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| Today's post highlights Panola County, MS, retail (among others). |
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| Broken Chain: A business which, at some point in its history, had multiple, similarly-functioning, physical locations where a customer could purchase goods and/or services, and which presently has a significantly diminished presence and/or value as a brand compared to the same brand in its heyday. - Zap Actionsdower |
As a lifelong Mississippian, I always look forward to researching and writing about Mississippi-based retail. Granted, a number of those companies tend to be on the wrong side of the healthiness scale, such as Fred's, Dirt Cheap, and the subject of today's post... but such is the sort of content I choose to focus on for the blog a lot of the time. While this proclivity does indisputably add a bittersweet element to things, on the plus side it also allows me the opportunity to document otherwise-fading brands for posterity, and in no way does it diminish or eliminate my enjoyment. Also, unlike Fred's and Dirt Cheap, at least the subject of this post still exists (as of this writing) -- albeit in a much-reduced capacity than before. Our topic today is Back Yard Burgers.
A Clarion-Ledger profile from 2017, the chain's 30th anniversary, details its history. Back Yard Burgers was founded in the Delta town of Cleveland, MS, in 1987 by -- as Zap Actionsdower of the Broken Chains Blog put it, in his own entry on the company -- "the seemingly backward-named" Lattimore Michael. Lattie, as he was known, had operated a grocery store in his hometown, nearby Rosedale, for 15 years, and the burgers he would serve at the store proved popular. Seeing the trend set by other chains such as Checkers, Rally's, and Central Park, Michael decided to open the first Back Yard Burgers restaurant, a double drive-thru model, in Cleveland, in part in an effort to capture the college crowd from Delta State University.
The concept captured far more than just the student population. "Within 90 days we had four different groups that wanted to franchise," Michael said. "It all happened so quickly." The Clarion-Ledger continues:
Discussions with franchisees began almost immediately, and after setting up a franchise agreement, stores across the Delta and into Memphis, Knoxville and Destin, Florida, began opening 18 months after the Cleveland restaurant.Michael moved the corporate headquarters to Memphis in 1990 to be closer to a major airport. After a 1993 test in the Boone, North Carolina market, they began to build sit-down restaurants.Back Yard Burgers went public on the NASDAQ Market in 1997.
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| Early Back Yard Burgers restaurants. Courtesy Clarion-Ledger |
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| Notice the double drive-thru format. Courtesy Franchise Dictionary Magazine |
The growth, popularity, and increased attention surrounding the chain caught the eyes of a much-larger fast food conglomerate. In January 2002, Back Yard Burgers entered into a development agreement with Tricon Global Restaurants, Inc. -- better known today as Yum! Brands. "Under the terms of the agreement, Back Yard Burgers granted Tricon the right to use the Back Yard Burgers trademarks in the United States in connection with the establishment and operation of up to ten Back Yard Burgers outlets as part of multi-brand units with Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and/or KFC operations," according to Nation's Restaurant News archives. "The Development Agreement also grants to Tricon an option to co-brand up to 500 additional restaurants within certain geographic areas if the development schedule for the initial ten outlets is being met."
Tricon's name at the time was an acknowledgement of its three aforementioned restaurant brands; the rebrand to Yum! came shortly thereafter in March 2002, when the company merged with the owner of A&W and Long John Silver's. With a burger brand now under its own roof, Yum! Brands chose to focus on future development of co-branded locations with A&W, ultimately exiting the agreement with Back Yard Burgers by May 2004, at which time there had been nine Back Yard Burgers/Taco Bell co-branded restaurants. The Wikipedia page for Back Yard Burgers famously includes the below image of one of those; I'd love to know where they all were located.
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| Co-branded Taco Bell/Back Yard Burgers in January 2003, Shepherdsville, KY. Courtesy Wikipedia |
Perhaps the future of Back Yard Burgers would have been drastically different had Yum! Brands purchased it. Alas, instead the company went private a few years later, when in 2007 founder and CEO Lattie Michael sold it to a group of investors, who relocated its headquarters from Memphis to Nashville. "Being the CEO of a non-public company, you could get out and spend time in the stores. Once we went public, I spent 80 to 90 percent of my time in the office dealing with paperwork," Michael said. "It took the fun out of it."
