Actor, pal open restaurant
BY robert schoenberger
the clarion-ledger - march 2001
In Glory, Morgan Freeman ate military
rations, in The Shawshank Redemption, he survived on prison
food and in Unforgiven, the Mississippi actor subsisted on
liquor and violence. But, off screen, Freeman said his culinary
tastes lean toward the finer things, such as masterpieces
by French chefs and extensive wine lists. Finding none within
an easy drive of his Charleston ranch, he and lawyer Bill
Luckett decided that Clarksdale needs a fine restaurant, if
for no other reason, to serve them. " We hope there is
a large enough local population (who would eat here) as well
as people in the Delta who are willing to drive a little ways
for fine dining," Freeman said of his investment in Madidi.
The restaurant, which is excepted to open by November, is
being completed in a two-story building in downtown Clarksdale.
Freeman, who was in Clarksdale on Friday being fingerprinted
for his license with the Mississippi alcoholic Beverage Commission,
said he believes his name will bring some attention to the
restaurant, but it will not be what makes it successful. "This
is not a Michael Jordan's Sports Bar. It will have to stand
on its own reputation, not mine," Freeman said. Luckett
said the restaurant should have no problem building a reputation
for fine dining because he hired chefs away from La Tourelle,
a French restaurant in Memphis. He added that the cuisine
would be mostly French but with a strong Mediterranean flavor.
Luckett said he found the name for the restaurant while reading
an issue of National Geographic magazine. He saw a story about
Madidi National Park in Bolivia, and fell in love with the
name. "The park has everything from rain forests to glaciers.
It had a great ring to it, and you can metaphorize and say
you're going to serve everything from hot food to frozen delights,"
Luckett said.
Clarksdale economic development officials said they are excited
about the project for several reasons. "First off, it's
renovating a vacant building downtown. It's really bringing
life to a quiet corner," said Tana Vassel, economic development
manager for the Clarksdale-Coahoma County Chamber of Commerce.
She added that she believes a successful restaurant would
attract other businesses to downtown. In addition, she said
the opening of a fine-dining restaurant would improve Clarksdale's
image. "I think we're crying for something different
than fast food and mom-and-pop diners," Vassel said.
"I think it will help our image by showing that we're
not all hicks and barefoot up here. We do enjoy fine things."
