Jackson Free Press

The Stuart C. Irby Company and Sonepar USA's new 8,500-square-foot Jackson facility is open for business. The retail space and distribution center, located at the corner of Silas Brown and President Street, represents $6 million in investment to the area. Irby bought international electrical equipment Sonepar USA in 2005.

"With the opening of our new facility, our operations will become more streamlined and help to provide exceptional customer service so that we can proactively meet the needs of our customers. It also gives us a modern demonstration facility of energy efficient products ranging from electric car chargers to solar panels to LED lighting and more," Irby President Mike Wigton said in a news release.

The city helped the project along in April 2011 by granting a partial local tax exemption for the project. The Mississippi Development Authority also provided assistance through the Job Protection Grant and Momentum Mississippi Incentives programs. With the addition, Irby now operates 61 branches in 21 states and is one of the nation's largest electrical distributors.

"We are a strong player in the electrical distribution industry, and we are eager to exceed the expectations of our customers and employees," Wigton said.

Grand Reopening at Sameerah's

Sameerah's Jazz & Blues Restaurant (1038 Woodrow Wilson Drive, Suite B) will hold its grand reopening June 14. Established in 1982 in downtown Jackson, Sameerah's owner hopes to uplift cultural and human connections.

"We believe that by creating such a space we can offer an opportunity for interaction and begin to transform our community and our world," states a press release from Sameerah Muhammad.

The restaurant's menu offers a variety of cuisine, including vegetarian and vegan as well as Caribbean fare. In addition, the bar serves beer and wine, or you can bring your beverage.

The celebration of three decades in business starts with a breakfast at 7 a.m. Lunch starts at 11, and dinner is at 5 p.m.

b]Corks for Charities
 
A trio of Jackson restaurants is starting a new program this month called "Creating Traffic for Charities" to raise money for local nonprofit organizations.
 
The Mangia Bene restaurants--Bravo! Italian Restaurant and Bar, Sal & Mookie's New York Pizza and Ice Cream Joint and Broad Street Baking Company--will all feature weekly specials with proceeds going to the charity of the month. At Broad Street, 10 percent of all drip Community Coffee sold on Mondays will go to the charity. Sal & Mookie's will donate proceeds from a featured draft beer every third Tuesday of the month, and Bravo! will draw two wine corks from its cork bucket at the end of the month and donate the price of the wines to the charity.
 
This month's featured charity is the Mississippi Nurses Foundation. To learn more about the program or the foundation, visit salandmookies.com or the other restaurant websites.
 
Songs for the Children's Hospital
 
A singing trio of sisters has raised more than $25,000 for Friends of Children's Hospital, which supports the Blair E. Batson Hospital for Children in Jackson.
 
Southern Halo, which is made up of three sisters ages 11 to 14, hosted the Rocking for Children's Hospital Benefit in May at The Warehouse in Cleveland, Miss. The benefit also featured recording artist Phil Vaught.
 
Southern Halo also performed for patients at Batson earlier this month.

For information, contact Batson Hospital Administration at 601-815-7020.