MS Coast restaurant known for family recipes is forced to close. They can’t find help.
It’s been difficult for restaurant owners across South Mississippi to hire staff since the coronavirus pandemic. Now, the lack of help is forcing another Coast restaurant to close.
Georgia’s Corner Market at 12655 Mississippi 57 in Vancleave is hanging on two more weeks to give loyal customers a last chance to dine there before it closes on Friday, June 30.
“We’re in the final countdown and are whipping up specials that both the staff and our loyal patrons have requested,” owner Laura Pylate said on the restaurant’s Facebook page.
The restaurant will be open for breakfast and lunch Tuesday through Friday from 8 a.m.-2:30 p.m. and this Saturday from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. for brunch.
Among the favorites being featured these last days are their spicy honey butter fried chicken biscuit paired with the Mississippi Piggy Hash, NOLA BBQ Shrimp & Grits and turkey and brie croissant.
Classic almond wedding cake and Americana buttermilk cake are two of their final “celebration cakes.”
Challenging to hire restaurant help on the Coast
The unemployment rate in Jackson County is a low 3.1% for May and “help wanted” posts at Georgia’s went unanswered.
“Our current staff has been working 10-plus hour days just to make it work, and we can no longer hold on after this week,” Pylate said when announcing the closing of Georgia’s on Monday.
The post has more than 450 comments. from people who drove from Pascagoula for lunch, who gave Georgia’s biscuits and gravy a 10 out of 10 and those who said Georgia’s was a big part of the community,
“I have enjoyed delicious Thursday lunches with my sweet parents over the years thanks to you guys. Wonderful memories & delicious food because of Georgia’s!” one person wrote.
“Put us down as another notch on the statistic,” Pylate said. The inability to hire staff — “and only the good Lord knows how hard we’ve tried” — forced her to hire staff that didn’t fit, she said, just to fill the void.
Small town recipes at closing Coast restaurant
Georgia’s opened about four years ago in a building that was vacant and completely restored to create a restaurant with small town charm.
“We tried our best to create something unique to the coast, in our small town,” Plyate said. “A nod of sorts to the small mom and pop businesses of years gone by. We have had so much fun creating new dishes unlike anywhere else, all made the old fashioned way, “ and sometimes with family recipes.
Bakery remains open down the highway
Pylate last year opened a second business, The Bluebird Bakery & Donut Co., down the road from Georgia’s at 11988 Mississippi 57 in Vancleave.
Those celebration cakes are made there, along with donuts, kolaches and other pastries, along with coffee and espresso.
The shop recently added ice cream specialties to the menu to provide Vancleave and South Mississippi with small town treats.
This story was originally published June 21, 2023 at 1:12 PM.
