The overall impact of the Mississippi River on Vicksburg might never be figured, but for some businesses the river is too important to pass up.

It was Shakespeare’s Juliet who once said that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

Several local business owners would likely disagree with that sentiment as they take pride in having a business named after a local geographical treasure, the Mississippi River.

KJ’s River Town Grille

KJ’s River Town Grille owner David Belden said part of the reason for including river in the name of his restaurant was symbolic.

“The river is strong and powerful, and it’s Vicksburg,” he said. “We’re on the river and as we were getting ready to open, there were so many tourists coming through to see the river.”

Vicksburg has become synonymous with the river it lies on, Belden added.

“When you explain where Vicksburg is, you say it’s on the Mississippi River,” he said. “It’s part of this town.”

Belden said including river in the name has helped increase traffic as well.

“When you’re a tourist looking on TripAdvisor or Yelp!, you have to be drawn to something that’s different and something that’s local,” he said. “I definitely think it’s something that draws people to the restaurant.”

Before opening up shop in downtown Vicksburg, Belden said he didn’t truly understand the impact the river has on the city.

“I never realized how many people come through Vicksburg until we were working on the remodel and so many people were coming off of the river,” he said. “I didn’t realize how important the river is.”

The restaurant passed its one-year anniversary in October, and Belden noticed similarities in the restaurant and the river.

“Like the river, it’s always changing and developing, and you never know which way it’s going to carry you,” he said. “One thing I’ve learned in the restaurant business is that you have to listen to your customers and steer the boat that way.”

Belden said he wants his place to be somewhere families can come and spend time together. In fact, family is what led to the other part of the restaurant’s name.

“KJ is my nephew who passed away, Kayden James Belden,” he said. “This place was named in honor of him. When the family was down and we started working on this, it kind of preoccupied us, but he was always on our mind, so it just made sense to name the restaurant after him.”

 

River Outfitters

“We always knew we were going to put river in the name,” John Duett said. “We just thought it would be neat because of our location here in Vicksburg.”

When Duett opened River Outfitters in 2005, it was because of a need he saw in the community.

“My wife was looking for my daughter who was about 9 or 10 at the time a North Face jacket; that was popular at the time,” he said. “I also had these high school and college kids looking for similar brands.”

Duett said once he realized people were traveling to Jackson to buy what they couldn’t find in Vicksburg, he decided to do something about it, and thus, River Outfitters was born 10 years ago.

“It’s been fun,” he said. “I’ve had the ride of my life.”

 

River City Cigars and Brew

River City Cigars and Brew co-owners Mark Smith and Johnny Reynolds started smoking cigars 15 years ago after Smith signed a contract with the NFL and was sent home with two of his first cigars. The two eventually decided to open up their own shop after driving to Jackson for years.

“We wanted to bring cigars to Vicksburg,” Smith said. “We wanted to bring a smoking atmosphere to Vicksburg because other cities all have it.”

Reynolds said the name for the smoke shop came easily.

“We thought, we’re on the river, why not call it River City Cigars and Brew?” he said. “We knew we were going to sell cigars and brew.”

Smith said it was important to them to incorporate the river into multiple aspects of the business.

“When you see the logo, you see the Mississippi River and the bridge,” he said. “It’s a part of everything.”

 

River 101

River 101 morning show host Evelyn Johnson said Bob Holladay bought Big Red 101.1 around 1998, and it moved up the dial to 101.3 and got a new name.

“He had a station in Meridian that was a country station, but he wanted to name this one River 101 because it fit with the location of Vicksburg on the Mississippi River,” she said. “When you think of Vicksburg, one of the main things you think about is the Mississippi River. It’s right here, and what more appropriate name could there be that would be short, catchy and easy to remember to equate something with your hometown.”

The name also ended up being representative of the coverage the station provides.

“The coverage area can go as far as you really want it to go up into the Delta,” she said. “I rode up to Rolling Fork a couple of weeks ago and there was a strong signal there.”

The signal carries top-40 country music west to Delhi, La., east to Jackson and south down into Port Gibson.

Johnson said years ago she heard Vicksburg referred to as the Red Carpet City, but now she more often hears it called the River City.

“All of these businesses are branded to Vicksburg and Warren County,” she said. “I think the common denominator of businesses with river in the name is that we all want to be part of the community.”

 

River Pointe Dance

River Pointe Dance owner Bridgett Hunt said her dance studio opened five years ago, and the name was something they spent considerable time debating.

“The name was super important to us,” she said. “We spent a lot of time deciding the name and why we wanted river to signify and stand for what we do. I have a very specific purpose for what I do.”

Hunt said for her, it’s not just about dance.

“We chose river because it’s something that gives life in the Bible,” she said. “The river is sustaining and the river is powerful, and we wanted the experience here to be powerful all the way around for families.”

Hunt said in addition to dance, there is a lot of mentoring that goes on at River Pointe.

“We spend a lot of time, a lot of late nights with girls who are struggling with whatever,” she said. “The name was important to us not only to tie it to our hometown, but for what we felt led to do, we felt like river was a good fit.”

Hunt pointed to the swoosh in the logo as a continuation of the theme the name brings with it.

“There’s a reason for everything,” she said. “That’s our river. We try to bring it all togther with meaning and symbol.”

Hunt said typically dance studios will be named after the teacher but she wasn’t interested.

“I never wanted it to be about me, so I just felt my purpose would be better served by tying it to something we wanted to do here.”