Tavern Headed to Tallahatchie Flats



Part of the soon-to-be Tallahatchie Tavern en route to Tallahatchie Flats.



Tallahatchie Tavern stopping traffic on Highway 442 near Schlater.

The man who stopped me on Highway 442 as I was headed to Mound Bayou for a public hearing today looked like a serial killer. Long unkempt hair, acid wash blue jeans, a few teeth short of a full smile, and an accent that would make your grandmother cringe. To boot, he was driving the stereotypical windowless kidnapper van with an aftermarket red blinking light stuck to the top. All signs pointed to scary.

Having watched the movie Fargo last night, I should have known better. In the true crime Fargo, two hit-men go on a killing spree in the Upper Midwest leaving nothing but a trail of blood and trouble in their wake. With this reminder that there are killers among us, I should have disregarded his tattered red signal flag and cruised on past him to Doddsville, as I was running late.

But I stopped for some reason.

The man, who must have had a double-first name such as Billy Ray or Freddie Earl, motioned for me to roll down my window. At this point, it was too late to make my run for the border. So I complied. Coming to a stop, I rolled down my driver side window and listened as Billy Ray told me what was going on.

"They's moving a monastery down this here highway to the Tallahatchie Flats," he said. "'Bout forty feet wide and seventeen feet tall."

"A monastery?" I thought. I was picturing a truckload of monks in a flatbed trailer. Monastery. That just didn't make sense. Then I realized what he meant.

Having recently talked to Les Shanks, general manager of Tallahatchie Flats, I knew of their plans to bring a commissary on site for parties, events, and random get-togethers. I passed the opportunity to correct Freddie Earl and explain the error of his word choice. It would have taken too long. So I asked if I could continue and just get out of the way when I saw it. He said it was fine.

A few miles down the road, sure enough, I encountered the commissary. As I pulled off the road, I snapped a few pictures and headed on to Mound Bayou. On my way back, I found it in much the same place as a I left it in my rearview mirror an hour earlier. Closer to Tallahatchie Flats, yes. Much closer, no. At the rate they are going, it should reach its destination around this time next year.

Tallahatchie Flats, as you probably already know, is a gathering of old shotgun shacks and plantation outbuildings on Money Road near Little Zion Missionary Baptist Church. Designed in the same vein as the Shack Up Inn in Clarksdale, the Flats promises an authentic place for blues enthusiasts and bargain travelers to lay their head for the night. With the opening of the Tallahatchie Tavern, the Flats will become Greenwood's only no-star resort.

Stay tuned for more information on the grand opening of the Tallahatchie Tavern at Tallahatchie Flats. Word has it that the Tavern will be up and running for the 2009 Rhythm on the River music festival on August 1. This gives Billy Earl and the house moving company less than one month to get the Tavern to its final resting place. We'll keep you posted.

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