Downtown dive on the rebound
The Commercial Appeal: January 5, 2006
Not too long ago the old brick building on South Main, reading the Green Beetle, was not the kind of place you wanted to grab a meal in or even use the lavatory.
But since the restaurant's reopening in April, a complete renovation has given it some homey charm that locals are slowly discovering.

As several different screens above flashed with sporting events, bartender and manager Cherri Davis hopped behind the dark bar as she spotted a man with a wide-brim safari hat through the front windows.

"There's Bob. Let me get him his Bud," said Davis.
His beverage was perspiring on the bar before he even had a chance to pull up a stool.
"This place has improved 500 percent." said South Bluffs resident Bob Dorband.

Typically stopping at the bar and restaurant on his way home from work and on weekends, Dorband says it's the familiarity that has made him a Green Beetle fixture in a short time.
"Everyone wants something close to home, where you walk through the door and they all say 'Bob!,'" he said.

Across from the small bar, hunter green booths and tall bistro tables line the wall. Over them, the brick walls are dotted with Roy Campanella, Arthur Ashe and Mohammed Ali, gazing down from framed Life Magazine covers.

At South Main and Vance since the 1930s, the Green Beetle was a cafe that had changed hands several times before new owner Andrew Davis and his sister, Cherri, brought the decrepit dive back to life.

It took nearly six months of renovation before they reopened.
The proprietor is better known as Drew. Before heading to the Green Beetle customers will stop in to grab their libation of choice to partake in the Bring Your Own Bottle policy. Cherri says they intend to eventually sell alcohol but until then they offer beer and mixers.

With Raiford's Hollywood only a few steps away, disco employee Marty Adkins stopped in for a quick cocktail before starting his late night shift.
"Everybody knows everybody in here," said Adkins, who used to frequent the Green Beetle when it was a rundown watering hole in the late '80s.
"It's a whole lot better now," he said.

Seated at one of the tall tables under the television screens, James Robinson watched a Grizzlies game play out. A Southaven resident and mason, Robinson helped install the brickwork of the newly renovated space. Having seen it before and after, he says it's a tremendous improvement.
"It looked almost condemned," said Robinson, of when he first saw it.

He now likes the cleaner look and feel of the place so much so that it's become his regular haunt.
"When my wife's at work I'll be here. It's my house away from my house," he said.
After it first opened, he recalled, the joint was quiet and only open during lunch on weekdays.

Now it gets crowded before and after events at FedExForum. In addition, their enormous portion serving kitchen is open until 4 a.m. on the weekends, attracting hungry patrons pouring out of Raiford's in the wee hours of the night.

With homemade fare served on satellite-sized dishes, they serve up inexpensive Southern eats and pub grub.Their slogan is "good eatin' like mama's kitchen." And there's little plate to be seen under the heaping portions of quesadillas and fried pork chops.
"When you go to mama's house she fills your plate," said Cherri.

The owner's mother and grandmother prepare most of the food in advance. From their Whitehaven kitchens they whip up old recipes of lasagna, meatloaf and black-eyed peas, and leave the wings and nachos to the bar cooks.

Each day the Hot Plate Special is served with a choice of two sides for $5.95 and there's the unbeatable special of two hotdogs for $1.
However, the Green Beetle is best known for its Beetle Burger, a half-pound monstrosity with all the fixings.
"Most people don't finish it," said the manager.
From under his hat, Dorband proudly boosted having devoured an entire Beetle Burger.
"And I've had another one since," he said with a grin.

The Green Beetle is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and until 4 a.m. on weekends.