Since our beginnings, the experienced management team behind HARVEYS, the COTTON DISTRICT GRILL, the GRILL AT JACKSON SQUARE, BULLDOG DELI, SWEET PEPPERS DELI, and PARK HEIGHTS has built a proven track record of successful restaurant development. As in any successful business, the experiences of the past fuel our plans for the future.

1982
Myrrl Bean and her son, John opened their first restaurant with family friend and partner, Harvey Seifert. They called the restaurant HARVEYS in his honor. It was located inside the University Inn in Starkville, MS. The restaurant was small (seating only 75), but it had a bar seating 150 and a banquet facility for about 200. With live entertainment six nights a week in the bar, HARVEYS was a popular night spot.

1984
Robin Fant purchased BULLDOG DELI from its original owners, Lanier Hurdle and James Haycroft. The restaurant started as just a small sandwich shop in the University Square Shopping Center with only 8 tables.

The Beans opened a second HARVEYS restaurant in an old tannery building in Columbus, MS. Because the night club business tends to be sporadic, they decided to put all their energy into the food and casual atmosphere. The Starkville restaurant moved to its present location on Highway 12 across from the Holiday Inn, in what had been a drug store.

1985
BULLDOG DELI expanded, taking on an additional 500 square feet in the University Shopping Center.

1987
Mr. Fant closed BULLDOG DELI at the University Shopping location, and reopened in a new location on University Drive with a more collegiate atmosphere and a larger menu. It developed into the traditional New York Style Deli concept, with a southern twist. Fondly known as "The Deli", the restaurant successfully attracted a wide audience of Starkville customers from the businessman's lunch to the collegiate date.

1989
The Beans decided to expand once again with a HARVEYS restaurant in Tupelo, MS. Bernard, the youngest of the Bean family had been a dishwasher and busboy in the early years of HARVEYS, and had moved away after college. But, the family asked him to come back and manage the Tupelo restaurant, and Bernard joined the partnership.

1990
In the spring, Harvey Seifert passed away. He had been like a father to John and Bernard, and had taught them many things about the business world. Harvey was a large part of the Eat With Us success in the early years, and will always be remembered in his namesake restaurant.

1991
John Bean dreamed up a new restaurant in Starkville with a new concept. Surrounded by a New Orleans style apartment development close to campus, the COTTON DISTRICT GRILL catered to the Mississippi State University scene with its sports bar atmosphere. Through the years it has become affectionately known as "the Grill", and remains a Mississippi State hot spot.

1992
In 1992, the fourth HARVEYS restaurant opened in Tuscaloosa, AL.

1996
BULLDOG DELI moved into its current location in a renovated and expanded gas station beside its previous location. The new building tips it's hat to the past with a pair of working garage doors and the station's original brick.

1997
Two great restaurant management teams joined forces when Robin Fant and the Bean family formed a partnership, along with Robert Fort, the company's controller, to open a restaurant following the New York style deli concept. SWEET PEPPERS DELI opened in the newly developed Jackson Square in Columbus, MS. This newest restaurant development boasts a funky atmosphere, complete with galvanized metal, neon, and a couple of garage doors.

1999
SWEET PEPPERS DELI was so successful in the Columbus, MS market, that the group decided to open a second location on Main Street in Tupelo, MS.

2000
Eat With Us opened the GRILL AT JACKSON SQUARE in a colorfully renovated restaurant building next to Jackson Square in Columbus, MS. The menu was patterned after the COTTON DISTRICT GRILL, but added a more eclectic variety of foods including a meat loaf to make your mamma proud.

Blair Bean Hughes moved home from Washington, DC to open the popular PARK HEIGHTS. Park Heights specializes in distinctly American cuisine with elegant, creative touches in a quaintly upscale environment. The restaurant is situated in downtown Tupelo on a tree-lined street and surrounded by azaleas and crepe myrtles.

2002
After many inquiries about, "Where did you buy this franchise?" or "Where can I get franchise information?" Sweet Peppers Franchise Systems, LLC was formed. The partners of Sweet Peppers decided franchising was a great way to grow Sweet Peppers Deli.

2003
Sweet Peppers Express opened in the Mall at Barnes Crossing in Tupelo, MS. A scaled down version of the traditional Sweet Peppers Deli, the Express is a favorite of everyone who shops in The Mall at Barnes Crossing.

2004
The first Sweet Peppers Deli franchise opened in Hattiesburg, MS. Sweet Peppers Deli also opened in Cordova, TN.

2006
Sweet Peppers Deli opened in Starkville, MS, Muscle Shoals, AL and a second location in Hattiesburg, MS.

2007
Franchise locations are currently being developed in Corinth, MS and Cullman, AL.

Since 1982, though our restaurant concepts and markets have evolved and expanded, our goals have remained the same. Simply put, we want to give you great food, great service and great memories every time you walk into one of our restaurants. Whether you are ordering prime rib, buffalo wings or a muffaletta, we want you to not only be satisfied, but overwhelmed by your dining experience. As our valued customers, we owe much of our success to your continued patronage. When visiting HARVEYS , the COTTON DISTRICT GRILL, the GRILL AT JACKSON SQUARE, BULLDOG DELI, SWEET PEPPERS DELI or PARK HEIGHTS, ask for one of us and tell us what you think. We are always happy to meet the people behind our success.

Happy Eating!