Jackson Free Press

South Louisiana-based coffee chain CC's Coffee House arrived in Mississippi about six weeks ago. Bobby Gill and Kirk Ladner of the law firm Gill, Ladner and Priest LLC wanted something new in the space underneath their office at 344 Highway 51 in Ridgeland, which previously housed a car-tag and tax-collection office. The two felt that a coffee shop would be perfect, and that CC's would be the best shop to bring in.

Their shop, the only CC's in Mississippi and one of only two locations outside Louisiana—the other being located on the University of Arizona campus—held its grand opening Tuesday, Oct. 27.

The Saurage family started the company in New Orleans 20 years ago, spinning off of Community Coffee from Baton Rouge, La., and has since opened numerous locations across Louisiana.

Before opening CC's in 1995, the Saurage family had been brewing coffee for the New Orleans area for 97 years, selling their products to local grocery stores and community cafes in the city. The family still locally roasts their own coffee beans to provide to all of their locations to this day.

CC's of Ridgeland offers a wide variety of coffee- and espresso-based drinks, including a signature drink called the Mochasippi, a drink made with espresso that comes in flavors such as turtle, caramel, fudge mocha, and seasonal offerings such as pumpkin spice, frosted gingerbread and peppermint bark.

CC's Coffee House is open Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. The shop offers drive-through service and breakfast all day. For more information, call 601-707-3685.

Jackson Zoo Reveals New Master Plan Details

Last week, the Jackson Zoo released details on what it is calling its "master plan," which involves a large-scale expansion of the zoo over the next five to 10 years, as well as improvements to the zoo's environmental sustainability and educational efforts.

The master plan's anticipated additions include a discovery zone that will provide the chance for animal and human contact for young visitors; expansions to the zoo's African exhibits, including new giraffe, lion and elephant exhibits; an adventure zone for kids; an event space for groups with up to 300 people; a large restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating; a tropical rainforest building; a new South America exhibit; and more.

"This is an exciting time for us at the zoo," Angela Harris, the Jackson Zoo's marketing and communications manager, told the Jackson Free Press. "People will start seeing major changes in these coming years, and we want this to spark excitement for our guests as much as it has for us when they see the long-term goals we are trying to achieve."

The zoo's board of directors will meet in January to finalize the plan, make cost estimates, and plan fundraising efforts. After that meeting, the zoo will formally announce complete details of the Master Plan to the public.

For more information, visit jacksonzoo.org.

Get2College Scholarship Competition

College-admission and financial-aid advice service Get2College, a division of the nonprofit, Education Services Foundation, is currently hosting the Get2College Scholarship Competition, in which the organization will award a total of $100,000 in scholarships to Mississippi high-school seniors. One hundred seniors will receive $1,000 for their college or university of choice. The deadline for the competition is Dec. 1.

Applicants must be Mississippi residents who are graduating from a Mississippi high school in the spring of 2016 and planning to enroll in an accredited college or university as a fulltime student in fall 2016. The application includes two short-answer questions about the students' college-selection process and thoughts about transitioning to higher education.

Get2College offers students and their families a comprehensive program to help plan, prepare and pay for college, which includes free counseling in college and career choice, ACT Prep, scholarship search, admission and financial-aid application assistance, resume building, essay writing and interview skills.

Details and applications for the Get2College Scholarship Competition are available at get2college.org.

Gray Daniels Supplier Partner Pricing for City Employees

Mayor Tony Yarber and Gary Dodson, platform director for Gray Daniels Auto Family, announced Monday, Nov. 2, that Gray Daniels would provide a discounted pricing program to City of Jackson employees. Gray Daniels' "supplier partner pricing" is normally only available to automotive-industry employees. The City of Jackson is the first municipality to receive the discount for city employees.

For more information visit the city's website.

In a previous version of this story, we mistakenly listed CC's Coffee House as CC's Community Coffee House. The story picture has been changed to reflect the current logo. Additionally, the Saurage family has been brewing coffee for 97 years and frosted gingerbread and peppermint bark are separate flavors for the Mochasippi. The Mochasippi is also only available frozen. We apologize for the errors.