What's New in Oxford — Something Sweet, Something Spicy and More

This installment of HottyToddy.com’s ongoing series on what’s new in Oxford features something sweet, something spicy, something pretty, something transforming and something comfortable.
Few things are as sweet cakes and cookies. Oxford has a new confections store, Kelli’s Cakes, where customers will find icing-covered, mouth-watering, colorfully decorated cakes, cookies and petit fours.
Kelli’s Cakes & Confections, at 1944 University Ave., had its grand opening this spring, and is now open six days a week.
Owner Kelli Smith Russell said that by 2 p.m. on their first day in business, they had sold out of strawberry cupcakes and were busy in the kitchen making a new batch.
Her favorite, however, is the Double Doozie, a sandwich made of two chocolate chip cookies with icing in the middle, with multi-colored sprinkles forming a sugary band around the icing.
Add to those offerings three other cupcake flavors, seven cakes with seven frosting options, and several varieties of cookies, including the popular white chocolate macadamia, Heath bar cookies and iced cookies.
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The friendly owners of Pick Thai, next to the University Inn on Frontage Road know that some like it hot.

The extensive authentic menu of Thai favorites, including Pad Thai, Chicken and Cashews, Spicy Shrimp Soup and dishes made with curry and pepper sauce, will please anyone who enjoys the spicy side of life and food. Don’t fear though. Upon request, Chef and Owner Ax will downplay the heat while satisfying your craving for something colorful, tasty and different.
“I grew up in Houston, Miss., but friends told me Oxford was a great place to serve students and people who like to eat.,” Ax told HottyToddy.com between customers.
The restaurant has been open only a couple of months and Ax and his wife Yuly, who is from Hong Kong originally, say business is picking up with a little help from frequent visitors from nearby FNC and Ole Miss.
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It’s a boutique packed to the brim with jewelry, monogrammed everything, Grove décor, and bright decorations for seasonal holiday browsers. Katherine Beck is an Oxford and Ole Miss shopper’s dream come true. Ole Miss prepster’s dream come true.
The owner, Mary Katherine Perry, is originally from North Carolina and a Class of 2011 Ole Miss marketing graduate, Perry has watched her store transform from a mere idea into a flourishing business.
Perry’s idea for Katherine Beck started as a secret in its earliest stages.
“I remember coming down for Double Decker and I was secretly looking at spaces, nobody knew,” Perry said.
The idea started in January 2013 and the lease was signed at the beginning of July. The day after the lease was signed Perry left for market to buy everything for the store to start up.
“It was pretty crazy, we went from an idea to store front in a really short amount of time,” Perry said.
It is evident that Perry, already a successful business owner, makes things happen and knows what she wants.

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Have an end table in need of a facelift? What about that ottoman? Or the old kitchen chair? HUE Oxford has just what you’re looking for: paint that covers literally everything.
Located in the Oxford Galleria Shopping Center on West Jackson Ave., HUE Oxford specializes in two paint mediums that offer unique finishes, colors, and endless possibilities. Annie Sloan’s Chalk Paints and Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paints are the trendiest DIY tool in any crafter’s tool belt. The era of latex paint is out and new, creative paint options are all the rage.
“We have the freedom to paint literally anything,” store manager Kelly Crossen said. “The hardest part is picking which color to use.”
Annie Sloan is a UK-based designer and company that specialize in chalk paints, brushes, finishes, and more. But, what is chalk paint?
Chalk paint is a no-fume, no-priming or sanding option for updating the look of absolutely any piece, on any surface. It comes in 31 pre-mixed colors that can be combined into endless hues.
Chalk paint is water-based, so it is easy and quick to clean up, a must for any indoor craft project. Special brushes, which can be tossed in the washing machine for easy clean up, help push the paint into crevices and contours of any piece of furniture, even fabric (cover, don’t recover).
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Blue Delta Jeans, the only makers of bespoke jean apparel in the South, opened their first brick-and-mortar store in Oxford during Double Decker weekend. The company, founded in 2010 by Oxford native Nick Weaver and business partner Josh West, specializes in bespoke raw-denim jeans sourced and produced in the American South.
The new store opened this spring at 209 South 11th Street.
Each pair of jeans is produced in Tupelo, Miss. from patterns drafted from scratch for the customer. As Weaver says “there won’t be any rack jeans in the studio, every pair of jeans is handmade.”Bespoke apparel, a rarity in today’s fast paced world, is custom tailored for each individual customer. In Blue Delta’s Oxford studio, customers will have the opportunity to select their denim and make other style choices before being measured for their own custom jeans.
While larger apparel companies have moved their production overseas, seeking cheap labor, Blue Delta focuses on creating a quality product by buying the best local products and utilizing skilled local seamstresses.
“It’s great that we can create jobs here and help other US-based businesses,” West said. “But the main reason we produce here is because of the quality of the material.”
The company’s Facebook page proudly states that all jeans are “grown and sewn in the South.”

Andy Knef is editor of HottyToddy.com.  You can contact Andy about this story at Andy.Knef@HottyToddy.com