Flavors from all over the world, including France, Hawaii, and especially Mississippi, will come together inventively—and affordably—when the new Harvest Grill opens in downtown Meridian.

    Well-traveled chef Marshall Gilmore and his wife, Mary, hope to open their restaurant in the fall of 2014. They’re moving into the Eighth Street space that once housed the Davis Grill. “I plan to combine my roots and experiences with food,” said Marshall, “taking traditional recipes and giving them a fresh, modern twist with a surprising new flavor. The menu will be simple, approachable, and affordable. We want Harvest Grill to be a place to gather with great friends and family, so we’ve also created kid-friendly items.”

    The restaurant will preserve the character of the fondly remembered Davis Grill but still feel contemporary. Exposed-brick walls and a color palette of dark slate, grays, and blues with copper accents will create an atmosphere that the Gilmores hope will be laid-back and welcoming. One feature they expect to be popular is a covered outdoor patio.

    Heritage Building Corporation, owned by Tim Allred, is doing the renovation work. Downtown workers and visitors undoubtedly have noticed because construction has closed Eighth Street between 21st and 22nd avenues. Heritage specializes in refreshing historic properties. Marshall, who has worked as a chef in Vail, Colo., for the past 10 years, said the availability of the space and Allred’s involvement enabled him to fulfill a longtime dream of coming back to Mississippi to cook for the home folks.

    “In the back of my mind this is something I’ve always wanted to do,” he said. “Several months ago I happened to talk to a buddy of mine that works with Tim who said they bought the former Davis Grill and were hoping to renovate it for a new restaurant. I was still living in Colorado at the time.

    “My wife and I flew down to walk through it, and I was amazed at the character of the building. It was old and run-down, but I felt like we were breathing life back into it just by standing inside the old kitchen that still had original tile on the floor from 30-plus years ago. After much thought we decided we wanted to move home and make Tim’s vision of a new restaurant a reality.”

    Marshall Gilmore has a vision for his restaurant as well. He wants it to taste like Mississippi. He’s looking forward to seeing what he can do with seasonal produce straight from the fields of local farmers. “Having lived on an island and in the middle of the Rocky Mountains,” he said, “fresh produce isn’t always accessible. Now I have a new appreciation for the great food grown right outside our door.”

    The menu will also include Gulf of Mexico seafood. “One of my favorite fishes is cobia from the Gulf,” Marshall Gilmore said. “I’d like to bring that in as a dinner entrée but also feature it in several of our lunch items as well.”

    He also appreciates the health concerns of today’s diners and plans a variety of vegetable-based appetizers and side dishes.

    The Gilmores want their cuisine to be interesting, with influences from all over the world, but still approachable to Mississippians who grew up with meat-and-three diners. They’ve given considerable thought to their customers’ convenience. “We know the workforce has a small window of time to eat lunch, so we’d like to cater to their needs by serving foods that are healthy, quick, and affordable,” Mary Gilmore said.

    The main dining room will seat 65. The outdoor patio will run the length of the restaurant and seat 35. “A wrought-iron fence will enclose the area to help with privacy,” Marshall Gilmore said, “and we’ll also have Wi-Fi available for people who may want to sit outside and work on their laptop.”

    “You’ll be able to rent it out for an event like a birthday party, small rehearsal dinner, or any kind of gathering,” Mary Gilmore said. “That’s what we love: great food and great gatherings.”

    Upstairs will be a cozy private dining room seating a dozen or so. “This will be perfect for business meetings or birthday dinner parties,” Marshall Gilmore said.

    Food has taken Marshall to some exotic locales. “I’ve always had a passion for cooking,” he said. “I began my cooking career in Hawaii, where I lived right after college. I moved from there to Vail, Colorado, and worked in various restaurants that served a combination of multicultural cuisines.” He attended culinary school in Denver, where he was trained in classical French cooking. “It provides a great foundation to work from,” he said, “but it’s not necessarily the type of food we’ll serve at Harvest Grill.”

    The restaurant’s name comes from a reunion that Marshall and his hometown friends enjoy every year. “We call it the Harvest,” he said, “and the entire trip is centered around food. We also wanted to continue the legacy of Davis Grill, so the name ‘Harvest Grill’ was born.”

    Leaving Colorado with their 2-year-old son is a big move for the Gilmores. “We were talking about wanting to move back closer to home to be around more friends and family,” Mary said. “While we were talking about that, this became available. The timing was everything.”

    One downtown businesswoman who is really looking forward to Harvest Grill’s opening is Mary Katherine DeBardeleben. She’s an account executive with Leading Edges Advertising and Marshall Gilmore’s sister. “The governor declared 2014 the Year of the Creative Economy,” Mary Katherine said, “and part of the emphasis is on the culinary arts. Marshall and Mary are making an investment back into Meridian, and I hope this new restaurant is going to motivate other businesses to invest in our downtown too.”

    However, she admits that it’s not economic development that has whetted her appetite for Harvest Grill. “Marshall’s let me look at the menu, and it’s a wonderful, eclectic mix of foods inspired by his travels and prior work experience. It’s inventive and unique but at the same time crazy good!”

    To learn more about the restaurant, you can e-mail the Gilmores at info@harvestgrillms.com.