Variety, it’s said, is the spice of life.

No one needs to tell this to Nathan Glenn, the cook-turned-entrepreneur whose restaurants, founded by his father Tim Glenn, feed half of Jackson.

Glenn has big plans for his two Fondren kitchens, Rooster’s and Basil’s, now that his franchise operation, The Feathered Cow, has taken off on the Reservoir.

“We want to expand,” he said of both Fondren establishments, anchors to the left and right side in Fondren Corner on North State Street.

At Basil’s, they’ll close off the front entrance and wrap the outside with graphics, move their stand-up coolers around — “rearrange a bit,” Glenn told.  “There’s so much dead space, so we want to create a workable, usable prep kitchen.

Add to that a bakery operation, 600° pizza deck ovens and evening hours, and Glenn said it’s the extra boost he’s looking for out of an already successful lunch spot. “Numbers wise, it’s remarkable what that little Basil’s does from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m..”

At Rooster’s, favorite dishes from the Feathered Cow will join an already varied menu. He speculated that his butter fries, chili cheese tamale casserole and some form of roasted vegetables could be available soon. The Stupid Burger, grits and chili cheese fries have been on the Rooster’s menu for several months.

Ashley Laskin, Glenn’s sister, will come to Fondren Corner, “a Glenn in the building more often,” he said, shoring up the daytime operation and handling expanded catering duties. This will also help Basil’s grow wings, a concept, he said, is being looked at for future franchise opportunities.

In essence, Glenn is bringing his family’s energy back under the same roof.

“We have the Vegas strip of Jackson, Mississippi right here,” he said. “There’s no reason not to create something for nighttime, to play off that Fondren After 5 synergy [on a regular basis]. We should have activity in the hall — a busker strumming music, TVs… something — to create the experience.”

Across the water…

Glenn has been working on his Feathered Cow concept for “five or six years,” launching a brick-and-mortar location in October 2014 from an I-55 strip center near Maywood Mart (he recently shared news of that original location on their Facebook page).

Fate would have Mike McFarland walk in the door shortly afterward, looking for a franchise concept.

A former Buffalo Wild Wings general manager and operator, McFarland brought on Jack Curtis, John Beasley, Jim Ridgway and Ricky Ates and their M&M-FC LLC to open the Reservoir store at the corner of Spillway and Northshore Parkway.

Serving chicken and waffles, Glenn’s original Basil’s Belhaven concept burger, the Holy Cow Burger, and their butter fries, The Feathered Cow boasts 30 TVs featuring fall football action in the bar area.

“We are a food driven organization — real, fresh made food — that will have an element of sports bar entertainment to it,” Glenn explained. Spaces are divided, a bar on one side and restaurant on the other. “If you bring in the family, you won’t even get a Budweiser coaster at your table.”

While Glenn is focusing on Fondren, he still retains complete control of the Feathered Cow brand and intellectual property and is helping with locations, serving as general contractor for store build outs. It’s a job that visibly excites him.

“The Reservoir [store] has exploded,” he said. “We’re already eyeing store two (Madison or Gluckstadt). Very few concepts have that kind of return on the dollar this early on.”