1.15.12
For this week’s Sunday Spotlight I interviewed Fran Ginn, artist and owner of The Back Door Cafe in Columbia, Mississippi. The Back Door is one of my favorite local restaurants. I’ve celebrated my birthday here for the past 3 years!! The food is great, the service is great (AHEM Be sure to ask for Taylor, not Zach. She’s the greatest, he’s…well, you’ll see), and the atmosphere is great. All joking aside, you seriously need to check this place out!
What inspired you to open your own restaurant?
My brother owned a department store at this location and I opened up the cafe in the store to increase sales. It was a difficult time for department stores because the four lane to Hattiesburg just opened and discount stores were becoming popular. The customer placed their order at the back door—hence The Back Door Cafe! After two years there was a fire and after that we expanded. The gift store remained, but the restaurant grew. In 2004, the store part closed and we changed the interiors a bit.
What is your favorite part about owning a restaurant?
The adrenalin rush! When it’s busy like this and you have so much to get done, it’s a great shot of adrenalin.
What is the hardest part?
Managing people.
Do you have a favorite dish?
The chicken salad—it’s just one of those things I never tire of.
Future goals for the store?
We are opening up a new location in Hattiesburg. It’s going to be located in Southern Bone and Joint on Veterans Memorial Boulevard. It’s a small location and will be mainly take out. It will be our basic lunch menu. (I’d also like to make a bajillion dollars and travel around the world with the Messers!) I’m just excited about the business again. When you do something so long, you have to learn to reinvent yourself to keep things fresh and interesting.
How do you use art and fashion in your restaurant?
You eat with your eyes first. The food has to be pretty as well as good. It needs to appeal to all of the senses. As far as the restaurant décor, the art in here is just an extension of my home. Some of the art is mine and some of it is just what makes me feel good and happy.
Do you have a style motto?
Yes, I have a framed picture that expresses how I feel about fashion perfectly. It is a photo of two young children and reads,“I base most of my fashion taste on what doesn’t itch” —Gilda Radner (1946-1989) Everyone always says the one of the right looks like me. I also love buying handmade pieces. I love anything handmade—anything unique. I love that I’m wearing art someone made—something they are passionate about and proud of.
Anything you want to add?
I have a very distinct memory of going to a grocery store in New Orleans with my grandfather when I was little. I remember they had the most exotic items. He and my grandmother taught me how to cook. When I was 13, they gave me a subscription to Gourmet Magazine. Through these experiences, they were showing me I wanted more than what was on everyone else’s table; I wanted more than peas and cornbread. Cooking felt like my ticket to a bigger world.
To learn more about The Back Door Cafe you can “like” them on facebook, check out their website, or give them a call at 601.736.1490!
