(Clarksdale, MS) In the heart of the Mississippi Delta, fans, friends and the curious gather to buy and look at things that once belonged to Academy Award winning actor Morgan Freeman.
Carol Crivaro was one of the people in attendance.
“I think without Morgan Freeman the town wouldn’t be town that it is, and besides the blues thing that’s here, and he’s an icon,” Crivaro said.
11 years ago, Freeman, the movie icon & Mississippi resident, along with his business partner and friend, Bill Luckett, opened the doors to a restaurant in Clarksdale called Madidi’s.
“You’re putting your money, your heart and your soul into something and helping a downtown revitalize and all the people and friends and celebrities that we’ve had come through this restaurant, it’s just an amazing list of people,” Luckett said.
Instead of celebrities, an auctioneer is here on this day selling off much of the restaurant’s contents.
“Yes, it’s bittersweet. The closing night of the restaurant was the hardest to get over,” Luckett said.
Up for grabs are things such as chairs, dishes, glasses and walk-in coolers. Austin Jones is here to buy items for his new restaurant in town.
“I bought a lot of plateware, silverware, creamers, things of that nature and glassware,” Jones said.
As items here are auctioned off, many of the people in Clarksdale and the Mississippi Delta are thankful for the memories they say Luckett and Freeman gave them in Madidi’s.
“Everybody who comes to town wants to go his(Freeman’s) restaurant and they want to see him and meet him,” Crivaro said.
“Morgan and I were pretty much absentee owners. We were good customers and paid our own way, but you do something so long and we decided it was time to close it down,” Luckett said.
Freeman and Luckett still own Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, which they say attracts an international audience.