Yocona River Inn - The Front Porch Pages

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The Front Porch Pages

It is now official--the whole building will be coming down.
Only the front porch is worth saving.
On the bright side, there is progress to report.

The Buy a Brick Patronage Fund is exceeding all expectations.
These funds are proving crucial in meeting on-going expenses.
Because of these contributions, my employees,
my child and I still have health insurance.
I cannot possibly thank everyone enough for this support.

There is also progress on the rebuilding front.
Gary Coleman of Coleman Builders is going to help us
build the new restaurant as inexpensively as possible.
Gary's generosity will allow us to take advantage of other offers of help:
like Kirby Houston's offer to do our plumbing work at cost,
and Andy Douglas of Andy's Steak House offer to paint.

Corey Alger of Alger Design Studio is our architect.
With Corey's help, we will be albe to recreate much of the
feel and charm of the old building, while solving lots of problems.

Now all I have to do is finish with the insurance adjustor
so that demolition and debris removal can take place.
I look forward to that day with mixed emotions. While it will be a relief
not to look out on the wreckage from my kitchen window,
it will be heart-breaking to see our beloved old building come down.

Then again, the thought of new plumbing is quite consoling.

posted March 24th

Update:

I do not have much to report at the moment.
The fire investigation is still underway.
I am waiting on a structural engineer to assess what is left of the building.
The inside of the building is pretty well gutted; only the front dining room is intact.
I suspect that the front dining room--with all its shelves and trinkets and heart pine--
is what many of you picture when you remember meals at Yocona.
My hope now is that we are able to at least save this room and rebuild around it.
But even if that fails, we still have the front porch!

On a personal note, the entire Yocona family would like to thank everyone for
the OVERWHELMING display of support we are receiving.
It is impossible not to be positive in the midst of such warmth and generosity.

Patronage Shares

In order to meet on-going expenses and to raise funds for our rebuilding project,
we are selling Patronage Shares.
Each share is $250, for which the contributor receives:
A brick engraved with the contributor's name, as well as
$250 credit to be used in the restaurant in the form of a 50% discount.
The plan is to use the bricks to build a patio next to the front porch.
Checks should be made out to Yocona River Inn and mailed to:
Paige Osborn
Yocona River Inn
P.O. Box 2609
Oxford, MS 38655

We are profoundly grateful to John T. Edge,
John Currence and Randy Yates for making this happen.

If you have any questions regarding this project, please feel free to email me.

posted February 12th:

Dear Loyal Customers:

Early Thursday morning, March 12th, the restaurant suffered a major fire.
Our kitchen has been destroyed, and much of the interior of the restaurant was gutted by the fire.
We do not yet know the cause of the fire or the full extent of the damage, but we do know one thing:
We will rebuild and get back to cooking your steaks as soon as possible.

In the meantime, we thank you for your past patronage and appreciate your thoughts and prayers.

Sincerely,
Paige Osborn and the entire Yocona family