Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

NATCHEZ — Myra King, Janice Welch and Linda Patten met up Friday for breakfast at 1720 Gallery.

After enjoying their buffet meal that included eggs, grits, bacon, turkey sausage, Red Rose wieners, fresh hot biscuits — the full monty of Southern breakfasts — they moved over to a comfortable sitting area near a bright and sunny window overlooking MLK Street and began to work together on favors for their church’s upcoming Vacation Bible School.

That’s exactly what Joseph A.C. Smith wants. His aim with the 1720 Gallery is to create a place where the community can come together and feel comfortable.

Smith is the founder and CEO of the not-for-profit BlackNatchez.org, which owns 1720 Gallery, a breakfast restaurant, meeting place and gift shop located at the corner of MLK and St. Catherine Street.

That location is squarely in the heart of what was once the Black business district of Natchez. Smith has worked to renovate buildings in that block and make them active parts of the community again.

“I knew when we got the building, based on what was happening in the community, we needed a hub for the community, like a lighthouse, a place where people can come and build relationships, find light and feel love, make new friends,” Smith said. “I often talk about the situation a few years ago when the young lady committed suicide. That made a huge impression on me just in terms of feeling the need for a lighthouse in this community.”

The name of the 1720 Gallery is rooted in the time that the first documented African-Americans arrived in Natchez. Smith said the concept is loosely based on Cafe Reconcile in New Orleans, which mixes a place for like-minded New Orleans community members to come together to talk, pray, and research with workforce development opportunities for New Orleans’ young people.

“We want to be a place where young people come to learn about the hospitality industry, learn about marketing, and heritage tourism,” Smith said. “Food is just a part of what we are doing here. There’s cultural programming, educational programming. We are in talks right now with some of the tour groups and folks who want to experience the other side of Natchez.

“We want to provide a place that is fun and meaningful. We want to be a place and provide an experience where people are comfortable asking questions about our history and culture,” he said. “We are talking with some of the boats about tourism opportunities and one of the people from the boats told us some of their guests want to learn some of the line dances like Boots on the Ground and the Electric Slide. I’m like, ‘OK. Let’s do it.’ “

He said Natchez is a unique place in that “we’ve always had a lot of different cultures here. I think there has been some trepidation on all sides about going over and seeing what’s happening over there. We want to be the place where people come and ask questions and feel comfortable doing so. We want to be that place where learning is taking place, relationships are being made at the same time we are creating economic impact, creating jobs and bringing money in and bringing in more tourists who want to learn about Natchez.”

Smith said it is important for all of Natchez to support his and other small businesses here.

“New ventures really require community support. One thing that has given me pause lately is the number of businesses owned by people under 40 that have either been sold to new owners or have shut down and just gone away,” Smith said. “Those are downtown specific. We are not talking about the ones in other parts of the city. It has certainly happened there, too. But the young business owners really need our support as a community. When the community doesn’t support them, people pack up and move elsewhere or just shut down completely. Our community has lost a nice handful of really smart, gifted people and that’s primarily due to the fact that their business was not supported at a level where they could make a living themselves and be able to pay their staff. I just want to encourage the community, if you see a business opening up, go and support them. Chain restaurants and big box stores are going to be all right. It’s those small businesses that really require the participation from the local community to survive.”

1720 Gallery is open seven days a week and serves breakfast from 6 to 11 a.m. Brunch on Saturday and Sunday and holidays includes fried catfish, fried chicken, greens and cornbread, as well as breakfast items.