Mar-Guy's opening downtown Tupelo lunch spot on Monday

TUPELO – On Monday, Guy and Martha Jenkins open the doors to a restaurant in the All-America City once more, bringing back their repertoire of tasty dishes they perfected with their decades of experience.

Mar-Guy's on Court opens in the former Court Street location of Crave; The restaurant will be open on weekdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Jenkinses know quite a bit about the restaurant business in the city having opened Gloster 205, Romie's and Guy's Catering.

Guy has been a lifelong restaurateur, starting at an earlier age than most.

"I grew up in the kitchen of my mother's restaurant," he said. "She had my crib in the kitchen so she could look after me at night."

That restaurant was Leigh Elween Grill, servicing hamburgers and plate lunches mostly. He eventually started busing tables at age 12, and pretty much from there he spent most of his time in a kitchen.

Jenkins' mother, the late Eloise Jenkins Martin, operated the grill until the early 1950s, when she opened the El Jenkins Motor Court and Country Gardens Restaurant on South Gloster. Guy joined his mother at those restaurants, which gave him the experience and knowledge to open his own.

Martha had cooking experience as well, and the two opened their own restaurants over the years. They then moved to Grenada where they lived for 15 years, where Martha was teaching and Guy was working at a few restaurants.

They moved back to Tupelo about a year ago, and they got the itch to open another restaurant in the city where they had been successful for so long.

So Guy, who turns 81 in July scratched that itch.

"We might be too old to scratch," Martha said with a laugh. "But Guy is probably the oldest living restauranteur still in business around here. I don't know anybody his age still in the business."

Regardless of their ages, the couple is excited as ever and ready to roll out their menu.

"We'll have a blue plate – a meat and two; salads and sandwiches, desserts and things like that," Guy said.

The blue plate will change daily, starting Monday with meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn bread sticks.

Each blue plate also gets two of Martha's famous deviled eggs halves.

On the menu is also what's called a petite plate, which is geared toward lighter eaters, and it will served in a smaller au gratin dish.

"It's going to be like shrimp and grits and come with a petite salad," she said. "We're also going to have stuff like hot chicken salad, beef tips on rice, just assorted things."

Making a return is Martha's famous chicken salad, which comes in two varieties: traditional and Waldorf – which comes with pecans and grapes – and is served on a croissant

Other sandwiches include a Philly; sliders; turkey, Hyam or roast beef paninis; and grilled cheese.

Starters include cheese straws, shrimp cocktail, deviled eggs and a grazing board (aka charcuterie board) with cheese, fruit, vegetables, pecans, crackers and other items.

Martha's famous Strawberry Fields Forever salad is comprised of a spring mix, fresh strawberries, orange glazed pecan halves; blue cheese crumbles and a balsamic vinaigrette.

But diners also can get a caesar salad or garden salad, and if they want to, they can add grilled chicken or shrimp to them.

The chicken salad also can be served as another salad plate.

In addition there will be small salads, homemade desserts and other items to go in a case so that diners can get a quick bite if they don't eat to sit down.

The restaurant's dining and meeting space also is available for rent, and other caterers are welcome to be used, the Jenkins said.

"We want everybody to come out and give us a try," Martha said. "If we did something wrong, we're going to fix it."