Jackson Free Press

JACKSON — David Archie and his wife, Niya Archie, have spent the past few years renovating a vacant building on Highway 80 that once housed Hunan's Chinese Restaurant. On Aug. 25, they held a ribbon cutting and grand-opening celebration for their new restaurant, Archie's Fish and Chicken (2439 Highway 80 W.). The couple had a soft opening for the restaurant in July.

The Archies, who are both Jackson State University alumni, decided to open the restaurant on Highway 80 because they wanted to invest in the area. Their renovations on the formerly vacant building included putting on a new roof, adding seating for up to 60 people, and installing new windows and a new central cooling and heating system. The restaurant also has outdoor seating and counter seating with a view of the kitchen so customers can see their food being prepared.

Archie's Fish and Chicken serves grilled catfish, tilapia, shrimp, deep-fried pan trout, wings and more. The couple specializes in Mississippi farm-raised catfish, fried chicken and spaghetti.

"Here at Archie's, our goal is to make everything just like mama used to make it," David told the Jackson Free Press. "Things like deep-fried pan trout and catfish are things we have a lot of competition in, and we want people to think about us whenever they come to this part of town."

Archie's Fish and Chicken is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. For more information, call 601-969-0900, or visit the restaurant's Facebook page.

Palette Cafe Debuts Pop-up Menu for Football Season

Every third Thursday through third Saturday, the Palette Cafe inside the Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St.) features a new 'sipp-Sourced pop-up menu from Executive Chef Nick Wallace. The menu theme for September is "Pigskin Tailgate," in conjunction with the museum's upcoming Museum After Hours event, "Gridiron Gameday," on Friday, Sept. 15, at 5 p.m. The event will also feature music from Jackson band Furrows and Australian singer-songwriter Darren Hanlon, an outdoor screening of the film "Friday Night Lights" and an exhibit showcasing Mississippi sports photography. Next month's theme is "Urban Farm," which will feature a menu using ingredients from urban farms within the city, including the Museum's own Payton CityFarm Learning Garden.



The restaurant also has a new menu that includes items such as tomato pie, shrimp and rice grits, Gruyere cheese and smoked pork-shoulder sandwiches on sourdough bread, pickled brined fried chicken, braised chicken B.L.T. sandwiches, candied pecan salad, strawberry and red beet salad, raisin bread French toast and more.



The Palette Cafe is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information, call 601-960-1515 or visit msmuseumart.org.


Char Expands to Include New Private Dining Area

Jackson restaurant Char Restaurant (4500 Interstate 55 N. Frontage Road) will add a new private dining area by December 2016, combining the current building with the adjacent 3,000-square-foot space that housed Mozingo Clothiers before it moved to Fondren.

The new dining area will be able to seat up to 100 people for parties and events, and have its own entrance, bar and bathrooms. The renovations, which will cost about $400,000, will bring Char's total size to 9,300 square feet.

Construction on the project will begin Thursday, Sept. 1, but the restaurant will continue regular hours of operation.

Char is open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday. For more information, visit charrestaurant.com.