A staple in the Starkville community, The Veranda Restaurant evolved since opening in 2003 to reflect the changing, expanding climate of Starkville by offering affordable menu items while using innovative kitchen techniques to provide high quality dishes.
The southeastern American fusion restaurant at 208 Lincoln Green, was opened by Jay Yates, executive chef and Mississippi native after coming to Starkville in 1997. Over time, the community and culinary culture has changed to be more collaborative, yet competitive, he said.
"Starkville isn't clique-based anymore in the culinary community," Yates said. "There were times when that wasn't true but now it's changing to seeing that we as owners are all in this together for the community and the university. There's a huge push to support local entities in Starkville publicly and in the industry."
The development of businesses and multifamily apartment complexes has spurred the economic growth in Starkville, he added.
"There's a lot of repurposing of old buildings, new apartments, new businesses opening, it's an exciting time to be in Starkville for sure," Yates said.
Starkville was named a top five destination market to open a restaurant in the country by Restaurant Business Magazine in 2015. Most independent Starkville restaurant owners are familiar with one another, something that didn't exist in the early 2000s, Yates said.
Some residents shied away from The Veranda early on after it was unofficially labeled one of Starkville's most expensive restaurants, Yates said.
"People would come in and there were just a few things that were off," Yates said. "We changed some things on the menu and reevaluated what we were doing."
Through offering high quality cuts of seafood and steak, pastas and salads, the Veranda offers a wide range of dining options from blue plate lunches to multi-course appetizers, entrees and desserts. Blue plates are $10 including tax plus a drink and dinner entrees range from $16 to $28 and steaks range from $19 to $35.
"We do a lot of stuff," Yates said. "Whether it's going over new menu items, changing specials, or quality control of what we do now, I love being in the kitchen watching the techniques the staff uses that elevates us from a good place to a great place to eat."
As a longtime participant in Starkville Restaurant Week, The Veranda will offer past popular menu items during the special week from crab stuffed, fried green tomatoes, traditional shepherd's pie, spaghetti and meatballs made with filet mignon steak trimmings and for dessert, a Belgian chocolate eclair pie.
Working with local providers for dairy and produce, Yates secures in-season vegetables like squash and tomatoes from Lancaster Farms and uses a dairy in Philadelphia, Mississippi for cream and buttermilk.
Lately the quality of seafood coming from fishermen in Hawaii has been impressive, Yates said.
"I look for holes in the market," Yates said. "We pay attention what's seasonal in terms of produce and fresh meats."
Yates recognizes the restaurant is still considered fine dining, which inherently includes a moderately higher price point on specialty entrees. To lower prices, the kitchen staff employ techniques for seasoning, preparing and cooking dishes that cuts all waste.
"Over time the challenge has been to take that menu and still serve those high end things but using our creativity and our chef abilities to put some spin on there that is really high quality and is more affordable," Yates said. "That's a big key to our success."
Through finding ways to minimize waste, kitchen staff use all steak trimmings from ribeye and filet mignon cuts for a popular, ginger glazed menu item called "Scooby Snacks" and use trimmings for gourmet steak burgers, meatballs and meatloaf with high quality meat. The staff also use the excess Scottish salmon trimmings in a smoked salmon belly dish.
"It comes down to the people I have in the kitchen," Yates said. "Everyone is trained properly and people have the pride it takes to do certain things a certain way. The little things make a huge difference."
Through working with Chef de Cuisine Andrew Matthews and Sous Chef Clint Campbell for over 10 years, Yates has built a strong staff eager to find ways to try out innovative techniques based on what items are excelling during any given season.
"The service, the feel, the atmosphere all comes from hiring the right people," Yates said. "That's where the rubber meets the road from the servers, hostesses, managers to kitchen staff, it's all here," Yates said. "The kitchen guys are rough around the edges but they take a ton of pride of what they are putting out. That flows through the whole restaurant."
For Starkville Restaurant Week, Yates hopes residents will stay active and support local businesses. SRW is an economic driver for the community, he said.
"People look at everything from parks, schools, neighborhoods, events and restaurants in determining if they want to relocate or start a business in Starkville," Yates said. "In the long run, we all gain from Restaurant Week. Once a week, every year we showcase the best of Starkville."
The weeklong event brings out the best in local restaurants, he said.
"We are in a competitive restaurant market," Yates said. "We are trying to grow the community and the economy through community development. To do the event, it's good because it showcases talent, but in the long term, if the city grows in the right ways, that matters to people looking to move here."