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Onward store is more than a convenience stop on a lonely stretch of U.S. 61. In the hands of new owner Marci Teal, the humble country store is becoming a popular destination for diners in search of high-quality, delicious seafood and other Louisiana culinary specialties. Although customers still find the store's shelves stocked with daily necessities — from canned goods to mosquito repellent — they'll discover an entirely different menu, Mardi Gras-themed decorations and a spiffed-up dining room. "I just wanted to offer something you couldn't get around here," Teal said. 
She and her husband John and son Hunter, 9, are newcomers to the area. She lived all of her life in South Louisiana before moving to Texas with her family in 2004. When the couple decided to move to Mississippi in 2005, she looked at homes along the coast while her husband, a private sportfishing boat captain, prepared to head home from Florida. "He was in Miami when Katrina hit. He should have been home by then, and if he had been, we would have bought a house on the coast," she said. "But thank God he got stuck! Katrina hit and that changed everything."The Teals, members of Twin County Electric Power Association, eventually settled on a little house with 20 acres near Mayersville in Issaquena County. "Right after we moved here in May 2006, we got wind that they were wanting to sell this store," Marci Teal recalled. Teal, who learned to cook gumbo at age 13, has 22 years of experience in the restaurant business. Her first job was washing dishes. Before moving to Mississippi, she managed restaurants in Venice, La., and Port Mansfield, Texas. 
"This is our first business venture together, so this is quite a challenge for us," Teal said. "But we wouldn't have bought it if we didn't think we could do something with it.""We wanted to expand the kitchen, and it needs an upgrade equipment-wise. And we want to offer a better work place for our employees," she added. Teal has already transformed the restaurant's menu by adding items such as chicken and sausage gumbo, fried oysters, grilled shrimp, soft-shelled crab, poboys and seafood salad, with a home-made raspberry walnut vinaigrette. "Everything on this menu is everything I love to eat, she said. Teal wants to add oysters on the half shell and, for hunters and outdoorsmen, she plans to offer chili in the fall and winter. With few exceptions, menu items are prepared on the premises by three employees—and often Teal herself. Her red beans and rice features her own rich roux, and she even prepares her own bordelaise, tartar and cocktail sauces. She also makes the store's gumbo, which is now sold by the gallon due to high demand. Teal is fussy about ingredients, too. She buys French bread and other specialty items from vendors in New Orleans and fresh shrimp from the Gulf Coast. "The only thing I kept consistent with the Onward Store history is the hamburger. But I did improve the meat and bun. And our onion rings are to die for." 
The full menu is offered at lunch and dinner, seven days a week. Hot plate-lunch specials are available Monday through Friday, and occasionally Teal will prepare a dinner special such as fried snapper with crawfish ettoufee.Teal also upholds the store's deep-rooted tamale tradition, but she's made it her own with a unique preparation method and seasoning blend. The store's tamales drew high praise in a recent Esquire magazine article about the Mississippi Delta's "tamale trail." But how have the locals responded to the new faces at Teal's Onward Store? "It has exceeded my expectations. Everybody has been so kind and welcomed us with open arms, Teal said. "When some of the farmers come in here, if my door's broken, they'll even fix it for me!" she added. Teal said she is "honored" to own a piece of Delta history. "There's so much history here, and it would be a shame for something like this to not exist anymore. I don't think there are many stores like this around. I think it's a dying breed," she said. — Debbie Stringer, Today Magazine |
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