Bill Luckett, actor Morgan Freeman open restaurant
Called Madidi, the restaurant will offer a unique dining experience in the heart of downtown Clarksdale

BY j. scott coopwood
delta business journal - february 2001

In the beginning, Clarksdale was known as he home of cotton and blues music. Now, it will also be known as home to one of the finest restaurants in the South thanks to one of that town's ardent promoters, attorney Bill Luckett.

Called Madidi, the upscale restaurant will open shortly in the old 8000 square foot Landry's building located at 164 Delta Ave. in downtown Clarksdale. The menu will boast of specialty items that will be prepared by Chef David Krog who Luckett recruited from the well-known Memphis restaurant La Tourelle. In short, Madidi will be like nothing Clarksdale has ever seen. What makes this restaurant even more interesting is that one of Hollywood's best actors and one of Mississippi's most notable resident's, Morgan Freeman, is Luckett's partner in the venture. "We're looking forward to our opening," says Luckett. "A lot of planning has taken place to ensure that Madidi will offer that right mix of food and fun."

Freeman, known for his roles in "Driving Miss Daisy," "Kiss the Girls," "Shawshank Redemption," "Seven," and many others, is as excited about the opening of Madidi as he is during the opening of one of his films.

"I'm very excited about this venture," says Freeman "I'm also very excited about being here in the Delta and having this restaurant in Clarksdale."

Like many Delta towns, Clarksdale has had its ups and downs during the past decade and many say that the future of Clarksdale is bleak. However, there are many more that disagree with the assertion. Because of the early forms of blues music that were created around Clarksdale by blues greats Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, and others, the town has become a major point for blues enthusiasts in recent years. Luckett and many other Clarksdale residents feel that the town is on the way up again due to the worldwide attention the town has been receiving because of its place in the history of blues music. National Geographic, Rolling Stone Magazine, The New York Times, Time Magazine, and other national publications have written articles about Clarksdale during the past year alone. President Clinton's trip to Clarksdale last year also brought attention to the town. However, Luckett's entry into the restaurant business is not just about making money from the residents and tourists, his mission is far more reaching. It's about adding to the town where he grew up and adding to the town he loves so much. Freeman also has the same desires. How these two have become close friends and have ended up together in the restaurant business is a story in itself.

A Brief History
A lifelong resident of Clarksdale, Luckett has always had a large attachment for the town, its history, and its future.
Growing up in Clarksdale, Luckett went to Clarksdale High School and during that time he became interested in construction, architecture, and design.

"Beginning in the ninth grade, I started working with house painter Walter Howell and worked in many of the nicest homes in the Delta," says Luckett. "I have always had an interest in architecture, construction, and design."

After graduating from high school in 1966, Luckett attended the University of Virginia working during the holidays and summers painting houses. At Ole Miss law school, during his breaks, Luckett's interest in building graduated from just painting houses to full blown construction.

"Between college and law school, I had a year of active duty in the army and was commander of a construction unit in Charleston, MS," says Luckett adding that the experience was very valuable to him in learning how to plan and build. Upon graduating from law school in 1973, Luckett joined his father's law firm in Clarksdale and settled in. Besides practicing law, Luckett continued to be just as passionate about building and construction and on the weekends he dabbled in this extensively. Eight years ago things got serious when he purchased a small house on Maple Avenue and remolded it using it as rental property. Beginning with that first rental house, his "hobby" has now turned into a large business as Luckett currently owns some 40 rental houses. He has also renovated five old buildings in downtown Clarksdale, among these the newly remolded five story Hotel Clarksdale which he has turned into eight apartments. Luckett has also refurbished the old Bank of Lyon building in nearby Lyon, converting it into eight apartments. Additionally, he is a partner in a 101-unit apartment complex. Luckett has a big interest in the future of Clarksdale and serves on its Beutification Committee and airport board. All of this has led him to Madidi.

The Great Beyond
Freeman met Luckett several years ago. In search of an attorney to represent him locally , Luckett was contacted initially by Freeman's wife, Myrna Colley-Lee. Luckett helped the Freemans solve several problems during the construction of their home just outside of Charleston. Freeman, who had been away from Mississippi for some 20 years, grew up in the Greenwood area and decided to move back to his ancestral home about 12 years ago. Freeman says moving back home to Mississippi is one of the best decisions he has ever made.

"I have been to a lot of nice places. However, when I have come back home there is this feeling of letting your breath out.," says Freeman. "To me, I find that it's just a safe haven here in the Delta. It's a wonderful place."

Even at an early age, Freeman was attracted to the big screen.
"I spent many Saturday afternoons at the picture show in Greenwood," says Freeman. "If it was a movie about cowboys, I tried not to miss it."

Freeman left Mississippi when he joined the Air Force at age 18 in the Fifties and was shipped out to California. After his honorable discharge in San Bernadino, and with Hollywood not very far away, Freeman knew that he was in the right place in order to pursue an acting career.

