Pop-up restaurant concepts are gaining popularity nationwide, especially during COVID-19. 

Closer to home, JXN native Dyamone White, a self-professed “fan of the arts,” has been inspired by chefs in cities like Austin, Los Angeles and New York, to bring the pop-up idea to the City With Soul. 

Saturday’s “Pop-Up Restaurant Dinner Party Distant Summer” (Saturday, August 1), will be held at the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum (1150 Lakeland Drive) from 6-9 p.m with limited seating and takeout options.

For the event, White enlisted the services of Greenville, Miss. native Derrick Wilson (aka Chef Derrick Wilson or Chef D Wil) after reading a story about him written by East Mississippi Community College.

“(Dyamone) shot me an email outlining what she was trying to accomplish,” he said. “I saw her vision and immediately knew I wanted to be a part.”

Wilson’s food, “comfort food with a Cajun twist,” reinvents classic dishes and “breathes new life into them.”

General admission for onsite dining – limited to 50 people – is $50 and includes a choice of an appetizer, protein, two sides and dessert, a chance to meet the chef, safe outdoor dining and southern adult beverages.

Appetizer options are buffalo chicken dip or spinach dip. Protein choices include stuffed chicken breast or salmon. Sides are sweet potatoes, green beans, macaroni and cheese and turnip greens. Desert choices are peach cobbler or strawberry crunch cheesecake. 

Pre-order pickups are $35 and include your choice of an appetizer, protein, two sides, and dessert.

White chose the Ag Museum’s grounds for its aesthetics and attractions, but, for practical purposes, too. 

“It had everything we needed: a kitchen; safe, spacious dining opportunities; and convenience,” she said. “Originally, we wanted to have the event on a farm… and the museum incorporates the features of a farm.”

Patrons who dine at the museum will be required to wear masks for entry. Diners will be seated outside at tables scattered six feet apart throughout the grounds. Event staff will wear masks and gloves and staff will handle pre-order pickups wearing masks and gloves.

White added, “Let’s support our artists and the creative economy during these times. COVID-19 relief aid is harder to come by for the creative economy artists.” 

Purchase tickets at Eventbrite (popupwithchefderrickwilson.eventbrite.com) or search on Eventbrite (Pop-Up Restaurant with Chef Derrick Wilson).