A Gastropub and a Yogurt Shop Are Coming
Realtor® Marty Clapton announced plans in September to open a gastropub, Barrelhouse, in the historic Fondren Strip. The gastropub will feature live music and will center around bourbon and whiskey-based cocktails, 12 draft beers, wine, and a decidedly Southern menu. Clapton hopes for s spring 2016 opening.

Designer Anthony Ritter told in October he is bringing frozen yogurt to Old Canton Road. Fondren FroYo is being built out in a space Ritter has long rented under the hill in the Woodland Hills Shopping Center. The “self-serve yogurt with all the toppings” shop will open in early 2016.

Early Childhood Center Coming to St. Andrews
Ground was broken on a state-of-the-art early childhood center for pre-K3, pre-K4, and kindergarten at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School’s lower elementary campus in Fondren in September. The early childhood center will include an essential indoor play space and flexible, central activity room that can accommodate an entire grade level, and a center for the Institute for Learning, Teaching, and Engagement.

New Business from Mabus, Mantle
Tupelo-based The Mabus Agency is opening a satellite office in Fondren on State Street, principal Josh Mabus announced in October. Renovations to the former Weaver Architects office are underway.

Entrepreneur and attorney Christopher Lomax plans a co-working space, Mantle, for the 5,000 square feet above Babalu Tacos & Tapas. Minimal construction will transform the historic space into shared work spaces, private offices and conference rooms beginning in January 2016.

Eubanks Creek Plans Told
Fondren got an update on flood mitigation efforts on Eubanks Creek in October. The project, slated to begin in early 2016, is a byproduct of the needs of Venyu Solutions who is constructing a data center in the former McRae’s – and a win for residents, too.

City of Jackson received a $16.5 million TIGER Grant
A $16.5 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation was announced in October. Comprehensive improvements to North State Street, from Hartfield Avenue to Shepphard Road, will be funded. Engineering studies could begin as early as January 2016 with a final completion date of September 2019.

Fondren Unwrapped Reimagined, Successful
Fondren Renaissance’s annual holiday open house in November, Fondren Unwrapped, was reshaped by Fondren Renaissance and filled with activity, including over a dozen costumed characters (and the big guy himself), choirs, a movie on Duling Green and a Lucky Town Brewing Company Pub Crawl — to the delight of all who attended.

And more…
Surin of Thailand | Ellis Seafood | The Precinct | Mozingo Clothiers | Precinct 4 Changes | Up In Farms

Related: Year In Review, Part 1 yir15