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Signs of life are emerging in the Miss-Lou despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Church Hill Variety restaurateurs, headed by John Norris and Tate Taylor, are forging ahead with plans to open The Depot restaurant on the bluff, Smoot’s on Broadway Street and Little Easy Café on High Street.

The businesses will create the Broadway Entertainment District, complete with food and entertainment for the whole family along the bluff.

While opening dates are still tentative, the organizers, including Executive Chef Nick Wallace, said they plan some light menu events in October associated with Natchez Balloon Festival events.

And, in case anyone was worried about whether tourists would return to Natchez amid the COVID-19 pandemic, those fears were quelled on Saturday as some 200 bicyclists showed up for the Natchez Bicycle Classic, a fun ride event, sponsored by the Natchez Adams Chamber of Commerce Young Professionals group.

Most participants in Saturday’s event wore masks and socially distanced throughout the event and the success of that inaugural rebirth of a former tourism mainstay for Natchez bodes well for future tourism events even amid the pandemic.

Such outdoor gatherings can be done safely if organizers and participants practice COVID-19 safety measures of socially distancing and mask wearing.

Congratulations on last weekend’s success, and we are hopeful for more successful tourism events to come, including Natchez Fall Pilgrimage that begins this weekend, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.