Hernando’s New Businesses

Social X Saint

Shop & Eat Local

New businesses bring food and home décor options to Hernando.

From home décor to barbecue and specialty sweets, a growing selection of all-new small businesses have recently entered the local economy in Hernando, further adding to its reputation as one of the fastest growing cities in Mississippi.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Terry Taylor, owner of the new Uncle Bubba’s Barbecue & Smokehouse restaurant, is no stranger to the food service industry. As a longtime culinary innovator and the owner of Underground Café, Taylor already had a vision of a barbecue restaurant with a full bar in mind when a building on Highway 51 became available in May of 2018.

“I just thought it would be a perfect restaurant,” Taylor said. “Barbecue has always been a big deal in this area, and what better way to control the competition than to take matters up myself?” Taylor, known to certain members of his family as the eponymous Uncle Bubba, entered the cooking scene after spending 39 years in the electronics industry. He enrolled in L’Ecole Culinary School and spent some time working in Italy before moving on to the restaurant industry in Hernando, where he’s managed everything from food truck ventures to full-service restaurants.

“I’ve always loved to cook and have been on a barbecue team for years,” Taylor said. “Uncle Bubba’s seemed like a natural move and it’s a nice, needed addition to Hernando if you ask me.”

Hernando 43 Uncle Bubba’s features daily happy hour specials, live music and several menu standouts including ground brisket burgers and pork belly burnt ends, an appetizer that Taylor claimed “really pops.”

------------------------------------------------- Developing a new business in 2019 was also on the mind of Mary Catherine Logan, owner of Saint Boutique, a clothing store located at 2420 E. Parkway across from Kroger that opened its doors in October of 2016.

“I was really looking for a nice, personal boutique experience,” Logan said. “I realized after we opened that we had such a nice response to the clothing store and I’d always had people tell me the wished we had more home décor options in the area.”

Three years later, Logan saw the perfect opportunity to expand on her existing brand in the form of Social X Saint (pronounced Social by Saint), an eclectic lifestyle boutique that opened in October of 2019.

“We have so much real estate down here, it was unbelievable that we didn’t have a dedicated home store in this style,” Logan said. “So we really wanted to kind of capture that element of the market and that’s how we ended up with Social X Saint. Now we’ve really got two very great locations on our hands here in Hernando.”

Social X Saint specialized in sitaround décor, with a selection of couches, swivel gliders, cheese boards and wine glasses. Freezable wine glasses and a stock of cakes from Sugaree’s Bakery in New Albany proved to be popular sale items this past holiday season.

“I always tell people that if I had a million of ‘em, I would probably sell a million of ‘em,” Logan said. “I always tell people you can come in and walk out with a coffee cup or a couch. We really tried to cover all the angles that weren’t covered in terms of home décor here in Hernando.”

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DeSoto County might have a new must-visit brunch spot in Bazar’s Bakery & Breakfast, a restaurant that opened its doors in May of 2019 near the Commerce Depot area adjacent the railroad tracks.

“The reception has been very good since we’ve opened,” said Brenda Love, owner of Bazar’s Bakery & Breakfast. “We serve mimosas, which is something everybody has been asking for lately.”

Bazar’s Bakery serves lunch and breakfast seven days a week, from 8 to 2 p.m., with a range of menu items best described as unique fare fitting of the namesake. Popular breakfast items include the gravy flight, a three-part sampling of the best in Southern gravy that includes portions of sausage, tomato and chocolate varieties. Specials like a classic hamburger and a chicken salad sandwich round out the lunch menu, though Love said customers are free to order from the whole menu round the clock.

“We serve mainly breakfast food, but we have some great sandwiches to offer as well,” Love said. “I think you’re just as likely to see a customer order a burger at 8 a.m. or waffles at 1 p.m. some days. Our bakery is open till 5 p.m. daily and we have a wonderful pastry chef who puts together some absolutely amazing petit fours.”

Bazar’s Bakery & Breakfast takes custom confection orders for birthday parties, retirements and other celebrations. In addition, the restaurant has space in the back to host events.

“Hopefully we’re going to start opening on Saturday nights as king of a date night spot with special dishes like pasta plates, hot tamales and things like that,” Love said.