Robert St. John is bringing a $13M development to Mississippi’s ‘coolest neighborhood’

Famed Mississippi restaurateur Robert St. John of Hattiesburg, backed by local developers, is turning his attention to what he calls Mississippi’s “coolest neighborhood” with the announcement Thursday of a $13 million development in Fondren.

The developments, which will span 30,000 square feet on the historic State Street corridor adjoining the Capri Theater, will include a Tiki bar called the Pearl, a bowling alley called Highball Lanes and a restaurant called Ed’s Burger Joint. The Capri is going to be renovated.

St. John said renovation and construction on all projects could be finished within a year.

The restaurants, bars and theater reopening will bring 80 full-time and 45 part-time jobs, St. John said.

“We’re not going to take away from the character of the neighborhood, we’re going to add to it,” St. John said.

“This is the coolest neighborhood in the biggest city in the state,” he said of Fondren.

David Pharr and Jason Watkins, who own the properties, are the developers. Two of the locations are vacant and the other two are on a month-to-month lease.

“We’ve been working on it for a long time and now we have the right operator in place, so we’re excited,” Pharr said.

Watkins said they have also coordinated with the Mississippi Department of Archives and History to make sure all the renovations are historically accurate and consistent.

“We wanted to maintain the retail feel for the strip, that was important to us,” he said.

Wier Boerner Allin Architecture is the architect for the project and Copeland & Johns, Inc. is the general contractor.

Jackson City Council President Virgi Lindsay, whose Ward 7 includes Fondren, called the development the result of more than 20 years of “sweat equity” from neighborhood stakeholders.

“There is no greater power than a community coming together to create positive change...Today’s announcement is a celebration of the sweat equity that has been poured into Fondren by many people over the past 20 years,” she said.

Local developer Mike Peters said today’s announcement has been in the works for awhile.

“Everybody’s been waiting on this for five years. It’s been in the works for that long. I’m a developer so I understand it doesn’t just happen over night, but everyone in the neighborhood is really excited about it... I think they’re going to do great,” Peters said.

St. John said he’s bringing reclining seats, a full bar and food to the historic Capri Theater in Fondren. Once renovated, the theater will offer a 40-feet movie screen, 170 seats and a state-of-the-art projection system. It will show “first-run” and classic movies, making it the only movie theater in the city.

Highball Lanes, a bowling alley with 10 lanes, will also have a bar and serve food similar to that of St. John’s Crescent City Grill in Hattiesburg, which has a Cajun-inspired menu. The bowling alley will be located next to the Capri.

St. John will open another Ed’s Burger Joint, similar to the one now open in Hattiesburg. The restaurant will serve burgers, milkshakes and homemade frozen pops. It will also have a rooftop bar that overlooks Fondren and will be located on the other side of the Capri. Ed’s will be in the former gas station that housed Butterfly Yoga.

A Tiki bar called The Pearl is going next to the bowling alley on State Street. The bar will offer “upscale Tiki cocktails” and small plates.

St. John, who has been in the restaurant business for close to 40 years, said the Fondren project is the biggest of his career. He said he once owned a country-western bar near Old County Line Road in the 1990s but has turned down development opportunities in Jackson until now.

He said he planned to “adopt” nearby Boyd Elementary School where his employees will volunteer and help with fundraisers.

“Community is a big, big thing with us,” he said.

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