Dontea Cross went to school to be a machinist.

Once he finished his education at Meridian Community College in 2005, he thought that was it.

Little did he know, 12 years later he would be a restaurant owner. For Cross, a 33-year-old father of five, the idea of being his own boss is bittersweet.

“I’m open — I’m home,” said Cross, the owner of Dontea’s Seafood & BBQ, which opened on Friday on Fifth Street in downtown Meridian. “Man, it’s scary. I [didn’t] sleep at all last night.”

Formerly offered at Elks Metropolitan Lodge in Meridian, Cross has brought what he calls “the best seafood and barbecue in town” to his new restaurant, located in the old Sportsman’s Club building at 2407 Fifth Street in the African-American business district.  

Pull Quote

“This is the dying part of downtown. If we don’t bring it back, it’s not going to come back, so we’ve got to start somewhere.”

–Dontea’s Seafood & BBQ employee Felicia Brown

In anticipation of the restaurant opening, local artist Gerald “Boonie” Henderson spent about 10 days painting murals of icons such as Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, B.B. King and Bob Marley on the west wall of the patio.

Add that to a full ballroom-style dining room, a bar, a private dining area upstairs and a back patio/garden, Dontea’s is set to be part of the Fifth Street renaissance.

In fact, Dontea’s general manager J. Scott said the idea is to bring “people back downtown.”

“This is the dying part of downtown,” said Felicia Brown, an employee who was present for Friday’s opening. “If we don’t bring it back, it’s not going to come back, so we’ve got to start somewhere.”

Cross said the restaurant, open from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week, will soon offer live music and karaoke.

Cross said he has been cooking for about 15 years. Born and raised in Meridian, he moved to the Mississippi Gulf Coast about three years ago.

“I cooked seafood for my sisters, and they would come down to visit and they posted it on Facebook,” he recalled. “A lot of people said, ‘When do I get to try some,’ so I came home one weekend and tried it out.”

Cross added that he won third place in the rib category of a local barbecue contest last year, “so that let me know I had some pretty good ribs, and I’ve been pushing it ever since.” 

His love of cooking, he said, came from watching his father, Richard Cross, who worked for a local caterer.

“My uncle builds grills — he built this grill,” Cross said while standing over a hot smoker. “So somebody’s got to learn how to run them.”