Jackson Progress-Argus

Ben Wright

Several years ago, my wife and I ate at Lusco's Restaurant, which is located at 722 Carrollton Ave., in Greenwood, Miss.

This historical restaurant has an interesting history. On March 4, 1933, Charles and Marie Lusco opened a grocery store and a small restaurant. Later, they expanded the restaurant by adding "privately partitioned booths" to the rear of the building. Why all the privacy? Well, Papa Lusco had a special attraction.

Prohibition continued much longer in Mississippi than in other parts of the country. This fact created a market for homemade brew.

To get in the rear of the restaurant, one had to give the proper password. If legitimate, persons were allowed to enter the area containing cozy rooms shielded by curtains with a bell button on the wall to summon the waiter.

Originally, the waiters were mostly all illiterate black men who had profound memories. It is reported that Richard Hunt, one of the waiters, could remember the orders of 20 or 25 people without a mistake. This young lady who took our order did not write it down. Remember the movie, "Somewhere in Time"? Well, it was like stepping back almost three quarters of a century and dining where the local rich gentry, in the strictest of privacy, would drink their illegal brew and many times meet their mistresses.

During World War II, soldiers traveling by train would eat there because the train station was across the street. They say that many of the servicemen have come back to visit and some have had their reunions there.

This step back in time and evening at Lusco's in the Mississippi Delta was a meaningful, behind-the-curtains dining experience.

A Lutheran priest shared the following with me:

Three ministers and their wives were trying to get into heaven. St. Peter looked at the Baptist minister and said, "Your love of money will prohibit you from entering. Even your wife is named Penny."

He turned to the Lutheran priest and said, "Your love of drink will keep you out. Even your wife is named Sherry."

The Methodist minister turned to his wife and said, "We might as well get out of here, Fanny!"

Have a good week.

Ben Wright is a former prison chaplain and is a longtime Jackson resident.