By CHATHAM KENNEDY • Photos courtesy of The Crown Restaurant
Beloved Indianola restaurant celebrates five decades of history, hospitality, and heirloom charm
In the heart of Indianola, where the Big Sunflower River winds its way through a landscape of cotton fields and towering cypress, stands a place where English elegance meets Delta charm.
Since 1976, The Crown has been both an economic and atmospheric staple to the town of Indianola. The restaurant, which began as an English tearoom, has transformed into a timeless treasure, boasting fan-favorite dishes, vintage heirlooms, and stories from decades past.
Fifty years ago, Evelyn Roughton, a Mississippi native and lifelong lover of antiques, opened The Crown—a cozy English tearoom surrounded by eighteenth-century relics. The Crown was established to further the family’s business venture, The Antique Mall of Indianola.
After spending four years in England while her husband served in the United States Air Force, Roughton desired to bring pieces of her life from Great Britain back to the Magnolia State. Two to three times per year, Roughton would make the trek across the pond and curate inventory. She would then ship these items in a forty-foot container to the Antique Mall, which was housed in a metal-frame building adjacent to her parents’ farm. These items would spill over into Roughton’s home, filling her children’s bedrooms with classic heirlooms, and would later comprise the furnishings for the dining establishment.
The first lunch menu for The Crown featured a main dish that rotated daily. Accompaniments included vegetables, a salad bar, homemade breads, and a dessert trolley filled with an assortment of pies. Afternoon tea consisted of scones, finger sandwiches, and sweet treats.
In the early days of The Crown, Roughton acted as the primary chef. However, as word spread and business grew, she hired cooks in order to shift her focus to creating recipes and maintaining high-quality customer service.
Over time, the menu expanded to include various entrées. In the 1980s, catfish became a popular lunch staple across the South. While most restaurants took to frying catfish, The Crown chose to take a creative spin on the dish with its Catfish Florentine and Catfish Allison.
The Catfish Florentine features a spinach and cream sauce, while the latter dish consists of a poached fillet topped with the restaurant’s in-house Allison sauce, which is composed of Parmesan cheese, butter, mayonnaise, green onions, and Tabasco. The restaurant’s unique approach to catfish has garnered national recognition and continues to bring customers in year after year.
Like any business venture, The Crown has shifted its entrepreneurial focus with the changing tides. In the 1990s, customers began wanting to create restaurant-style meals at home. As a result, restaurateurs found a way for individuals to make gourmet foods from the comfort of their own kitchens.
With a desire to keep pace with the rapidly changing industry, Roughton created Taste of Gourmet. This next step for The Crown allowed customers to take home prepackaged ingredients to make their favorite dishes, with their preferred mixing bowl and whisk in hand. From Mama’s Meatloaf and East Indian Curry to Delta Fudge Pie and Jezebel Sauce, Taste of Gourmet has allowed The Crown to reach homes across the nation.
In 1997, The Crown moved from its initial location five miles outside of Indianola to its current address in the heart of downtown. For nearly thirty years, the red-brick building that now houses The Crown has witnessed baby showers, bridal parties, rehearsal dinners, and birthday celebrations, all ingrained in the ebb and flow of its loyal customers’ lives.
“It is hard to imagine Indianola without The Crown. For 50 years, it has been the gathering place for celebrations, shopping, art exhibits, book signings, and all things Catfish,” says friend and patron Adelaide Fletcher.
Randy Randall, former chief operating officer of Planters Bank, agrees. “Evelyn and Jennifer Roughton, through their restaurant and wholesale business, have been longtime customers of Planters Bank. We want them to know how much they are appreciated—they have been dear friends to us and to our entire community. They are truly beloved. Fifty years in the business, especially the restaurant business, is profound. The value of The Crown restaurant of Indianola and the Delta over the years is immeasurable. They have blessed us in what theey are and who they are.”
Over the past five decades, The Crown has undergone several changes. The menu has evolved and is now available for customers to enjoy at home through Taste of Gourmet. And while the volume of antiques has dwindled since Roughton’s last trip to England in 2020, the shop continues its long-standing tradition of lining its walls with paintings—celebrating the work of skilled Mississippi artists, a hallmark of its interior.
“I love having our longtime customers come in and hearing them share stories about when they came in shopping for antiques or had a special event or party,” says Roughton’s daughter, Jennifer Schaumberg. “It is fun reliving memories and creating new ones.” Whether facing an economic recession or a global pandemic, The Crown’s mission over the past fifty years has remained the same—to welcome customers with gracious hospitality.