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Part of the formula for Back Yard Burgers' success was its menu evocative of a true backyard grill experience: made-to-order flame-grilled Angus beef burgers with no fillers, joined by traditional southern accompaniments such as dessert cobblers (with changing flavors daily) and sweet tea (which the chain pioneered in northern states "years before McDonald's added sweet tea to its nationwide menu in 2006," although franchisees had to be convinced -- Michael had to enter into a bet with a Kansas City franchisee for him to agree to put it on the menu!). Unfortunately, the new corporate owners immediately started to strip the chain of its hallmarks, including reducing the burger patty sizes and getting rid of seasoned fries.
While in its home state of Mississippi, the chain's largest franchisee -- Resolute Brands -- failed to institute the corporate changes ("It was crazy and we didn't follow suit"), other Back Yard Burgers restaurants began closing across the country, dwindling from more than 180 locations across 22 states at its peak, and ultimately filing for bankruptcy in 2012. The next year, it was purchased by Pharos Capital Group, who placed Doug McDougall as CEO. McDougall immediately reinstituted the 1/3-pound burger patties and seasoned fries, and lauded Resolute Brands. Its Madison, MS, location had "become the top-selling location in the country," and its Gulfport location, opened in 2016, launched the chain's new prototype for interior and exterior branding, including a new logo. Even founder Lattimore Michael spoke highly of the new CEO: "I think Dave McDougall is doing a great job. It's refreshing to see someone who is customer- and product-oriented. He wants to get back to the roots and understands why we were successful."
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| Back Yard Burgers historically has had very distinct architecture, with many locations (though not all) in brick. Pictured here is the short-lived Hernando, MS, location, which is now a Zaxby's (with minimal exterior modifications). Image source unknown |
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| Former locations are usually easily recognizable, such as this former Back Yard Burgers now operating as Ugly Tuna Tavern in Erie, PA. In addition to the shape of the sign frame, the flame icons on the columns, a standard facade element, are a dead giveaway. Courtesy Retaimes on flickr |
In 2017, McDougall was quick to point out that "getting to 30 [years] is a pretty special thing. A lot of companies never achieve that. They don't even get to 20." He further added that "70 percent of companies that file Chapter 11 go out of business within five years," something else Back Yard Burgers had surpassed by that time. "Still," Nation's Restaurant News wrote, "one obstacle has prevented Back Yard Burgers from breaking through to the next level: capital.
"Enter Axum Capital Partners, a private-equity firm founded in 2010," which purchased a controlling stake of Back Yard Burgers in July 2017 and provided a much-needed infusion of funding. Perhaps feeling he had left the company in good hands, McDougall departed a year later, with a new CEO named in July 2018. The chain continued to chart its path forward, reentering markets in Mississippi, Arkansas, and Tennessee under franchisee Josh Powell, whose father was one of the first franchisees of the brand. The rebranding initiative also grew, ranging from newbuilds like Gastonia, NC, to remodels like Jackson, MS, to teardowns like Batesville, MS (ostensibly the subject of today's post, although we'll be seeing many other locations photographed as well. The Batesville location, which had opened in 2002, was closed and torn down circa late 2020/early 2021, and I witnessed the beginnings of its reconstruction into a brand-new prototype which ultimately reopened in January 2022).
Another new CEO was appointed in May 2020, which, of course, was right in the middle of the pandemic. Initially, things looked alright for the chain -- it reportedly did not have any permanent closures during the pandemic, and in fact a number of the aforementioned construction and rebranding efforts took place during that time. The chain in March 2021 numbered 43 stores, 31 of which were company-owned, "leaving 12 as franchise operations, including all 11 in Mississippi*," according to the director of marketing. It planned further growth via its 2022 expansion plans, including a new location in Kingsport, TN, and remodels at the Mississippi locations of Meridian, Byram, Batesville (noted above), Clarksdale, and the original location, Cleveland.
