Repurposed co-op emerges as new ‘Southern State’

Where garden seed was once displayed, an idea took root.

The vision was to grow an establishment in South Fulton, the likes of which could be experienced on Nashville’s Broadway, where the aroma of tasty food selections hangs in the air, right along with the sounds of live music.

Add to the mix a high-end industrial vibe, sprinkled with treasures uncovered in storage, housed in a long-vacated agricultural co-op building, and fruits of labor emerge.

The Southern State opened just over a month ago, at 201 Central Ave. in South Fulton, the address which once belonged to Southern States Co-op.

Tyson Babb, Jessica Mulcahy, Greg and Terri Hodges, the owners and operators of The Southern State, want to draw visitors to the new restaurant and live music venue, by offering something that most often is only found in larger, metropolitan areas.

“We have all done a lot of traveling, and enjoyed places like this in cities like Nashville, where you have great bands, watch sports, have outside games, good food and drinks,” Babb said.

Construction first started in December. However, when tornados hit the area, help for damaged businesses and home was needed elsewhere. In March, crews returned to the structure, which for the most part was in great shape.

“We had no leaks. We went ahead and coated the roof. We fixed a few cracks in the floor. But really, that was it,” Tyson said.

While the menu is not huge, what is included puts quality ahead of quantity. Fried pepperonis, cheese curds, mac and cheese bites and giant pretzels with a rich cheese sauce for dipping are great introductions to the specialty toppings on the burgers, hot dogs and chicken. Chicken wings are a crowd favorite.

Specialty sandwiches and pasta dishes could make an appearance on the menu in the near future.

Along with good food and service, good music is high on the list of priorities.

“I believe between now and Jan. 7, we may have only three weekends when we don’t have live music booked,” Greg Hodges said.

Country, classic rock and occasional blues will be the featured genres, set to take the large stage in the back portion of the venue, accessible through a doorway over which is perched a sleek Harley Davidson motorcycle.

Another motor vehicle greets guests, displayed on the covered outdoor dining area, adjacent to the main entrance. It’s a classic vintage automobile, which had been stored in the building at the time of the purchase.

“The old car was in the building when we bought it, so we wanted to use it,” Terri Hodges said.

Jessica Mulcahy said they wanted to keep the new business as original as possible.

“Any thing we could salvage from everything that was stored in here when we bought it, we wanted to keep and use it later in some way. The big, wooden seed display, we kept that, but we just are not sure if we will be able to use it in some way or not. There was a tractor in here and we have that outside,” she said.

Although Greg and Terri Hodges have dabbled in the restaurant business on a smaller scale -- Greg having worked at Lambert’s and the couple both previously held jobs at Puryear’s Big Apple while in college, when they met -- the quartet of owners admit the lack of experience in the industry proved to be a learning curve for everyone.

“It did help to have Mike Smith offer some advice,” Jessica said, in reference to her dad’s 45+ years in the restaurant business with Wendy’s.

“I think he has enjoyed coming in to help, since he is retired now,” she said.
The business employs 30 people, full time and part time and is open seven days a week, Monday through Sunday, serving up lunch and dinner, along with soft drinks, tea and beer. Sunday through Thursday, hours of operation are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, hours are 11 a.m. to 12 midnight.

The telephone number is 731-271-2068,

Tuesday nights are designated for “Pub Poll”, a game comparable to a cross between Trivia and Family Feud. Thursday nights, those who visit have the opportunity to play “Singo”, a game of Bingo, calling out song titles as selections are played, with players marking off any selections on their card, in hopes of achieving a “Singo.” On Wednesday evenings, Karaoke is on tap, with the same offered on Friday or Saturday evenings, depending on live entertainment scheduled.

While the bar and two dining areas are inviting, an equal draw is the outdoor area of Southern State, where a porched bus and silo pavilions may be used for gatherings.

Plans are to install a giant screen for outdoor viewing of sporting events, facilitate outdoor entertainment, corn hole and other outdoor games in designated areas. The process to obtain a liquor license has also been initiated to add beverage options for guests.

The group’s vision is ongoing for their business, to include the possibility of producing an all-day or all-weekend music festival at the site in the future.