Edward Malta has big plans for Mallard, a restaurant and event venue on the site of the former Dixie Springs Cafe. One of them is to provide a fine-dining experience that can be hard to find in the area.

“I’m bringing back a sense of old-school dining that has been lost to us — fine dining with no smoking in the restaurant,” Malta said. “Wear sleeves. No flipflops. I’m also going to have a casual side of it as well. The old church building is going to be fine dining and special events.”

Malta spoke about his plans at a Lions Club meeting this week.

Malta said he’s no stranger to the service industry. His grandfather built the first Piggly Wiggly in Brookhaven. His great-grandfather James J. Caruth built the Coffee Pot, which is now a landmark in town.

“They had the Greyhound station there,” Malta said. “The Greyhound actually changed its schedules to accommodate with mealtimes at the Coffee Pot. My grandfather had a real knack for knowing how to get business going there and how to take care of people as well.”

The Coffee Pot declined with the construction of the new Hwy. 51, so Caruth moved his operation to the Dixie Springs area.

“My grandfather began looking for his next step,” Malta said. “He ended up purchasing about 160 acres around Dixie Springs and was single-handedly involved in the development of that whole community down there. He worked his relationship with Greyhound and moved the Greyhound bus stop down there as well. So he had the Dixie Springs Cafe going and and business took off. It had been very successful for about 77 years.”

The Dixie Springs Cafe burned down in the early morning on Dec. 21. Malta recently commissioned the old Bogue Chito Methodist Church as what he calls the architectural cornerstone of Mallard.

The move has been controversial for some. The Dixie Springs Cafe was known for its bar, one of the closest to Brookhaven residents before 2013. Malta said some are worried that the old church will be turned into a bar, but he said that isn’t the case. Malta also said the historic church had been neglected for some time.

“The place was boarded up with Plexiglas and had been vacated for many years,” he said. “It had started to rot, frankly.”

Malta said he hopes to show people he can build something that respects both the history of the Dixie Springs Cafe and the Bogue Chitto Methodist Church.

“I need to recognize that I’m building on something here,” he said. “I’m not building from scratch historically or from reputation.”

But there’s also something new in Mallard. While Malta said there will be a casual dining area in the back, and he’s going to bring back some of the favorites from the Dixie Springs Cafe, he’s primarily marketing the restaurant as a venue for special events and fine dining.

Malta said he also entered into a contract with the Mississippi University for Women to bring on two senior students from their culinary arts program as interns.

“I’ve been working with them,” Malta said. “They’re very impressive.”

Malta said he hopes to have a soft opening around Christmas, and a larger opening on New Year’s.