(* I believe this figure to consist of the following: Madison, Flowood, Byram, Meridian, Gulfport, and two locations in Jackson, all operated previously -- though not necessarily still in 2021 -- by Resolute Brands; Clarksdale and Cleveland, at one time operated by Josh Powell; and Batesville and Southaven, operated by a separate franchisee. Note that Resolute Brands once had eight locations, with Oxford having closed in 2017; while Josh Powell had at least five, including the aforementioned Clarksdale and Cleveland, which we know were still open in 2022, plus Corinth, Greenwood, and Columbus, which presumably must have closed sometime between 2018 and 2021. The statement of 12 franchise operations total also doesn't align with other data... but I digress.)
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| Proposed rendering of new facade prototype; note the continued use of the now-former logo. Courtesy Restaurant Development + Design |
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| Actual new facade prototype as built, seen at the Gulfport, MS, grand opening in 2016. Courtesy PR News |
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| Note that several other design options were tested, such as the one pictured here (on a faux "Cleveland Times" newspaper) at the Harrisburg, NC, location. There would be further modifications for later rebuilds and remodels, which we'll explore below. Courtesy Yelp |
Unfortunately, however, the progress came to an abrupt halt in the spring of 2023. Between Friday, March 10, and Wednesday, March 15, 2023, with the exception of the Madison location, all of the Back Yard Burgers in the Jackson area suddenly shut down. Multiple others across the state of Mississippi were reported closed, too. The general manager of the Flowood restaurant told local news outlets that he received a phone call from the district manager "[telling] all stores to end operations and release all workers from their duties immediately."
"So I called back and asked him if this was a joke," the Flowood manager said. "He said, 'No, it's serious.' I said, 'So what do you want us to do?' He said to 'tell the staff to leave and customers to leave and lock the doors and go home. You don't have a job anymore.'"
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| Meridian restaurant, "closed permanetly" [sic]. Courtesy Facebook |
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| Jackson location (Old Canton), pictured after sudden closure on March 10, 2023. Courtesy Jackson Jambalaya |
The Madison location remained open a little while longer, but it, too, ultimately closed up shop. It's worth noting that, reportedly, Resolute Brands by this time was already out of the picture, so perhaps most or all of the Mississippi stores had come under the corporate umbrella (see also my parenthetical aside above). In any case, corporate-owned or not, it's clear that losing the majority of stores in the company's home state -- historically lauded as the brand's stronghold, representative of the bulk of its locations, and quoted as "Mississippians are quite vocal about their love for the Back Yard Burger concept" -- all in one fell swoop can't have spelled good things for the company's future. Indeed, unsurprisingly, these closures were followed up in June 2023 by a second Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.
The company did emerge (again) in late 2024, but with a significantly smaller footprint than before. If Back Yard Burgers had already achieved "broken chain" status after the first bankruptcy in 2012 -- heck, even after initially going private in 2007 -- then it is solidly in that state now, with a mere single-digit number of locations operating as of the date of this post. Three (of the total seven) are far-flung, located in Altamonte Springs, FL, Marion, IL, and Raleigh, NC; I'm unsure if these are corporate- or franchise-owned (or indeed, if any stores at this point remain corporate-owned). The remaining four locations are operated by a franchisee in the company's former headquarters region of Memphis: Park Avenue in the city proper (still an original double drive-thru only location!); Arlington, TN; Southaven, MS; and the aforementioned Batesville, MS.
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| Park Avenue double drive-thru location in Memphis. While architecturally identical, many of the locations that did not use brick as a building material instead featured an... attention-grabbing... yellow paint job. Courtesy Google Maps |
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| "Back Yard Burgers is firing up the grills with a bold new look and the same flame-grilled flavor you know and love." Courtesy Patch |
Interestingly, this very week -- July 14, 2025 -- marked the beginning of a four-week 'grand reopening' event "designed to reintroduce guests to a refreshed space, exciting giveaways, and unbeatable deals" at each of the four Memphis-area restaurants. Aside from Batesville's teardown and rebuild in 2021/2022, as far as I am aware, those other three locations still donned the company's bright mustard yellow exterior design (see above), so refreshes certainly would be welcomed (though I haven't seen any evidence as to what work, if any, has taken place). Either way, the event suggests at least some continuation of the rebranding efforts, despite the company's drastically reduced size. But overall, it remains to be seen just what exactly the future holds for Back Yard Burgers; while it clearly has been weakened, let's hope the flame isn't fully extinguished.
