Mississippi Fish Shack: Homemade decor, home-cooked food
Published Sept. 2, 2008
There's food, and then there's homemade food. When cooking at home and sharing delicious recipes with friends and family became a hit, Kim Perry decided to take it to the next level and open a restaurant. Thus, the Mississippi Fish Shack was born.
On Jan. 6, 2006, the restaurant started in a small A-frame shack in Boonville. Hence the "Shack" in the restaurant's name. As business and reputation grew, Perry decided she needed a better place to expand her family-friendly restaurant.
"We had a good weekend crowd but not much during the week," Perry says of her previous location. Many of the restaurant's patrons were from Columbia, and they urged Perry to move her food closer to the city. After constant suggestions and a love of spreading home-cooked recipes, Mississippi Fish Shack chose a new home on May 1, 2008.
The storefront at 929 E. Broadway seemed like the perfect location, and it instantly became a success, with weekdays and weekends bringing standing-room-only crowds and lines flowing out the entrance. Yellow painted walls and brown crown molding only intensify the personality. When complimented on the layout Perry smiled and explained that there was more to the decorating than meets the eye. Kim's son made the shelves by hand, and the colorful pieces of art were actually made by all of the waitresses from the restaurant's former location in Boonville. The commitment put into every nook and cranny gives onlookers warm, fuzzy feelings. It tinges the inviting atmosphere with a sense of nostalgia for the memories of home.
The restaurant serves famous family recipes, which go back to Perry's grandmother, fresh to its Columbia customers. And when Perry says fresh she means it, doing the majority of the cooking on the small kitchen's home stove. Dishes like the catfish fillet, a recipe from Ittabena, Miss., and sweet potatoes, Perry's grandmother's recipe, are major bestsellers. For anyone with a sweet tooth, blackberry and peach cobblers are among the delectable deserts served at the shack.
"(I) mainly want a family atmosphere," Perry says. She makes a point to have everyone enjoy themselves, not only with the food, but also with affordable prices, which range from $5.25 to $9.75 for dinner entrées. The Mississippi Fish Shack doesn't serve alcohol because Perry wants everyone, even the children, to feel completely comfortable.
"I want families to bring their children, and for the children to have a good time," Perry says.
A family atmosphere is the main premise of the restaurant and it was founded on Perry's upbringing. By enjoying cooking and spreading some old family traditions, the Mississippi Fish Shack comes nothing short of a dream come true. The restaurant's popularity is obvious, and Perry is nothing short of ecstatic when serving a large crowd.
"It's a hopping place," she says. "I am just blessed."