Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: Wilson is City Returned to Glory
Image: Arkansas.com
Original story: https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2023/sep/27/wilson-is-city-returned-to-glory/
By Cristina LaRue | September 27, 2023 at 7:21 a.m.
WILSON -- To get to Wilson, visitors must pass through a sea of Mississippi County cotton fields, dodging the random tractor on the flat commute along country roads.
A former company town, Wilson has a 150-year history as a commercial center in a major cotton-producing region of the South. The two cotton gins formerly used by the town are still there today, said Jeff Kmiec, Wilson's chief executive officer.
American businessman and billionaire investor Gaylon Lawrence Jr. purchased roughly 50,000 acres of farmland around Wilson in 2010 and it came with all of the commercial real estate in the city of Wilson, Kmiec said; Lawrence has owned more than 165,000 acres of farmland in Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi and Illinois, as well as a number of banks, the world's largest privately owned air conditioning distributor, USAir Conditioning Distributor, and stakes in citrus groves, according to a 2014 New York Times article on Lawrence's Wilson purchase.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported in August that Lawrence, who is chairman of the Lawrence Group and one of the nation's largest landowners, grew up working on a family farm north of Pollard in Clay County with his sister and parents.
"And his intent after he purchased [the land] was 'let's bring it back to its former glory,' and in order to do that, you're going to need an attraction," Kmiec said.
Wilson is about 45 minutes north of Memphis and an hour southeast of Jonesboro, but Kmiec said guests come from all over the country.
Visitors will notice attention to detail everywhere, from the restored buildings to the town center. Wilson is being meticulously revitalized. With its Tudor-style architecture, the town could have come straight off the cover of a mystery or romance novel.
Historic preservation and utilizing older infrastructure in innovative ways to serve modern communities are not new ideas, but involving a whole town may be original.
"We're not necessarily reinventing the wheel, we're just trying to make it really special for what's happening in Arkansas," Kmiec said.
"More often than not, the person who is arriving looks around and says 'I can't believe this exists' -- it almost doesn't feel real. The fortunate side for us is, it's authentic, it's historic. These buildings aren't brand new buildings, they've been here for a long time," Kmiec said.
"We've got pages and pages of projects that are either in progress or plans for the future that lead us out 20 years from today."'
The Grange at Wilson Gardens' main building was previously a farmstand, and renovations were completed in June to turn it into a restaurant, bakery and creamery which now serves breakfast and coffee shop offerings, as well as lunch and homemade ice cream.
"In our mind, the way to be relevant is to stand out from the rest of the crowd, and that means providing a very high level of hospitality but also providing a very almost bespoke style of food and beverage, where things are grown and harvested fresh daily, and made fresh daily and served fresh daily," Kmiec said.
"There are few other properties across the country that focus on that level."
Everything is made fresh daily at the main kitchen to include all baked goods for the town of Wilson, and produce and herbs are gown in nearby gardens, as well as flowers.
The mission is to grow produce the chefs need, Kmiec said.
"The chefs are driving what we're planting, what seeds we're looking for, what heirloom vegetables," Kmiec said. "We're delivering the right food at the right time to drive the seasonal menus that the culinarians are excited about."
The Grange's 15-acre farm is producing corn, okra, lettuce, pumpkins and squash and includes an orchard that supplies fruit for apple pies, compotes, pear butter. Blackberries are grown along the fence line.
They also raise chickens for fresh eggs.
The Grange also works with local vendors and farmers for seasonal produce like tomatoes, pumpkins, jams and jellies and local honey.
In addition to a traditional greenhouse where flowers are grown, Kmiec said, they are outfitting a conservatory-style greenhouse for guests to enjoy a glass of wine or to host events such as cocktail receptions.
The city of Wilson is about providing an entire experience, from dining to recreation, shopping, entertainment and community events that can appeal to families, those looking for a relaxing getaway or for corporate events, said Steven Ouellette, vice president of leadership development, culture and culinary experiences.
Wilson has a boutique hotel with capacity to serve 26 guests that opened earlier this year, a pharmacy, a theater and White's Mercantile, where some of the farm's produce is also sold.
The Wilson Cafe & Tavern in town, which features a bar, is the dinner option for guests, Kmiec said.
They also offer cocktail-making classes that utilize flowers and herbs grown in the garden; Lawrence's team also owns eight wineries in California, and Ouellette is working on featuring those wines at the cafe in town.
Plans are in the works to start a hospitality training program-- for farming and culinary experiences as well -- to build local talent from the ground up and offer hands-on experience to students interested in gaining elevated hospitality experience from a business venture with a diverse range of offerings, Kmiec said.
A new manager training program started in January that targets individuals who have completed education programs in hospitality and are in need of paid hands-on experience, Ouellette said.