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I specifically wanted to profile the Batesville Back Yard Burgers (1) because I finished my degree before it reopened, so I hadn't yet had a chance to visit it, and (2) because I wanted to see what the chain's new design looked like (especially considering Southaven and the other Memphis-area locations still had the ugly yellow exteriors). Before we jump into my Batesville photos, though, we're first going to see a handful of the Jackson-area locations.
As with many of my blogging endeavors, I had Back Yard Burgers on my radar for a while, but without having actually obtained any coverage. Especially with the chain having already been documented on the Broken Chains Blog, I didn't feel any particular pressing urgency. Similarly as usual with many of my blogging endeavors though, it turns out I waited slightly too long to take any action, as once the sudden mass closures hit in spring 2023, I realized I would never get the opportunity to visit any of the Jackson-area Back Yard Burgers while operational. That would not, however, stop me from getting post-closure photos.
We'll start with the Flowood location, located in the Dogwood Promenade shopping center. Specifically, this location is an outparcel to the Kroger at the corner of Old Fannin and Lakeland, facing Old Fannin. It is in a very prominent location and is actually the only outparcel on that side of the street, so I expected it would be retenanted fairly quickly. To my surprise, however, it remains vacant to this day.
I took these photos in May 2024, about a year after the shutdowns. As you can see, all exterior branding remains fully intact. This is one of the all-brick locations, with the only yellow present being the three-dimensional flames on all of the columns. If you look closely at the image of the front of the building, you'll see that it actually has an indoor playplace. I'm not sure how common that is or was at other locations, but this is the only one I am aware of that had a playplace.
Road signage was also still intact. Notice that all signage here still featured the old logo; I don't believe this location ever received a rebranding remodel.
Looping around the back of the restaurant before taking one last look at the property from out on Old Fannin, that last shot taken a few months later in late August 2024 as the sun set. I would think this would be a prime location for redevelopment, so I'll be curious to see what ends up happening with the property.
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| Image source unknown |
We'll next head to the Madison location, mentioned earlier as being the highest-performing unit in the chain. As also mentioned, this restaurant stayed open slightly longer than the rest of the Jackson stores, but still wound up closing in early May 2023, according to the Madison County Journal.
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| Courtesy Madison County Journal |
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| Courtesy Madison County Journal |
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| Courtesy Madison County Journal |
These images were taken by the Madison County Journal in announcing the restaurant's closure. While the exterior logo was never changed out, as you can see, it does appear that the interior was remodeled to the newest design. Additionally, in comparing to the nighttime image from the top of this section, it seems that the patio awning on the front was also a remodel addition (although it does seem odd to add an awning but remove the seating!).
I have very few images of my own of the Madison Back Yard Burgers, owing mostly to the fact that its location -- at the very busy intersection of Hwy 463 and Grandview Boulevard -- does not lend itself well for photography. It also doesn't help that, unlike Flowood, Madison's lot was practically immediately closed off to begin conversion of the building to a new Whataburger. My pictures are from April 22, April 25, and June 23, 2024, respectively. Note the removal of the logo between April and June.
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| "As with anything else in Madison, Whataburger will be subject to how Mayor Mary Hawkins Butler wants things to look." Courtesy Clarion-Ledger |
The Clarion-Ledger also closely followed the conversion progress; shown above is the building after the new Whataburger signage had been installed (notice also work ongoing with the patio awning). Madison, as I have noted in the past, is subject to strict design standards, and tends to make that fact well-known. In this case, it's interesting to note that, aside from the white flame icons (instead of yellow) and some added plaster ornamentation, the Madison Back Yard Burgers was all but identical to the Flowood location shown previously. Granted, Flowood may have been a bit more dressed-up than other Back Yard Burgers, but my point is that the Madison Back Yard Burgers in and of itself wasn't anything particularly special for the chain, design-wise -- and Whataburger similarly chose to alter nothing at all where the exterior design was concerned.
