because of the different colors downtown,” she said. “I think it attracts them. But you really have a lot of choices downtown.”
Griffin said there will always be a local shopping base, but he has noticed a tremendous increase in visitors from out of town.
“On any give Saturday, at least 70 percent of our business is from out of town,” he said. “And I am talking from Australia to Massachusetts to Cleveland and Jackson.”
Griffin said there is even one couple from Austria who has visited Yazoo City for the past four years.
“They come back every year,” he said. “They even have I Love Yazoo bumper stickers.”
Cheatham said she has several repeat customers who eat at her establishment sometimes four times a week.
“That is like having a family,” she said. “When you cook, your family is going to come and eat.”
Both Cheatham and Griffin said Yazoo was ready for another boom in the downtown area.
“Yazoo was hungry for a different menu,” Cheatham said, in reference to Dixie Lane. “A different style of food, a different style of service. I think it’s brought a lot of people here. They don’t think about Madison anymore. They think about coming down here.”
“We had a lady who came in on Saturday who said ‘I just love your downtown. We just don’t have anything like this in Madison,’” Griffin added.
And the future?
“It’s getting better and better everyday,” Griffin said. “It’s is getting there.”
It is the friendly atmosphere and down-home appeal that is the secret to Yazoo’s future success.
“I have been here for 50 years, and I love it,” Griffin said. “There is no place like it. This is home. No place that I have ever been is as special as this place. And people say that when they come.”
Griffin said there are so many things in the works for the downtown area. He and Cheatham are optimistic about what the future holds.
“When we first started, this is what we envisioned would happen,” Griffin said. “And it has happened. It shows when you put things in God’s hands what happens.”
