Jimmy George holds open the door of his restaurant, Jimmy G's, for his son, Jimmy George Jr., while his daughter, Faith George, sits at the cash register.

    Over the past five years, the thought of opening a restaurant has often crossed Jimmy George’s mind. It wasn’t until his job with Roadway transferred him to Jackson, though, that he began to take those thoughts really seriously.

    “We love Meridian,” he said. “This is home.”

    After working in Jackson for a while, Jimmy knew that it wasn’t the place for him, and, with his family, began looking for a restaurant location in Meridian.

    They finally settled on the restaurant at the Northeast Convention Center (formerly the Holiday Inn hotel) on Hwy. 11/80, and opened Jimmy G’s on April 18.

    “I believe God directed us to this place,” said Jimmy’s wife, Joyce George.

    “This is our chance to stay in a place that we love,” added Jimmy, “and that’s Meridian. And in return, we give people a great meal and great value for their money.”

    The restaurant is run and staffed by Jimmy and Joyce George, their sons, Jimmy Jr., 29, Zach, 20, Micah, 16, and their daughter, Faith, 14.

    “It’s really a family venture,” said Jimmy.

    Jimmy said his eldest son, Jimmy Jr., has the most restaurant experience in the family and is the primary cook at Jimmy G’s. The rest of the family, though lacking prior restaurant experience, has often catered events such as church fundraisers.

    They describe their food as “good ole Southern cookin’ made from scratch,” and offer a Southern style buffet along with short order menu items.

    With such offerings as fried green tomatoes, country ham, and purple hull peas, the Jimmy G’s menu is the very definition of Southern comfort food.

    They pride themselves especially on their fresh, cooked-to-order hamburgers, their creamed corn, and their fried peach cobbler, a recipe that Jimmy created by accident.

    “One day I made a peach cobbler and didn’t put enough sugar in it. I didn’t want to throw it out, so I cut it up into cubes and boiled it in oil,” Jimmy said. “You know what that means, right? It’s deep fried.”

    Jimmy and Joyce said they want to cater to working people, which is why they open at lunch, serve their food on a buffet, and encourage call-in orders.

    “We’re working people ourselves,” said Jimmy, “and that’s what we’re looking for. People who are working for a living, want a good meal, and want to get in and get out quick.”

    But Joyce said they don’t let their quick service keep them from cooking up great food.

    “We always say when people leave here we want them to feel like they’ve been to grandma’s house,” she said. “Most of our recipes are from the older generation.”

    Jimmy G’s is open Sunday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. They also have a special weekend BBQ buffet, open Fridays and Saturdays from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. They accept call-in and faxed orders at (601) 482-8700.