MADISON, Miss. (WLBT) – Two new restaurants are already under construction on Main Street, and several more buildings are planned for the surrounding area along Madison Avenue and Highway 51.
Developer Nick Bradshaw, a member of Iron and Oak Properties, is behind two new restaurants set to anchor the Main Street corridor, Lady May and Station 1856.
Lady May, already a popular dining destination in Ocean Springs on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, will open its second location in Madison. Bradshaw describes it as a sit-down experience, casual enough for the family, but refined enough for a date night.
Station 1856 will offer a different vibe altogether, a casual, outdoor concept with green space, a walk-up bar and handheld food items.
“It will have a neat little outdoor, more geared towards outdoor bar food, handheld food items, and what not, whereas Lady May is a little more sit-down, on maybe your grandmother’s china kind of neat environment,” Bradshaw said.
Dirt work on the property is complete. Bradshaw says crews are expected to go vertical in approximately six weeks, with both restaurants targeting a summer 2027 opening.
The buzz around Lady May is already building, according to Bradshaw.
“Seven out of 10 people have said, ‘Oh my goodness, I love that place. I’m so excited it’s coming,’” Bradshaw said. “So that’s cool to hear that there’s an excitement already for this to have a second location.”
Bradshaw, a Madison resident of nearly 20 years, says the growth is something he’s long hoped to see.
“In that time frame, you really haven’t had a lot of development in central downtown Madison,” he said. “So I guess to now sort of get to live and see it happen is going to be really cool. Just because we love Madison, we love where we live.”
The two restaurants are just the beginning. Developer Bridgeforth Rutledge is behind several additional projects in the area.
Rutledge is building five office and retail buildings at the former Persnickety location on Main Street. The buildings will house a mix of retail businesses, restaurants and offices. Leasing is expected to begin soon, with the first building slated for completion by mid-2027. The remaining buildings will be completed periodically after that.
Rutledge is also developing a seven-lot commercial subdivision behind the GoShine Express Car Wash on Highway 51. The first two businesses announced for that location are a dance studio and a veterinary clinic with an upscale pet hotel. The remaining lots will either be developed or sold to other businesses. Streets and infrastructure for that subdivision are currently under construction.
Rutledge says the vision behind all of his developments is intentional.
“All of the new and planned developments in the Historic Madison area use architectural styles and components that are relatively timeless, and they create an upscale ‘downtown’ feel,” Rutledge said. “The goal is to create the feel of a historic downtown district that you would find in a small Southern town but to also incorporate modern improvements that make it even more accessible and enjoyable.”
For those who call Madison home, the transformation is already resonating.
Lucy Loveless, a lifelong Madison resident, says watching the city grow has been surreal.
“I used to play soccer on that field growing up,” Loveless said. “Seeing all these new restaurants…seeing the development of the city and how it’s grown over the years has been really amazing to watch.”
Andrea Garrett, a former Madison resident who still frequents the area, says she’s eager to support the new businesses.
“I don’t really do the big chains very often,” Garrett said. “So anything that’s like started out as a family-owned operation and still keeping it to that degree, I want to try them all.”
Lady May and Station 1856 are expected to open by summer 2027. Rutledge’s first building at the former Persnickety location is expected to be complete around the same time, with additional developments along the corridor rolling out in the months that follow.
Details on the specific businesses coming to Rutledge’s developments have not yet been announced.
Want more WLBT news in your inbox? Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.
See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Please click here to report it and include the headline of the story in your email.
Copyright 2026 WLBT. All rights reserved.
Dining and Cooking