Rustic Retreat

A Western-inspired space on 50 acres in the country is home away from home for a Tupelo couple and their family.

Written by Emily Welly  |  Photographed by Joe Worthem

When Randy Groover retired, he and his wife, Jennifer, were on the hunt for a place to relax with their family.

The result was The Wild Turkey Farm: a rustic gathering place that serves as an escape for everyone in the Groover family and their friends.

The couple built the 2,500-square-foot, two-bedroom, one-bathroom property in 2020. It could easily be mistaken for a hunting lodge in the American West.

“We decided that we wanted more of a lodge look for the space,” Randy’s wife, Jennifer, said.

“I also wanted it to be a comfortable place for everyone to feel relaxed and at home.”

The Groovers were married in October 2018, and Randy sold his eight Havoline Quick Lube businesses a few years later. They are a blended and growing family with two sets of adult twin boys, their wives and two grandchildren between them.

To make it an inviting and comfortable space for the entire family to enjoy together, the kitchen and living room are one big open-concept space. Local woodworker Wade Keith from Mooreville custom-built a long, oval bar-height table that seats 12 and helps separate the kitchen from the living area. 

“We did that specifically for everyone to be able to gather in one room,” Jennifer said. “We do a lot of entertaining and cooking nights with our friends and families,” Jennifer said.

“We’ve hosted a wine party with Dakota Shy winery from California and Cuvée 30A.”

The decor, done by Jennifer, includes two accent walls that are covered in reclaimed wood from an old tobacco plant, and the fireplace has a unique design with large, stacked stone and a reclaimed beam for the mantel. 

There are also a couple of pieces of artwork by Andrew Bolam, a painter whose work is inspired by the American West.

Randy and the boys love to hunt, so several mounts decorate the walls, and a unique elk horn chair the couple bought on a trip out West makes a statement.

“We like unique pieces,” Jennifer said.

There are plenty of play areas too.

“One of Randy’s requests was for the Ping-Pong table to fit in the space,” Jennifer said.

“There’s some pretty good matches that take place.”

The living room is also where family and friends gather to watch football games and or relax and watch movies.

Outside, Randy and the boys also hunt on the property’s 50 acres, and there’s an attached shop they use to build things like shoot houses and corn feeders. The shop is also a perfect spot for crawfish boils. He also has a deer processing station in a separate structure on the property.

Jennifer, who owned Midnite Pottery in Tupelo for 24 years, also has an art studio in the home where she spends time painting.

Their favorite spot? The screened-in cedar sun porch that has a view of the property and a large stone water feature nearby that can be heard from the porch. It has a vaulted tongue-and-groove ceiling, reclaimed wood on the walls and a large stacked stone fireplace. Heaters in the ceiling allow it to be used year-round.

Randy can be found watching football out there while smoking ribs for dinner. Jennifer is happy to relax alongside him.

“In the fall when it starts getting cool, it’s the perfect place to build a fire and curl up with a book,” Jennifer said.