“IF YOU CAN MANAGE A $4 MILLION BUDGET, YOU CAN SURE MANAGE THIS.”
Image 86
That’s what Demetris Buck told S.B. when he was thinking about buying his friend’s restaurant.
“I was just laid off, ‘downsized’ by Cooper Tools, where I was a manager. That was back in ’96.”
S.B. has always enjoyed cooking. He’s been doing it all his life. He grew up on the Billups Plantation outside of Indianola, Mississippi (where B.B. King is from). It was there he learned to cook from his mother. “She taught me how to use seasonings, not salt and pepper. There were thirteen of us, so I know how to cook for lots of people. (Image 87)
Image 87
“Even though I knew I could cook, and even the managing of people, it was tough-going at first. The location was terrible. We had to move. It was just soul food back then. I added the barbecue. Now, we serve breakfast, a cafeteria style lunch, and short orders after 2:30. We also do fish fries and catering, and I’m still trying to figure this out.”
You don’t expect to see tennis trophies and memorabilia at a soul food/barbecue joint, especially in the middle of the Mississippi Delta, but S.B. fell in love with the game. “I was twenty-five years old and was fishing with my brother when we decided we would like to learn how to play.”
S.B. is now a USPTR teaching pro. He is very proud that he has helped thirteen kids go to college on tennis scholarships, including both of his kids.
Like so many other things in life, the risk of opening up a family restaurant can pay off with big dividends down the road. A few years after S.B. lost his job, the same thing happened to Demetris. After she had put in nineteen years on the assembly line at Utility Product, they abruptly closed the plant. (Image 88)
Image 88: Buck’s Restaurant 152 N Harvey Street • Greenville, MS 38701 • (662)334-3301
“I was always helping out here anyway. Now this became my fulltime job,” she says.
Demetris is also quite a cook in her own right. A lifelong Greenville resident, she also learned the art from her mother.
Her love for this place is evident in the way she cuts up with everybody.
“I always get a kick out of hearing how people are surprised when they find out I’m the owner, as if that means you can’t have fun just because you’re the boss.
“But my absolute favorite time here is when we are visited by the grandkids. They live in Jackson, and when they come over, they help clean tables and stuff their faces.” (Image 89)
Image 89
S.B. BUCK’S MACARONI & CHEESE
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Boil macaroni according to package directions; wash to get starch off.
Mix all ingredients together except 1/2 cup cheese, adding macaroni last. Combine in an oven-safe pan and sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Cook for 20 minutes. Serves 8 to 10 people.