Mindy Hargrove, who owns the Bar-B-Que Shack on the south side of Hopkinsville, and Mallory Lawrence, an independent grocer and caterer in Trigg County, will be combining their skills in a new restaurant with a third partner, Margaret Prim, who is executive director of the Pennyroyal Arts Council.
They’ve selected a property that downtown developer Hal McCoy owns at Seventh and Virginia streets. The former auto repair garage is slated for a major renovation in the coming months, and Lawrence said they hope to open by late this year.
The Crusty Pig will specialize in gourmet pizza that features toppings the women already serve in their respective businesses. Think brisket and barbecue pork from Hargrove’s restaurant on Pembroke Road. And maybe pimento cheese or chicken salad from Hancock’s Neighborhood Market that Lawrence runs in Cadiz.
“The building is going to be amazing,” said Lawrence, describing the interior with an open, industrial feel and an exposed ceiling,
“It will look completely different from what it does now,” said Hargrove.
The oven they’ve ordered to install in the building will cook thin-crust pizzas — at an extremely high temperature — in about 90 seconds.
The menu and the hours of operation are still in the works, but both women said they want to focus on pizza and be open at times when most of Hopkinsville’s local eateries are closed. That means Sunday for lunch is a good possibility, along with lunch and dinner on Mondays. They plan to serve beer and wine.
The restaurant will also have seasonal outdoor seating. The property is next door to the public parking lot across from the Hopkinsville Municipal Center. It’s on the lot where the landmark Hotel Latham stood from 1894 to 1940, when it was destroyed by a fire.
Hargrove said she and Lawrence have sampled a lot of excellent pizza, driving around to a number of restaurants to learn about a type of food preparation that’s going to be new to both of them.
“We think we can do something twice as good,” she said. “Pizza is something I’m fascinated with … we want to tie in our ingredients.”
Hargrove said she understands the need to serve lunch customers in less than an hour when they are on a meal break from work. So being able to make good pizza that cooks quickly will be an advantage, she said. She also likes their proximity to other popular sites downtown, such as the Alhambra Theatre and Hopkinsville Brewing Co.
Lawrence said she sees potential in the revitalization of Hopkinsville but she wouldn’t be able to launch another business without a partner who understands the demands of independent food ventures.
“I know how hard she works, and I know how hard I work,” said Lawrence.
In addition to the barbecue restaurant on Pembroke Road, Hargrove and her husband previously owned Dick’s Drive-In Liquor on East Ninth Street just outside the downtown business district. They sold the liquor store earlier this year.
Lawrence got started in the grocery business in 1991 and added her catering line about 10 years ago. She is in the process of opening a gift shop, called Persnickety Pig, in the former Broadbent’s store in Cadiz.
This story was updated to add Margaret Prim is a partner in the business.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
