Serving the Next Chapter

In Taylor, the Lusco family is carrying forward one of Mississippi’s most storied restaurant traditions.

Written by Lena Anderson | Photos by Joe Worthem

Some traditions are too meaningful to disappear. They simply find a new place to continue. At Lusco’s in Taylor, a restaurant cherished for generations is welcoming guests again, carrying its history while making room for new memories.

Lusco’s, the beloved family-owned restaurant that operated in Greenwood for more than a century, has reopened in Plein Air. For longtime patrons, the return has stirred memories of celebrations, family dinners and evenings that stretched late into the night. For first-time guests, it offers the chance to step into a Mississippi institution still shaped by the family that built it.

This chapter is being led by the sixth generation of family members to work in the business, a continuation that feels especially meaningful to those now carrying the name forward.

“It means so much to me that we get to carry this on,” Mary Lusco Long, back-of-house manager, said. “I want this place to go on for 100 more years.”

As her name would suggest, Mary Lusco grew up in Lusco’s. She celebrated birthdays there, worked in the original restaurant as a teenager, and learned the ins and outs of hospitality by watching generations before her. Her grandparents, Andy and Karen Pinkston, recently retired after running Lusco’s in Greenwood for more than 45 years.

Letting go of the restaurant they stewarded for decades was emotional, she said. So was the responsibility of taking it on.

“It was their baby. I want to live up to their legacy.”

That legacy reaches far beyond one generation. The family history is visible throughout the new restaurant, where heirlooms and carefully preserved details help connect past and present. Among them is a safe that once belonged to Mary Lusco’s great-great-great-grandfather, now displayed in Taylor after passing through multiple eras of the family business.

Throughout the building, original curtains hang once again. Restored light fixtures and ceiling fans shine and spin overhead. The private dining rooms were recreated to match those in Greenwood down to the measurements. Other pieces were carefully removed from the old restaurant and reassembled in their new setting.

Co-owner and Mary Lusco’s father, Rhyine Long, said the goal wasn’t just to create a copy. It was to preserve a feeling.

“We knew if we were going to do this, we had to rebuild the original building as close as we could,” Rhyine said.

The idea took shape during the COVID years, when the family began discussing what might come next for Lusco’s. They explored several sites before finding the right fit in Taylor, where the character of Plein Air and the opportunity to build intentionally made the move possible.

Since opening, the response has been immediate. Reservations have filled quickly with guests who remember the Greenwood restaurant and new diners eager to experience Lusco’s for themselves.

Some reactions have been deeply emotional.

For Wright Thompson, those emotions and nostalgia hit as soon as he walked through the doors of the reopened restaurant. He grew up in the Delta, and for decades, Lusco’s was a frequent, sometimes weekly, dinner spot for his family.

“When I walked into Lusco’s in Taylor for the first time, it took my breath away,” Thompson said. “The Lusco family managed to so faithfully recreate the space from Greenwood. The love and attention to detail are visible in every inch of the place. It’s such a great addition to our community.”

These reactions speak to what Lusco’s has meant in Mississippi for generations. The restaurant became woven into family traditions and personal milestones, from birthdays to engagements to weekly dinners that became lifelong rituals.

“It’s more than just a restaurant to a lot of people,” Mary Lusco said. “It holds so many memories.”

Of course, the food remains central to the experience. Family recipes — like signature handmade onion rings, in-house-aged steaks, and whole-broiled pompano — are still at the heart of the menu, now prepared in a larger kitchen that allows the team to serve more guests while maintaining the standards that built the restaurant’s reputation.

Thomas Long, Mary Lusco’s brother and the family’s head chef, grew up cooking these dishes and now leads the Lusco’s kitchen. Mary Lusco handles most desserts and key family recipes, while the broader family — including Rhyine’s wife, Carrie — remains involved behind the scenes.

There are plans for more to come, including expanded lunch service, a finished patio and the possible return of Sunday supper, a cherished family tradition from the Greenwood location where friends and neighbors gathered around generous platters and whatever was cooking that day.

For now, the restaurant in Taylor is already doing what Lusco’s has always done best: bringing people together.

Mary Lusco hopes every guest, whether they knew the original or not, leaves with the same feeling.

“I hope they walk out of here and say, ‘There’s no place like Lusco’s.’”