I bring this up because longtime Madison Mayor Mary Hawkins Butler touted of the brand's adherence to the city's design guidelines, "It will be the only Whataburger in the United States that is not orange." Even back in February 2024 when the restaurant was announced, the Clarion-Ledger noted "That was not quite right as at least one other in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, has a white sign against a red, brick building." Furthermore, the nearby Hobby Lobby in Madison has orange exterior signage, and the city's school system's primary color is orange. All that said, though, what's most amusing is that Madison was beat to the punch by my hometown, Hernando, MS, whose new-construction Whataburger -- complete with all-white signage -- opened up on Tuesday, December 3, 2024... exactly one day prior to the converted Madison Whataburger's grand opening on Wednesday, December 4. Hernando's location is pictured below.
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| Hernando, MS, Whataburger, finally breathing life into the long-vacant lot right off the interstate (and behind the city's welcome sign). Whataburger recently returned to the Memphis market after a decades-long absence. Courtesy Clarion-Ledger |
Don't get me wrong -- Madison is a great city, and its design guidelines clearly have had a positive impact on growth (Hernando Mayor Chip Johnson even admits the ordinances and growth witnessed in cities like Madison and Ridgeland have inspired his governance of Hernando, which in turn has experienced its own significant growth). That said, it is also quite easy to poke fun at Madison's design guidelines and callouts thereof, examples of both of which can sometimes be a tad over-the-top. It brings me no small amount of delight, then, to see that -- whether coincidentally or otherwise -- my former home's white-logo Whataburger beat out Madison's, purported to be the 'only one in the US', and moreover resulted in an entire Clarion-Ledger article about the comeuppance. Score one for Hernando!
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| Before. Courtesy Clarion-Ledger |
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| After. Courtesy Clarion-Ledger |
Friendly ribbing aside, above is a look at the completed restaurant, with a shot of the pre-conversion Back Yard Burgers also included for comparison. As you can see and as I mentioned, Whataburger didn't really have much to do here (at least, not if it didn't want to spend an exorbitant amount of money demolishing the existing facade and installing a costly, custom-to-Madison version of its usual design; why bother creating a new look when this one was already city-approved?). New railing was installed around the patio to effectively permanently close it off, the "W" wing logo replaced the Back Yard Burgers flame icons, and ta-da, it's ready to go. (Of note, there were more drastic changes inside -- the dining room was shrunk down considerably to accommodate a larger kitchen, no doubt designed to handle the expected influx of drive-thru customers -- but I don't have any pictures of the interior.)
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We're headed next to one of the two locations in Jackson proper, this one on Old Canton Road on the northeast side of town, not too far from the county line and city of Ridgeland. The other Jackson Back Yard Burgers, on State Street across from UMMC, was franchisee Resolute Brands' first-ever location back in 1998.
As you can see, unlike the Flowood or Madison locations, the Old Canton Back Yard Burgers did receive a remodel to the newer prototype (this renovation was also mentioned earlier in the post). The construction work took place in March 2021, but the "now open" text on the road sign was present all the way through the restaurant's closure in March 2023... to the time these pictures were taken in late April 2024... and even to present-day in July 2025.
Unfortunately, as you'll see in several of these photos, the landscaping around the shuttered business was suffering a bit. As a matter of fact, one nearby business owner complained about the lack of upkeep, especially considering the Flowood and Madison locations were (and/or continue to be) maintained during their vacancy. WLBT picked up the story, but it doesn't seem like much has changed.
My visit on April 23 was hampered by electrical crews using the parking lot for work along the street, so all of the pictures above were simply taken out of my car window as I circled around and drove past. I returned two weeks later, on May 5, 2024, for a chance to get out of the car and take the images below.
I feel like I'm kind of cheating by showing you this Old Canton location first, before you've had a chance to see the fully rebuilt Batesville location. It'd probably be a better comparison seeing that one first so you would know which elements look a bit different in a remodel format versus a new build. Suffice to say, though, that, while a bit simplistic, this remodel carries forward quite a bit of the design language of the final rebrand prototype. That said, clearly the design prototype changed quite a bit from the initial version seen in Gulfport back in 2016. Additional designs were tried out elsewhere, such as North Carolina; keep that in mind for a little later in the post.
