Alicia Wilson starts her day early, lighting a grill full of coals and wood chips and throwing on a rack of ribs and a pot of beans.

But this isn’t just anybody’s backyard barbecue.

Wilson recently opened The Smoke House Grill, a to-go restaurant that focuses on grilled meats and vegetables located at the corner of Franklin Street and Auburn Avenue.

“Everything we have is grilled,” Wilson said. “It’s just like the doctor ordered — no deep frying.”

The offerings at the music-themed shop include — among many others, ribs, sausages, seafood and grilled vegetables including broccoli, squash, zucchini and carrots.

“If it can be grilled, we grill it,” Wilson said.

The grill wasn’t her first choice for a restaurant, Wilson said, but as she has gotten into the groove of operations she has come to enjoy it more and more.

“I have grilled some at home before, but not at the level that I do here,” she said.

Wilson’s first choice was to reincarnate her previous Natchez restaurants, Soul Heaven and Southern Blend, under a new name.

Originally located on Fourth Street and then moved to downtown Pearl Street, Soul Heaven was a typical soul food restaurant that offered Southern-style cooking, including plenty of deep-fried foods.

In 2012, Wilson acquired Southern Blend and moved her business to the former East China building on U.S. 61 North near its intersection with D’Evereux Drive.

“It wasn’t too long before the construction on the new overpass put me out of business,” she said. “People couldn’t even know how to get to my business.”

Wilson tried moving to another location further up the highway, but it was small and wasn’t conducive to business.

She finally packed her cooking supplies into storage and found other work.

But in May she got a call from the owner of The Smoke House Grill’s building. Wilson had originally tried to get the location for Soul Heaven in 2008, and the owner wanted to know if she was still interested in the location.

She was, and Wilson got her restaraunt supplies out of storage.

The only problem was the fire marshal said she needed to install a large vent hood, and that was out of range for her budget.

The barbecue pit had already featured in her plans for the new location, so Wilson adjusted accordingly.

“As long as I was cooking everything on the barbecue pit, I would pass the code,” she said. “It was hard to adjust the menu at first, but it is working out well, and it is a hit here.”

Though the business is take-out, Wilson has one table inside and another table outside the front door at which customers can sit.

The interior is decorated with records and photos of famous blues, rhythm and blues and soul singers. The likenesses of Robert Johnson, Dr. John, Elvis Presley and B.B. King adorn the walls.

“I like the old-time blues singers,” Wilson said. “That was what I had at Southern Blend, but I wanted to add in more styles of music and some of the newer singers.”

Wilson said once hunting season starts, she will begin offering breakfast items including grits, eggs, bacon, pancakes, sausage and omelets at 7 a.m.

The Smoke House Grill is open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

It can be reached by phone at 601-442-4700. Those who are short on time should call ahead for their orders, Wilson said.