Pine Belt restaurants preparing to serve ‘good luck’ lunches on New Year’s Day

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WDAM) - Some Pine Belt restaurants are preparing to serve special traditional meals on New Year’s Day that include black-eyed peas and cabbage.

Those foods, along with other favorites like greens or cornbread, are supposed to bring luck in the new year.

Hattiesburg’s Gratefull Soul will open on Sunday, from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. and will served a lunch of black-eyed peas cabbage, pork chops, collard greens and cornbread.

“The tradition is that you eat this plate on New Year’s Day and it sets you up for the whole year to come and as always, we need a better next year probably, than this year,” said Grant Ford, co-owner and operator of Gratefull Soul.

Also, both of the Hub City locations of the Keg & Barrel will serve a “good luck” lunch that day, beginning at 11 a.m.

Keg & Barrel will add fried chicken and mashed potatoes to its plates of cabbage and black-eyed peas.

K&B will serve plates that day until the food runs out.

“It’s just a good way to kick off the new year, good food, good friends, good people, good drinks, just luck and fortune, I think we could all use a little bit of that,” said Shawn McDaniel, bar manager for the Keg & Barrel, 1315 Hardy Street.

Some say the pork served with these meals represents prosperity, while others say the cornbread stands for gold.

Want more WDAM 7 news in your inbox? Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.

Copyright 2022 WDAM. All rights reserved.