- Kumar Bhavanasi, owner of 35 shopping developments nationwide, recently purchased the Pinnacle and Old Deposit Guaranty buildings in downtown Jackson.
- Bhavanasi has attracted new businesses like Sippsi Good Tea and Urban Foxes Small Batch Baking to the area.
- Sippsi Good Tea, a Mississippi-inspired tea company, will open its first brick-and-mortar location in the Pinnacle building.
- The new businesses are part of a revitalization effort for downtown Jackson.
When Kumar Bhavanasi purchased theThe Pinnacle Buildingand theOld Deposit Guaranty Buildingin Downtown Jackson recently, he promised to bring amenities back to the area as well.
He has begun to make good on that promise asBhavanasihas luredSippsi Good Teaand Urban Foxes Small Batch Baking to join his downtown movement.
And with it,Downtown Jackson has a bright spotthat hasn't been there for quite some time.
Bhavanasi, who owns35 shopping developmentsthroughout the nation, purchased The Pinnacle and the Old Deposit Guarantee Building over the past five months.
Christina Berry, owner of Sippsi Teas, says the choice to open a new location in downtown was an easy choice to make.
"My passion has always been downtowns and small towns and areas that are in need of revitalization," said Berry, a Mendenhall native who has worked as an urban planner for 20 years before making her way into business as an entrepreneur. "I do believe that cities and downtowns only start to die when people stop believing and investing in them. That is why I want to be a part of downtown and what (Bhavanasi) is trying to do. A downtown area is the perfect place to test my concept."
When will Sippsi Good Tea and Urban Foxes open
Sippsi Good Tea and Urban Foxes is located in the main corridor between The Pinnacle and One Jackson Place, just off North Lamar Street and is set to open on Thursday, May 22.
This will be the first brick-and-mortar location for Sippsi. However, the products can be found in 20 specialty retailers across the state and South, including the Two Mississippi Museums.
Sippsi offers loose leaf tea as well as bottle tea that is made in small batches and is hand crafted and bottled in house. Berry says her bottled teas are all sweet teas and "Southern inspired."
There is a wild blackberry flavor and a cranberry orange.
"All of the flavors are just things that remind me of the South," Berry said. "The wild blackberry reminds me of my grandmother and picking them behind our house when I was young. I try to think of things that are very nostalgic to Mississippi and the South when I think of my flavors."
In this brick-and-mortar location, Berry and Urban Foxes will be teaming together in this grab-and-go location to service the people in the offices as well as downtown in general. Urban Foxes, which has its main location at 826 North Street in Jackson, will be providing the baked goods and other food items. Also, while coffee is not the mainstay of the business, Berry said she will gauge what is needed and go from there.
"We are working on our menu now but expect great teas to grab and some amazing scones and things like that," said Berry, who will also offer some other tea-related items in the store as well as host once-a-month team-building events where she will partner with other downtown businesses."
Berry said working with Bhavanasi to move into the Pinnacle was an easy process.
"Here's what I know, (Bhavanasi) is very excited to be in Jackson, and he wants to see downtown grow," Berry said. "Obviously, he has a reason to want downtown to grow, because he has an investment in it, but working with him and Downtown Jackson Partners and (DJP President)Liz Bristerhas been great. When you have those kind of people behind you and willing to support you, it makes the process so much easier. They have been a breeze to work with. (Bhavanasi) gets five stars from me."
Ross Reilyis the business and development writer for the Clarion Ledger, part of the USA TODAY Network. He can be reached at rreily@gannett.com or 601-573-2952. You can follow him on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter @GreenOkra1.
