‘The Coop’ Terrace Lounge and Restaurant Opens at Graduate Oxford

View from the rooftop bar and restaurant, The Coop, which has now officially opened at Graduate Oxford. (Photo courtesy Graduate Oxford Facebook page)

Graduate Oxford is pleased to announce the opening of the hotel’s terrace lounge and restaurant, The Coop, on October 5, 2015.

Located in the hotel at 400 North Lamar Boulevard on the fourth floor, The Coop affords stunning views of The Square and offers a full-service food menu of Southern Classics and specialty handcrafted cocktails.

At the helm of the kitchen is local chef Jon Davis who brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience. Chef Davis has created a distinct menu for The Coop of shareable snacks, sliders and tamales. Menu highlights include Delta Tamales made with local Grit Girl cornmeal and offered in a variety of flavors including Neshoba County Fair, made with Williams Brothers Smoked Sausage and Comeback Sauce, and Cuban, made with green chili chicken and charred tomatillo salsa. These Delta Tamales were inspired by the regional history of this dish, which also sparked the 1936 old blues hit “They’re Red Hot” from master of the blues and Mississippi native, Robert Johnson.

Additionally prominent on the menu is a section dedicated to sliders, which features traditional bite-size sandwiches including the Classic Beef Slider and the Pulled Pork Slider, as well as unique variations such as the Spicy Cajun Slider. Sharable orders of fries come with an extensive menu of sauces like chipotle ketchup, black truffle aioli and Creole Mustard. Guests can also get them “loaded,” like the BBQ Pork Fries with pulled pork, cheddar cheese, scallions, and cilantro, and the Queso Fries with chopped tomatoes, green chilies, and Monterey Jack queso sauce. Desserts include classic Mississippi comforts such as Banana Pudding, Pecan Pie, and Peach Cobbler.

“I am humbled and proud to be in the kitchen at The Coop creating dishes inspired by the local town of Oxford and the South,” says Chef Jon Davis. “We are sourcing ingredients from local area farms and have drawn influence from the history of Oxford with menu items such as the Delta Tamales. We look forward to bringing the city some of their Mississippi favorites.”

Graduate Oxford is thrilled to partner with the cherished Williams Brothers, a general store and butcher shop owned by Olivia Manning’s father, based out of Philadelphia, Mississippi. William Brothers will supply The Coop with a multitude of ingredients notably featured in many food items on the menu. The team at Graduate Oxford is also working with Woodson Ridge Farm to locally-source ingredients and evolve the menu seasonally.

In the bar, the drink menu features timeless, handcrafted cocktails with Southern flare including the Southern Style Mojito with rum, house-milled peach purée, local peach schnapps, fresh lime juice and agave, the Southern Peach Lemonade with Ole smoky peach moonshine and house-made peach lemonade, and the Huckleberry Finn Margarita with Jose Cuervo, Cointreau, raw local honey, fresh blackberry purée and fresh lime juice. Guests can also enjoy seasonal draught beers from some of the South’s favorite breweries.

The Coop is a contemporary terrace lounge with design elements that hint of yesterday’s elegance mingled with sleek industrial touches. Custom damask wallpaper, cool concrete floors mixed with crystal chandeliers and farmhouse fixtures complete this modern day “hen house.” The star of the space, however, is a vintage upright piano, allowing for live music every night.

The Coop will be open Monday – Thursday from 4 p.m – 12 a.m, Saturday from 11 a.m – 12 a.m and Sunday 11 a.m – 9 p.m. For more information, please call 662.234.3031 or visit the website here.

For more information on Graduate, please visit www.graduateoxford.com or www.graduatehotels.com. You can like them on Facebook here and follow them on Instagram.