A new restaurant at the former Sun-n-Sand Motor Hotel in downtown Jackson says it will serve up comfort food in partnership with a state program that provides support to Mississippians who are legally blind.

Hen & Egg was founded by the Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration, the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services and Chef Nick Wallace. 

The old Sun-n-Sand is a midcentury modern structure that’s a short walk from the Capitol. The hotel operated from 1960 to 2001 and was a longtime gathering spot for state legislators and lobbyists, as well as civil rights activists. The Mississippi Department of Archives and History designated it a state landmark in 2020.

Hen & Egg opened to the public Tuesday with operating hours of 7 a.m.-7 p.m Monday through Friday and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sundays. The restaurant has an event space on the second floor.

Wallace, who was born and raised in Mississippi, has been featured on several cooking shows, such as “Chopped” and “Top Chef.” He runs Nissan Cafe in the Two Mississippi Museums in downtown Jackson, also in partnership with the Department of Rehabilitation Services. 

Wallace said when the department reached out three years ago to ask him to join the project at the old Sun-n-Sand, it was easy for him to agree. 

“They’re very honest people, and they just want the best for Mississippians,” he said Monday.

The restaurant is part of the Business Enterprise Program, which provides support and opportunities for Mississippians who are legally blind to become food service vendors. 

By state and federal law, vendors who are legally blind get priority to operate vending facilities in state-owned and federally-owned buildings.

Hen & Egg’s vendor is Eddie Turner, a Brandon resident who is also the vendor for the Roy M. Wheat Galley at Naval Air Station Meridian and the Micro Market at the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks.

Turner, who has been blind his entire life, credits the program with helping him and others make a living and be independent. 

“I just can’t say enough about it. It’s just a great program,” Turner said. “There’s a lot of blind people across the country that benefit from it.”

Dorothy Young is director of the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation for the Blind, which runs the Business Enterprise Program. Young said Hen & Egg was also the idea of the state Department of Finance and Administration.

“The Department of Finance and Administration … wanted to revitalize a lot of state agencies around downtown, and this was just one of the buildings that they invested in,” she said.

The Sun-n-Sand fell into disrepair in the years after it closed. The state bought the building in 2019, demolishing most of it to create a parking lot for state employees. After outcry from preservationists, the commercial part of the hotel was restored in 2021 and turned into a meeting and event space, and now the restaurant.