By Jack Criss
GJB Publisher

The criteria to judge any restaurant is by how good its food is and how well that food is served, of course. By those standards, Lumpkins BBQ, owned by Melvin and Monique Davis, passes with flying colors. Anyone who has ever eaten at the South Jackson establishment can attest to how great the food and is and what a pleasant and delightful atmosphere Lumpkins has.

But the significance of the Davis’ restaurant goes beyond the good food and service that patrons receive. Just like fellow Jackson restaurant owner Jeff Good, the couple has become the face(s) of their business and carry the Lumpkins banner everywhere they go. And everywhere they do go, indeed, which is what makes their business so vital to our city and our community.

Jeff Good is a clone, evidently, because whenever there is an event, a cause, a celebration—you name it—he can be found. Juggling the ownership of three outstanding restaurants, Jeff nevertheless has become a Jackson fixture at anything relating to the improvement and development of the City Of Soul. Forgive the overused descriptive here, but Jeff has become a Jackson icon. Melvin and Monique, too, place the Lumpkins imprint on just about anything having to do with the betterment of their adopted city. It’s not an exaggeration to say that, if there’s an event going on, the Davis’ and Lumpkins are there with food, moral support and bodily presence. There is no room in this brief column to document all that they—like Jeff—have done for Jackson.

There’s additional significance to the presence of Lumpkins BBQ in Jackson above and beyond the food, service and the Davis’ philanthropy, though, and it is relevant to the very survival of the Metro’s economic community.

First and foremost, in my mind, is the fact that Lumpkins BBQ is located in South Jackson. Having a Raymond Road address is not exactly the greatest asset today in the tri-county area, unfortunately. I say this as a native who grew up a mere two miles or so from where Lumpkins is located. Perception or not, quite a number of Metro area citizens hesitate to venture around the Highway 80 corridor, if they get out that way at all.

Many believe that racism plays a role in South Jackson’s tarnished image and reputation. While that might be partially true I don’t think it reveals the whole picture. I recently asked one of my North Jackson neighbors—an African-American, incidentally—if she had ever been to Lumpkins. “Oh, no,” she responded emphatically. “I wouldn’t dare go down to that part of town.” She’s echoing a common fear, I believe, that crime is rampant in South Jackson and that it’s an area of town you just don’t go into.

And yet: there’s Lumpkins BBQ—at 182 Raymond Road—proudly located in South Jackson. If any crimes have ever taken place at the restaurant I haven’t heard about them. As I tell people, though, the sad truth is that crime is not a geographical phenomenon: it can happen anywhere and anytime—no Metro area has a monopoly on thugs. That fact notwithstanding, South Jackson’s persistent crime perception problem has had a deleterious effect on its economic well-being.

There is little doubt that this perception has hurt the Davis’ and their business. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve heard, “Yeah, well, they need to open a location in Ridgeland or Madison and then I‘d go.” Even my own GJB “BBQ and Business” events held at Lumpkins were poorly attended in spite of the fact that we always had stellar speakers on hand. Yet whenever I casually mention a possibility of a move to Melvin or Monique they get these incredulous looks on their faces. I’ve heard “additional locations,” yes, but never “we have to move.”

I personally believe that the Davis’ remaining in South Jackson is a symbolic gesture. No, they’re not fools when it comes to business; but they know that someone, some business, has to take a stand and do what no one else is doing. That the course they are taking is perhaps not as profitable a one as a lesser quality restaurant in, say, Flowood, is sad indeed. And while I don’t think that Melvin and Monique are economic martyrs, I do admire their stand and think that more of us should support what they’re doing.

I don’t know how business is at Lumpkins. I have no privy, inside info on how well or unwell the Davis’ are doing. But I can see that they are fighting an uphill battle that is a different one from Jeff‘s. Jeff and Dan Blumenthal started Bravo! and their other restaurants prior to the precipitous autumn of 2008 when everything changed in America. Their businesses were established and profitable already. And while they, too, are having to fight harder—like all of us—to keep business moving at least they had the roots and track records in place. Lumpkins came to be at a different time—and certainly in a different place—and, I would argue, is facing more obstacles and different challenges. Just ask the Burwells about the sad announcement they recently had to make concerning Mimi’s in Fondren.

A mea culpa: I don’t get down to Lumpkins enough myself. But it’s not because I’m scared to go or that it’s too far away; with me it’s simply a matter of time. But I do urge readers of Greater Jackson Business to support Lumpkins—and all of our other locally-owned businesses—not only for the great product they provide but also for what they bring to Jackson. And for what they stand for.

I often say that spending money is like voting and it’s true: when you hand over your cash to the Davis’ or Jeff Good or Nick Apostle—or any of our local merchants—you’re essentially voting “Yes” for Jackson. The fact that Melvin and Monique are in South Jackson is even more important because, for the aforementioned reasons, it’s a part of our city that desperately needs economic support. That’s what Lumpkins is trying to bring to the area. Get a great meal, enjoy fantastic company AND feel good about supporting your community? I say it’s a good deal and that’s what Lumpkins is cooking up.

Lumpkins is vital because the business model and philosophy that Melvin and Monique have in place is one that should resonate with us all in this stagnant—and scary—economy. Yes, they provide fantastic food but more: they provide support to their community and their city and they do so in an area that too many have given up on. We need more like them. And we need to applaud what they are doing.