I like the redesigned logo, and I think it works particularly well with this paint scheme. The old logo was still present on the patio umbrellas, though. (And, yes, if it hasn't been clear already: "Back Yard" is officially two words in the chain's nomenclature.)
For as nice as the remodel turned out, it is really such a shame that there are such obvious, unsightly paint scars where the old flame icons were swapped out for the new, skinnier ones. Evidently that was done only after the building was repainted, but inexplicably no one ever came back to finish the job. You can see the old flame icons still affixed in the below image, taken in March 2021 during the remodel. Humorously, as is also shown in the framing of the image, the removal of the logos during the renovation (in addition to expectations and assumptions driven by pandemic-induced closures in general) precipitated concern not only that the restaurant had closed, but that due to its new, similar paint scheme, it would soon become another component of the storage facility directly behind it!
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| The storage facility, by the way, is the former Fred's, nee Jitney Jungle, that I originally covered in this post. Courtesy Daily Journal |
Returning to my photos, around back of the restaurant I took several pictures of the drive-thru menu boards. The menus were still intact, if a bit worse for the wear (presumably from sitting vacant, although it's also possible they were in poor condition while the restaurant was open. I doubt it, though).
Like the patio umbrellas, the base of the menu boards still retained the old Back Yard Burgers logo. Although faded in this close-up example, a few of the other images above show that the emblems behind the logos read "100% Black Angus Beef."
One last shot of the new logo overlooking the untruthful "now open" letterboard wraps up our look at three of the Jackson-area locations; now, let's move on to Batesville.
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Since we've seen a lot of Back Yard Burgers exteriors at this point, but no interior tours, we'll only briefly glance at the Batesville restaurant's facade before quickly heading inside. (Don't worry, I'll focus a lot more on the design at the end of the post.) As you'll recall from earlier, the original Batesville building was torn down and rebuilt over the course of 2021 into 2022. While the new flame icon didn't make it onto all of the columns on the new facade, it did get a prominent feature wall adjacent to the main entrance.
Inside the restaurant, we see what at first glance is a fairly inoffensive, modernish design. But bland though it may be, it does undeniably have several "backyard" influences, which I definitely appreciate. Most notable, of course, is the hanging trellis feature with attached string lights, but the abundance of woodgrain elements and even the slatted seating are all evocative of patio furnishings and furniture.
While the rest of the walls are a neutral color, the red feature wall along the front (where the order counter is) stands out. Speaking of the order counter, it is surprisingly rather small, tucked away in its own little box right in the middle of the restaurant. Ubiquitous white subway tiles adorn its enclosure.
As I wrote earlier, Back Yard Burgers had been on my radar for quite some time. While I know I could easily just do the history part of these posts and leave it at that, I always like to include a visit to an actual location as well, so that the posts have something "real" to focus on, if that makes sense. My plan was always to highlight the Batesville restaurant, especially since I wanted to see the results of its teardown and rebuild. Trouble is, despite passing by it anytime I go to and from Hernando, I never stop in Batesville, and certainly not to eat (not with the allure of home-cooked meals or familiar hometown restaurants awaiting me!). So ultimately, my opportunity to stop at the Batesville Back Yard Burgers finally came after a Mother's Day outing to a nearby flea market... where, alas, I wasn't hungry enough for a meal, and instead settled on a small cobbler of the day dessert (looks like apple).
Disappointing, I know. Well, not the cobbler -- that was phenomenal! But just the fact that I didn't get a full meal. Don't worry, though. Remember, back in 2019, Zap posted a write-up about his full Back Yard Burgers experience (and he was always a much better food writer than I am -- my best descriptors are usually just some variation of "good"). Plus, now that it seems the Southaven location may actually have remodeled, I'm going to try to make it a priority to finally check it out in addition to finally getting an actual meal from Back Yard Burgers after all these years. Oh, and I have it on good authority that a certain Floridian retail blogger may or may not have been to the remaining Altamonte Springs location, too. All of that to say, this certainly isn't the last you'll be seeing or hearing of Back Yard Burgers here on the blog...
