City of Leakesville, Dandy Dan’s announce planned deal for new truck stop on 4-lane

Leakesville Mayor David West (Right) and Dandy Dan’s President Kenneth Sumall, are shown shaking hands as they announced plans for a new convenience store / truck stop along Miss. 57/63 near the Sand Springs Hill intersection. Also shown (L-R) are MDOT representative Ross Baker, Leakesville Alderman Richard Hale, Dandy Dan’s Category Management Specialist Jack Sumrall and Leakesville Public Works Director James Radcliff.
Photo by RUSSELL TURNER / Herald Editor

By RUSSELL TURNER
Herald Editor

Since the completion of the 1987 Mississippi 4-Lane Highway program local officials have longed for business growth and development along the Miss. 57/63 corridor in Greene County.
That development has been elusive as traffic count numbers along the 4-lane corridor between State Line and Lucedale have grown at a slow pace. Recent years have seen an uptick in traffic as developments like Wild Country Off-Road ATV park have drawn visitors to the area and the number of commuters taking advantage of the north-south route running the length of the state from the Coast to the Tennessee state line have increased. Thanks to an announcement this past week between the City of Leakesville and convenience store chain Dandy Dan’s, officials are more optimistic than ever that more development is on the horizon.
Last Thursday, standing just a few feet off the on-ramp that connects Old Hwy. 63 and the Miss. 57/63 4-lane on the edge of the city’s incorporated limits, Leakesville Mayor David West and Dandy Dan’s corporate president Kenneth Sumrall, shook hands on an agreement that will bring a multi-million dollar truck stop development on a 33 ½-acre tract along the highway.
“This was a good day for our community today,” Mayor West
told the Herald after the meeting along the highway. “City officials invested in this property to develop it to bring tax revenue to the community, provide jobs and jumpstart business growth.”
“Our hope, and our belief, is that this first business will serve as an anchor to bring additional development.”
The city purchased the 33 ½ acre tract with highway frontage from private landowners roughly six months ago for $100,000. West said he immediately reached out to Sumrall and Dandy Dan’s because of the company’s previous investment in the city and its position in the industry. That phone call proved fruitful as Sumrall told West his company had been actively looking for property for a new store in the area.
Within a short time, city officials had agreed to sell a 5-acre portion of the property to Dandy Dan’s for the development of a truck-stop style convenience store.
“Our intended use for the 5-acre parcel is to develop a new retail location consisting of fuel islands, a deli, and related services and products,” Sumrall told city officials in a formal letter of interest several weeks back. “This development will represent a significant investment within the City of Leakesville and is anticipated to provide employment opportunities for local residents, increased sales tax revenue for Leakesville, convenience for your local residents and travelers, and other benefits to the area.”
Sumrall has told city officials the company plans to continue operating its current store adjacent to Piggly Wiggly.
Local residents should not expect to see construction on the new store to begin immediately as details on the development are still being worked out. However city officials have begun working on water /sewer and other infrastructure upgrades needed for the development and are in discussions with state highway officials about a service road and other transportation infrastructure upgrades.
Meanwhile, West says he and other city officials are in talks with other businesses in hopes of other similar announcements soon.