Saltine Restaurant

If it were possible to magically teleport a newcomer right into the middle of the dining room at Saltine Restaurant, then ask them to guess where they were, what do you think they might say?

- Lisa Lafontaine Bynum

Give them a minute to get their bearings. Let their eyes pass over the light, thin planked wooden floors, the clean white subway tiles, and the oyster shell accent over the oyster bar. Rustic exposed brick and weathered corrugated tin lend an industrial feel, while large nautical themed murals give you the impression you’ve landed in a coastal city along the Atlantic Ocean. Our visitor might guess Boston or a fishing village along the coast of Maine. Chances are, they would never guess the Fondren District in Jackson, Mississippi.

Saltine is among a handful of restaurants that have helped put the Fondren District back on the map. Within the last seven years, the community has witnessed significant urban renewal. Restaurants, boutiques, and businesses are setting up shop and bringing new life to the nostalgic, mid-century modern storefronts that line the streets. Saltine itself is housed in a wing of the former Lorena Duling school, which served as a public school for the community and later the city of Jackson from 1927 until 2005. Today, the Fondren neighborhood is considered Jackson’s arts and entertainment district. Saltine is right in the heart of it.