Change is inevitable, said Chef Taylor Bowen Ricketts.
Since the March opening of Delta Bistropub in downtown Greenwood, the award-winning chef said this change is beginning to feel like it’s supposed to, after recently hitting the 60-day mark.
“It gets more exciting every day,” she said. “I feel like we’ve learned a lot. We’ve got our feet pretty solid now.”
Ricketts, the executive chef and co-owner of the new establishment and its namesake Delta Bistro, is bringing a hip, funky flair to Greenwood with the new restaurant. Patrons, however, will also get a sense of familiarity while dining at the new space.
“It’s always been an idea that it is an evolution of Delta Bistro,” said Ricketts. “As time went by, it became clearer that it was always going to be part of it and deeply rooted from that restaurant.”
Saturday, Delta Bistro closed its doors, and the Bistro’s lunch service will be moved to its successor, Delta Bistropub, located at 222 Howard St.
The Bistropub will be closed on Monday to accommodate the transition.
“We can cater to late eaters and early eaters and be an all-in-one space, which I think is important,” said Ricketts.
Tuesday, the restaurant will be opened and ready for its added service and new hours — 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Saturday.
“I hope that at some point our customers can become as nostalgic about this existing space — as I have already started to — as our old space. I do think we will miss (Delta Bistro) terribly, but change is good,” said Ricketts.
Ricketts describes the new restaurant’s menu as a grown-up version of the Bistro’s, focusing more on her unique Delta dishes and small plates and less on sandwiches.
“We’ll still have a few sandwiches, like the turkey croissant, the BLT, a club sandwich and a burger,” said Ricketts. “But we’ll also have more mature food — lots of vegetarian options and also health conscious options.”
The new menu reflects Ricketts’ passion for the “Farm to Table” movement, which she brought to Greenwood about 10 years ago with her first restaurant on Park Avenue.
“It started before it’s time,” she said. “At Bistro, it kind of caught up to its time, but now we can take the ball and run with it.”
Some of the new items on the menu include duck ragu, hot fried rabbit and fish and grits. The Bistropub will continue to serve up Ricketts' imaginative daily specials.
“I’m not the same person I was 10 years ago, or even a year ago,” said Ricketts. “I think we have all learned a lot. As I grow, the food’s going to grow, too. It’s something more contemporary.”
The restaurant also features a bar, serving what the executive chef describes as sophisticated cocktails.
While Ricketts would rather not classify her cuisine into one particular category, she describes it as “from the soul.”
Ricketts attended art school and is also a skilled painter. In fact, several pieces hanging from the walls at Delta Bistropub are her creation. Her approach to the restaurant business is also a reflection of her background in art.
To Ricketts, she sees herself not as a painter or as a chef, but as an artist, whether it’s paint to a canvas or taking farm fresh ingredients and creating a different kind art — one that’s edible and presented on a plate.
“It’s one creative being,” Ricketts said of the restaurant.
The new space on Howard Street, with its modern, contemporary interior, is a restored historic building.
A former occupant of 222 Howard was the Greenwood radio station WGRM, which first aired B.B. King in the 1940s.
“The fact that this building has so much music history is very exciting to me, because I’m a music lover,” said Ricketts. “I have always, even before I moved here, been appreciative of the blues and acknowledged the extreme importance of this area. I feel it, and I feel the inspiration of all the musicians who have gotten their ‘juju’ here. I get it, too.”
Ricketts said she wants the atmosphere at Delta Bistropub to also highlight some of the best aspects of the Delta.
“We are trying to be new Delta and also fully taking what we’ve got here historically and making it new Mississippi,” she said. “We’re pretty proud of some things here, and we want to show it. I think some of the best characteristics of Mississippi are all here in this spot — music, food, art and literature.”
One of the most important parts of the restaurant to Ricketts, however, is its customers.
“I want it to be a pub, or a public house, in every sense of the word,” she said. “Everyone is welcomed, and I think everybody does feel welcomed. I want to continue to encourage that. No matter who you are, you feel like you can come in here and you feel welcomed.”
Despite the addition of “pub” to its name and the visual changes, the new location will still embody the same qualities and energy for food as Delta Bistro.
“I feel very lucky to be one of the people in this world who truly get to do what they want to, and I try to encourage that freedom of creativity with my co-workers,” said Ricketts. “I’m always looking for input from them, and I’m always looking for input from my customers, which is one reason for the move. We’ve listened to what they want, and this is what has become of it, so this has been a collaboration.”
• Contact Ruthie Robison at 581-7233 or rrobison@gwcommonwealth.com.
The original version of this article misspelled Taylor Bowen Ricketts' name.
