Weidmann's Restaurant is a historic restaurant in

Meridian, Mississippi Meridian is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, eighth most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, with a population of 35,052 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Lauderdale County, Mississippi, ...

, United States, established in 1870. It was originally listed as a

contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic dist ...

to the Meridian Urban Center Historic District, listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1979. The Urban Center Historic District was combined with the Meridian Depot Historic District in 2005 to become the Meridian Downtown Historic District.

History

Weidmann's was opened in 1870 by Felix Weidmann, an immigrant from

Zurich, Switzerland Zurich (; ) is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The urban area was home to 1.45 ...

. Previously an ocean liner chef, Weidmann began the establishment as a restaurant-hotel called the European House. Weidmann was later involved in the hotel business, establishing the International Hotel on the corner of 22nd Avenue and Front Street in 1884. After Felix Weidmann's death in 1885, his son, Phillip Weidmann, took over the restaurant. Phillip moved the restaurant to a location at the intersection of 24th Avenue and 5th Street and renamed it "Taft and Weidmann's". During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the restaurant was moved to

Hattiesburg, Mississippi Hattiesburg is a city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, located primarily in Forrest County, Mississippi, Forrest County (where it is the county seat and most populous city) and extending west into Lamar County, Mississippi, Lamar County. The ci ...

, for two years in order to better serve soldiers at

Camp Shelby Camp Shelby is a U.S. Army post whose south gate is located at the southern boundary of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, along U.S. Highway 49. It was originally established during World War I, and has served almost continuously since then as a trai ...

. The restaurant would also occupy a location on 5th Street before moving to its current (and original) location on 22nd Avenue in 1923. Henry Weidmann, Phillip's son, took over the establishment after Phillip's death in 1927. In 1935 the celebration for Fred and Al Key's record-breaking endurance flight, which lasted 653 hours and 34 minutes and wasn't broken until 1973 by astronauts, was held at Weidmann's. Shorty McWilliams, husband of Gloria Weidmann, owned the store in 1955. Gloria Chancellor and her husband, great-great grandchildren of the founders, assumed ownership of the restaurant in 1989. Weidmann's would remain owned by someone in the Weidmann family until the 1990s. The restaurant, which is the oldest in the state of

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

, became one of the most well-known restaurants in the state as well, famous for its black bottom pie, peanut butter crocks, and numerous pictures hanging on the walls. The restaurant's lunch counter has been in place since the business opened, and a "treasure chest" is filled with candy and other goodies given to reward children with good manners.

Renovations and ownership change

In 2001 Southern Cast Products, a manufacturing company in Meridian, bought the restaurant. Weidmann's closed later that year and underwent a $20 million renovation. The downstairs entrance was moved from the southwest corner to the northwest, and two banquet rooms were added on the second floor. After the renovation, the lease was held by Nick Apostle, owner of Nick's Restaurant in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...

. He operated the store until 2004 when he decided to devote his full attention to the Jackson restaurant, after which general manager Willie McGehee and others in Meridian assumed full operational control. With the onset of the

Late-2000s recession The Great Recession was a period of market decline in economies around the world that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009.

, the restaurant experienced a downturn. Nearly half of the restaurant's business came from large parties of workers from local hospitals and pharmaceutical companies. As part of the recession, though, many of these companies stopped paying for these dinners, so the workers were no longer able to eat there. In an attempt to garner support for the restaurant and to keep it from failing, the Alliance for Downtown Meridian urged people to eat there at least once a week. Despite the Alliance's efforts, the restaurant closed its doors on April 17, 2010. In early June of the same year, Charles Frazier, manager of Crescent City Grill, bought the lease to the building. Frazier said he planned to recreate the restaurant's past by reintroducing much of the classic Weidmann's menu after it had been replaced by more expensive fine dining during the previous renovation and ownership change. Frazier reopened the restaurant in late July after adding hardwood floors and bringing back the lunch counter by knocking out the back wall. Two former employees were also rehired to give the restaurant a feeling more reminiscent of the past.

External links

Weidmann's Restaurant official website

References

{{National Register of Historic Places Buildings and structures in Meridian, Mississippi Restaurants in Mississippi Restaurants established in 1870 Historic district contributing properties in Mississippi 1870 establishments in Mississippi National Register of Historic Places in Lauderdale County, Mississippi Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Mississippi Restaurants on the National Register of Historic Places