While I may not have gotten a namesake burger myself, the restaurant certainly was churning them out. It was much more obvious in person, but I think the above pic did the best of any of my images at capturing some of the smoke wafting throughout the dining room (hopefully you can kind of see it here, intermingled with the sunlight streaming in through the windows). The burgers were being prepared over open flames, smoke and all, exactly as advertised.
Just a couple more pics from the dining room before we head back outside for a closer look at the restaurant's exterior. While it looks deserted in my photos, there were some other customers here and there during my short time in the place, as well as the drive-thru crowd. Plus, while I can't speak to how busy or not busy it usually is, I will say that early evening on Mother's Day probably isn't the most popular time in the world for a fast food restaurant.
The patio trellis design we saw inside is echoed here at the front of the restaurant, with a literal patio trellis (complete with actual seating here in Batesville, unlike what we saw in Madison!). It's nothing too big or extravagant, but it's also more than most fast food chains offer these days. Then again, Back Yard Burgers tended to position themselves in a bit of an in-between spot, not quite fast food but not quite full-service, either. Articles I've seen dub them as pioneers in the "better-burger" space, occupied nowadays by chains such as Five Guys.
At last, here are some close-ups of the building's front facade. What do y'all think of the design? I really like it! As with seemingly any retail building these days, yes, it's boxy; but it's actually got some color in there, too (and that particular shade of blue is rather unique among the options present at current stores and restaurants, to boot). The overall structure bears similarities to the chain's previous restaurant architecture, while most importantly, the heavy, unconventional use of siding as a retail building material undoubtedly evokes a home backyard environment.
Now that you've seen Batesville's exterior, it's easier to compare the Old Canton remodel in Jackson. There, the paint scheme is identical, but there's definitely a noticeable difference between using siding vs. stucco as the main building material. On the other hand, the siding was carried forward in remodels elsewhere, such as Meridian; but on brick buildings like that one, I feel like the end effect was considerably less aesthetically pleasing.
Around back, I took pictures of the drive-thru menu boards, just as I had in Jackson the week prior. The menu design is a bit no-frills, but by the same token, being simple to understand is never a bad thing (looking at you, Taco Bell menu boards!). If you look closely at all the options, you'll see that there are more than just "regular" burgers without going too crazy or overboard; for instance, I'm intrigued by the turkey burger and the black bean burger, because if any place has a chance to make a good one of those, I'd bet it's the place that promotes its burgers as tasting like they were freshly grilled in the backyard. I've also seen in multiple places online major compliments for the Hawaiian Chicken.
Here are some pictures of the back of the restaurant, also featuring the high-rise road sign visible from I-55 in the distance. The design kinda craps out back here, but such is any retail building, I suppose.
Another look at the large flame icon on the right-hand side of the building, before exiting the parking lot (where we find a new logo exit sign waiting for us). Again, I'll be very curious to see if the Southaven location has remodeled, and if so how many of these design elements it has adopted. That said, for documentation's sake I probably should have visited it beforehand, too...
Last up from Batesville, here are a few last parting shots of the restaurant, as we circled past it on our way back to Hwy 6. I'm a bit surprised that there's no logo on the left-hand (drive-thru) side of the building to attract drivers coming from Oxford, but then again the roadside sign is plainly visible from that direction. Also, per Google Street View, there wasn't even a logo on the front of the building before, so this is still an improvement!
Naturally, me being me, I held onto some memorabilia from the restaurant, namely the paper bag my cobbler came in and the to-go menu available at the order counter, both featuring the chain's new logo (albeit dated 2021). Notice, on the back of the menu, a picture of a Back Yard Burgers with a very strange, plain-looking text logo: that's one of the North Carolina locations, mentioned earlier as featuring yet another of the prototypes before the option seen in Batesville was settled on as the go-forward design. Personally, after seeing those other designs, I'm very happy with the one they ultimately went with!
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That concludes this post, but as I said, there will definitely be more Back Yard Burgers content to follow up with in the future. I'll also be interested to keep an eye out overall, and see whether the chain manages to expand again or whether it shrinks further into oblivion. If you have any Back Yard Burgers memories to share, please feel free to do so in the comments below or via email at midsouthretailblog [at] gmail [dot] com. Until next time and as always, thanks for reading, and have fun exploring the retail world wherever you are!
Retail Retell