Freeman says those early years in Los Angeles and San Francisco, with a couple of periods in New York in between, were very tough times. However, as one acting job led to another, Freeman ended up in New York where he tried out for play after play, getting a few small parts in off Broadway plays and regional theater. Although he wasn't known then, the small parts he got were learning experiences and he was also able to watch other actors and learn from them as well. As Freeman's parts increased, he began to be noted by the press and soon was recognized as one of the top actors in New York during the Seventies winning Obie awards and Tony nominations for his work on stage. In 1982, Freeman auditioned for a part in a movie that Paul Newman was producing. Although Freeman wasn't selected for the particular role he was auditioning for, Newman cast Freeman in another role in his movie: "Harry and Son." In 1987, the movie "Street Smart" helped launch Freeman's movie career for which he received his first Oscar nomination.

Miss Daisy
"Street Smart" helped begin a buzz about Freeman in Hollywood. However, it was Freeman's role in the hit movie, "Driving Miss Daisy" that demonstrated to Hollywood and the world that he had arrived.

The week "Street Smart" was released, "Driving Miss Daisy" opened as a play in New York with Freeman playing his famous role. From the start, the play received a lot of attention from the press and a buzz began circulating through the industry that the play would be turned into a film. Night after night, name actors went to see the play many of whom campaigned hard for the part Jessica Tandy played in the film. Although the producers had not decided on that particular part, the were sure that Freeman should play his stage role in the film version. However, they had to sell Freeman to the studio as the studio was interested in trying to land a name actor like Sidney Portier. The producers prevailed and Freeman was selected to play his stage role in the film. Freeman's role in "Driving Miss Daisy" landed him another academy award nomination and after "Driving Miss Daisy," offers to appear in other films with large roles came in droves. After many years of struggle, Freeman had truly arrived.

Coming Home
Freeman says after he had the opportunity to see the world and live in many places, he began coming back to Mississippi mainly to visit his parents. At a certain point, he began thinking about moving back home.

"I was spending more and more time coming back to see my parents around 1984," says Freeman who married that year in Charleston."By 1986, we ccame to the conclusion that we wanted to live here."

By 1990, everything fell into place and Freeman moved back home.

Today, Freeman's work schedule is very hectic. One week he may be in Mississippi and the next six months he may be somewhere in the U.S., Europe or Africa working on a new film. Besides making movies, Freeman is an accomplished sailor and keeps his boat docked in the Caribbean. Freeman and his wife have sailed their boat from Rhode Island to the Caribbean before. Sailing is one of Freeman's great pastimes.

"You can almost equate sailing to mountain climbing, back packing, or just about any recreation that challenges you without having anything to back you up except yourself. It's just you against nature," says Freeman.

Freeman says that for him, sailing is a good way to clear his mind and in his industry it's a good way for him to reattach himself to reality. And, when he is in Mississippi, Freeman enjoys riding any one of his five horses on his ranch.

"To me, I equate riding horses to dancing in the woods," laughs Freeman.

Creating Madidi
Two years ago, the owner of a corner building in downtown Clarksdale approached Luckett about buying it. Several others had looked at the building known locally as the Landry's building. However, renovations were needed and no one really saw what the building could be used for. One of Luckett's properties, the old Hotel Clarksdale, is located near the building and Luckett had originally thought that if he purchased the building he would convert it into apartments just as he had done wth he old Hotel Clarksdale.

"I knew that it could probably be purchased at a fair price and, as always with any old building in downtown Clarksdale, I was somewhat interested," says Luckett. "I looked at it and considered converting it into apartments. However, I began thinking that particular property had other possibilities. I had also been thinking for some time about trying to participate in, or help be, the instigator of putting together an upscale restaurant here in Clarksdale. In the back of my mind, I felt that the Landry's building would be perfect place to house a restaurant of this caliber."

The restaurant Idea and the purchase of of the building wouldn't leave Luckett. He purchased the building and began reading and investigating all he could about how to put together a restaurant. He also began to make notes as he dined at restaurants in Memphis and in other places around the country. One night while reading in the March 2000, issue of the National Geographic, he ran across an article about a national park in Bolivia called Madidi. The name stayed with Luckett and he felt it would be a good name for a restaurant. Luckett's back-of-mind idea soon became a top-of-mind idea and he made the decision to move forward with the venture.

One day while Freeman was visiting Luckett, Luckett took Freeman to see "a shell of a building" according to Freeman. As Luckett walked Freeman through the building giving him his ideas of "what would go here and what would go there", Freeman said to Luckett, "How would you feel about me getting in on this?"

Luckett and Freeman had eaten at restaurants together in Memphis, Oxford, Greenwood and Cleveland, always enjoying a good dining experience and a good conversation. So, the idea of getting into the restaurant business together was very exciting to both of them.

"From where we live, both of us are faced with a long drive to go out and have a good dinner, an hour or so to Memphis or an hour or so to Oxford," says Luckett. "The idea of having a nice place to eat right here at home was very alluring. I think that others in our area feel the same way."

Luckett and Freeman have done their best to make sure Madidi is top quality in every aspect from the ambience to the staff. Sheila Burnett of Pinecrest Designs in Charleston collaborated with Myrna Collie-Lee, whoe is also a professional theater set and costume designer, and Luckett's wife, Francine for the interior decorations. Working together, the trio chose the color schemes, fabrics, and furniture giving the restaurant a unique look.

"My goal with Madidi is to have a fun, lively but sophisticated place where you can celebrate a meal," says Luckett. "Not stilted or stuffy, but just the right mix of formality and fun. Clarksdale Press Register writer Rebecca Hood-Adams used the term 'celebratory cuisine' and that's a good description of what Madidi will be."

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