Public recycling drop-off has moved from Rainbow Natural Grocery. The cooperative has announced a solution what they say was an eyesore and cost prohibitive service by directing recylcers to 841 Palmyra Street in Jackson. Global Plastic Recyclers, 2.7 miles from Rainbow, takes all non-glass recyclables Monday – Friday, 7am to 4pm.  An email from Luke Lundemo at Rainbow says that glass recycling is also available at the Palmyra location 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 

Rainbow says the move became necessary after the holidays when pick ups were missed and the narrow alley behind their store became too cluttered and impassable. Also, glass was being shipped to Texas at a heavy freight prices and that other materials mixed in with the glass made it unacceptable. “We tried to quickly find an alternative recycling service”, Lundemo says, “but the company that had just taken over the Jackson curbside recycling, Global Plastic Recyclers could not come up with a solution”. He says Rainbow had no choice, but to stop accepting recyclable materials.

While taking your recyclables to a new location may take getting used to, there are pluses in the new norm: At the new drop off location, they have almost unlimited capacity to accept recyclable materials. Lundemo says the only material that absolutely must be separated out is glass. There are 14 80-gallon bins lined up on the right side of the driveway going into the recycling warehouse. Rainbow asks that you help keep these bins strictly clean glass only. Store staff will regularly monitor the bins to insure there is just glass in them, but your cooperation is needed. Another bonus for the busy enviro-savvy Fondrenite? At the Palmyra location, you don’t have to separate your other recyclables (paper-cardboard-plastics-metals). They have people who sort these materials. If you want to help them out, you can separately sort out cardboard and separately sort plastic drink bottles.  Rainbow has prepared a PDF to help explain services and the location of Global.

Another option is to drop your materials off at Recycling Services, Inc. on Mill Street. 

Southern fried roots rock from the Matt Poss Band and Blackberry Smoke at Duling Hall presented by Ardenland! See all the photos here. And give us a like while you’re there!

Part Colombian, part American, pure go-getter: meet the modern day renaissance man, Daniel Guaqueta. The 35 year old Fondren resident says he’s an outsider in Mississippi though he’s grown up here most of his life. Born in Hattiesburg to a Colombian father studying in the English language institute program at USM and a south Mississippi mother, Guaqueta’s family returned to his father’s native country until Daniel was 7. “I spent every summer there”, he said “and my grandmother made sure I knew Colombian tradition and culture. I’m very Colombian”. That may surprise some who try his southern dishes like pecan pie and cornbread. “My grandmother here made sure I knew about my Mississippi heritage, too”. 

Guaqueta started college majoring in music at Jones Junior College in Ellisville, though that didn’t stick. “I hated my major”, he says, switching to horticultural technology after just a year. That program landed him in an internship with Disney where he plantscaped their first-ever cruise ship. That’s something near to his heart. His family back in Colombia is in the plant brokering business. But Guaqueta never strayed from music for long. It’s where you most likely have heard of him: as the man at the helm of Mississippi Happening and playing in his band, Ttoccs Rekarp, a moniker he invented at age 12. He’s also behind the drum kit for Hunter Gibson and the Gators and behind the Mac Book for Belhaven University’s dance department. “I have a self created job there”, he says, “as an electronic accompanist”. Guaqueta is able to work from home for the most part, collaborating with others on private Facebook groups to form something much bigger. “My whole life, I have been trying to achieve this huge spectacle of things. I’m into that”. 

A proud Fondrenite and supporter of the neighborhood, Guaqueta and his wife of two years own a house here and he says it’s the personality and diversity of the area that drive him. “We like to take the long way home, discovering a street or an area we’ve never seen”. And drive is something else you’ll find no shortage of in Fondren. Guaqueta is self employed and admires the entrepreneurial spirit of others here as well. “If there’s something you can do, pick it up and do it. If you have the determination, I respect that. It’s why I live here. I may not be famous, but I love what I do”. 

Photo: Tate K. Nations

Captain & Company held their CD release and circa. URBAN ARTISAN LIVING hosted an artists reception for Christy Henderson and Joy Light. These were the highlights of the February edition of Fondren After 5 and we have the photos to show for it! Click here to see our gallery.

Postal workers converge ! A short lunch break at Fondren Corner brings together three of our trusty mail carriers. They asked me to mention that this was a short break, dear Postmaster!

The Travel Channel's Andrew Zimmern and Cartenuto

 If you were at this weekend’s Appetite For Jackson in downtown Jackson, you may have noticed a restaurant unfamiliar to you. But the man behind it is no stranger to the area, and he’s returning - to Fondren. Brian Cartenuto, formerly the head chef at Char, spoke to us from his Niceville, Florida restaurant today and says he is bringing Tucker Duke’s Lunchbox to town. “(I’m) 90% sure it’s Fondren” he tells us of the blue plate and burgers joint that specializes in gourmet hamburgers and southern sides. Famous already in the sunshine state for their Tucker Duke burger, Cartenuto says he’s gone from a 12 seat lunch counter to a 60 seat restaurant with 13 specialty burgers. “We turn out 150-200 a day”, he says while pointing out that they offer a fun, playful concept. “There’s no southern sweetness here. It’s all seasoned with salt, pepper and a bit of sarcasm”. The family owned concept restaurant plans for a Destin location (his hometown) by March 1 and is tentatively slating April 1 for Jackson. 

The mondgragon with 6 slices of bacon, fried egg, 2 slices of cheddar and American

Cartenuto says he is choosing Fondren because of its different vibe. “It reminds me a lot of Seattle where I lived before I came to Jackson. It’s quirky and progressive and has people who protect and support the neighborhood”. Cartenuto believes he is also bringing another much needed aspect to the local food biz: 7 days a week – and late nights. “Jackson”, he says, “needs a Sunday night dinner and bar scene”. 

Check out the menu from the Niceville, Florida location – and find out what Fondren is in store for this spring!

The all-new PiE Lounge at Sal & Mookie’s is here and the big reveal happened tonight in Fondren. After 72 hours of “extreme makeover” style work, Jeff Good and his crew transformed the chic Manhattan Lounge into a down-home neighborhood bar atmosphere. For photos from the event, click here.

Rush 2 Brush, along with ‘Give Kids a Smile’ day, held on February 3, kick-off National Children’s Dental Health Month promoting awareness of the importance of oral health to overall health of children and their families. Premier sponsor for this year’s event is University Dentists, PLLC demonstrating the commitment to the improvement of oral health by UMC’s multidisciplinary dental faculty practice. All proceeds benefit Pediatric Dentistry @ Batson which is the only dental specialty program in the state that is dedicated to the oral health care of Children with Special Health Care Needs. The registration fee for the run/walk is $20 and the registration fee for the fun run is $10. To register online or for more information, visit Mississippi Track Club. To learn more about Pediatric Dentistry at Batson, visit this site.