black & white photographs
by Rob Hammons
In June of 2002, Stephen and Regina LaVere purchased 222 Howard Street from the Bryan Family and
began the long arduous task of restoring the once-exquisite showplace to recapture and reflect the grandeur
of its age.
On October 1, 2004 a new restaurant and bakery opened at 222 Howard Street in Greenwood, Mississippi.
The restaurant was the Blue Parrot Cafe and offered “fine latin cuisine” - specialties from Cuba, Puerto Rico,
Mexico and Italy prepared by Regina LaVere - a superb and natural chef. The bakery was Veronica’s -
to the traveler or out-of-town visitor, offering both wireless and Ethernet DSL as well as electrical outlets for
use with laptop computers.
In addition to the Blue Parrot Cafe and Veronica’s, the second floor of the building was renovated to house
the Greenwood Blues Heritage Museum & Gallery which was moved from its original location next door and
which was expanded to include a local history room, and a radio museum (in honor of its former tenants
WGRM and WABG).
The Three Deuces location takes its name not only from its address (222 Howard Street), but is named so
in an effort to revive a tradition of excellence in the field of music presentation. The first great jazz listening
room was located at 222 N. State Street in Chicago in the 1930s and was called The Three Deuces. Its
house pianist was the great Art Tatum! The club and its entertainers became so popular and so well-known
that when the attention of the jazz world shifted to 52nd Street in New York City in the 1940s, it had its
Three Deuces, too.
The entire Three Deuces project was the brain child of Steve & Regina LaVere, who moved to the Delta
early in 2001 from Glendale, California. After a decade of cultivating friendships and developing business
relationships in Greenwood relative to The Robert Johnson Estate, for which Steve LaVere served as agent,
the original intention of the move was simply to develop a second home and a place to relax from the high
anxiety of Southern California. The calm was short-lived. In November 2001, the LaVeres opened the
Greenwood Blues Heritage Museum & Gallery . The following summer, with plans to expand the Museum,
they purchased the 2½ story building at 222 Howard Street and set about to renovate it in anticipation of the
move.
The LaVeres engaged Stuart Fincher, well-known for his innovative carpentry work in the field of restoration,
to undertake the preparation of the building for the venture. Two years of demolition and restoration has
yielded the building in its present state. Its notable accents include the lights in the pavers sidewalk highlighting
the period Chickasaw Iron Works columns and three pairs of 10-foot doors with 4-foot transoms all of
Spanish Cedar to the creative new interior: a bright happy color scheme offset by the natural brick of the old
walls, the innovative use as room dividers and functional cabinetry of 100-year-old fixtures (which the LaVeres
purchased from the former Donald Drug Store in Moorhead, Mississippi), the 14-foot ceiling all of original
beaded-board (one of the few remaining aspects of the lobby of Hotel Greenwood). A modern kitchen and
bakery has been engineered into the rear of the first floor and a studio apartment, conveniently connected
by a circular staircase has been built over the kitchen on the second floor for easy access by kitchen personnel.
began the long arduous task of restoring the once-
On October 1, 2004 a new restaurant and bakery opened at 222 Howard Street in Greenwood, Mississippi.
The restaurant was the Blue Parrot Cafe and offered “fine latin cuisine” -
to the traveler or out-
In addition to the Blue Parrot Cafe and Veronica’s, the second floor of the building was renovated to house
the Greenwood Blues Heritage Museum & Gallery which was moved from its original location next door and
which was expanded to include a local history room, and a radio museum (in honor of its former tenants
WGRM and WABG).
The Three Deuces location takes its name not only from its address (222 Howard Street), but is named so
in an effort to revive a tradition of excellence in the field of music presentation. The first great jazz listening
room was located at 222 N. State Street in Chicago in the 1930s and was called The Three Deuces. Its
house pianist was the great Art Tatum! The club and its entertainers became so popular and so well-
Three Deuces, too.
The entire Three Deuces project was the brain child of Steve & Regina LaVere, who moved to the Delta
early in 2001 from Glendale, California. After a decade of cultivating friendships and developing business
relationships in Greenwood relative to The Robert Johnson Estate, for which Steve LaVere served as agent,
the original intention of the move was simply to develop a second home and a place to relax from the high
anxiety of Southern California. The calm was short-
they purchased the 2½ story building at 222 Howard Street and set about to renovate it in anticipation of the
move.
The LaVeres engaged Stuart Fincher, well-
yielded the building in its present state. Its notable accents include the lights in the pavers sidewalk highlighting
the period Chickasaw Iron Works columns and three pairs of 10-
walls, the innovative use as room dividers and functional cabinetry of 100-
by a circular staircase has been built over the kitchen on the second floor for easy access by kitchen personnel.
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