Neighborhood Business Highlight: GRIT
Nick Reppond and Angie Sicurezza, owners of GRIT
Both Angie Sicurezza and Nick Reppond have been in the restaurant business since they were 15 years old. Even their love affair began in a restaurant, City Grocery Restaurant Group in Oxford, as they both began working for John Currence in 2009. Their love for each other, good food, community and a fantastic building in Taylor, Mississippi inspired them to open GRIT in 2016. It has become one of our favorite restaurants, and it’s only a quick 10 minute drive from Oxford!
In 2014, Nick and Angie decided to open their own catering company, A&N Catering Company. With their kitchen in the Delta and 90% of their catering gigs in Oxford, they knew they wanted to find a spot closer to Oxford. They bought a house in Taylor, MS in 2015 and were approached by the Plein Air developer to bring their talents to the community. Lucky for them, their favorite building there (one that had recently housed an antique store) came available, and they jumped at the chance to have that space. They opened GRIT in June of 2016, and A&N Catering Company is still going strong along-side their very busy restaurant.
When I asked Angie to describe GRIT’s cuisine, she shared, “It is truly experimental, but rooted in the South. We use local ingredients as often as we can. It’s Southern cuisine, but inspired by international “Old World” cooking and experimentation.” Their Chef de Cuisine is Heath Johnson and he oversees the creation of GRIT’s menus. Heath is like a mad scientist – he likes to create. Charles Owens is their Catering Chef and is in charge of logistics for the back of the house. Taylor Anderson is their Director of Catering and works with Angie to handle all catering orders. Ralph Taylor is their night Sous Chef, and Joel Miller, previous owner of Ravine, has joined the team and manages the front of the house.
We asked Angie what she loves most about GRIT and she shared, “I love that I get to work beside my husband every day. There is no other person I would trust in this venture more than him. I also love the sense of community we share with our co-workers and the support we have received from our dining and catering guests, especially during Covid. We are still open and in business, and we are so grateful. I love walking into our dining room and seeing our guests say hello to other guests in the restaurant. They are excited about the food and the experience.”
GRIT has posted their Thanksgiving catering menu. You must get your order in by 12:00 noon Wednesday, November 16th. To place your order contact Angie at ancateringms@gmail.com or call the restaurant at 662-638-3922. They are currently planning their Feast of the Seven Fishes dinner, an Italian Christmas tradition that Angie celebrated with her family growing up. This dinner is truly a feast and is served family-style. The date will be announced soon and it usually sells out the day the date is announced! And let us not forget their New Year’s Eve Prix Fixe dinner with or without wine pairing. This date will also be announced soon.
We ask our Neighborhood businesses how the Oxford and Lafayette county real estate market affects them. Angie shared, “Well, of course the more growth in the housing market, the more growth and more traffic we see at the restaurant. I’ll be honest, I do love that Taylor is a smaller community, but as a business owner, I want there to be more development and homes built. We have a built-in audience right there!”
We are so grateful for Angie and Nick’s visionary, experimental take on Southern cuisine and their love of community. GRIT is located at 2 Town Square Lane. They are open Thursday – Saturday 5:30 – 9:30 pm and Sunday 10:00 am – 1:30 pm. They are closed Monday – Wednesday.
Neighborhoods close by: Plein Air, Taylor Greene, Main Street Taylor, First Street Taylor