It’s the latest addition for locals and tourist looking for a bite and the rebirth of a building in downtown Clarksdale.
Rapper and Clarksdale native Rick Ross snipped the ribbon on Wingstop, at 300 Issaquena Avenue Friday morning.
The restaurant is being bankrolled by Ross and will be run by his sister Tawanda Roberts.
“This is an opportunity for jobs in Clarksdale and an opportunity for the Black community,” said Ross. “This will bring people downtown and Clarksdale needs that.”
Mayor Chuck Espy said with more than 1,400 restaurants Wingstop has made a major investment in Clarksdale.
The city’s role was lease the former Greyhound Bus Station to the franchise and working with developers to make this public-private partnership work.
“You don’t see a lot of development in downtowns of smaller cities and Clarksdale worked hard to bring this one here,” said Dwan Brown, of P3 Group, Inc. “We got Wingstop a good lease, we worked to clear this through numerous state agencies and we’re proud of what this team has accomplished.”
The restaurant will bring approximately 20 new jobs to the community.
The city and local economic development officials broke ground on the project in June of 2019.
The bus station was initially renovated with a grant designed to revive the building as a transportation museum or visitor’s center. The building has served at the Clarksdale visitor’s center for several years before the tourism board moved to a county building nearby.
Wingstop is one of the fastest growing franchises in the country and has thrived during the COVID-19 shutdown as people picked up a plate of their trademark chicken wings and carried them home. Wingstop is styled as casual dining experience and a combination of fast-food service with the option to sit down and enjoy a meal and time together.
