Heir to Leatha’s barbecue dynasty dies

Connoisseurs of Southern comfort foods are mourning the death Bonnie Jackson, 57, who ran Leatha’s Bar-B-Que Inn. She died of a massive heart attack on Tuesday, a family member said.

“She was a great friend and a top-notch restaurant operator,” said Hattiesburg restaurateur Robert St. John. “Some people looked at Leatha’s and just saw a shack and she really made it a great place to eat. They take care of family, friends and community, and Bonnie carried on that tradition. She was dedicated to her family and ran a good business.”

Leatha’s Bar-B-Que Inn is located on U.S. 98 and is known as a Hattiesburg staple. Visitors of the restaurant come from far and wide, traveling from as far as Washington or New York to get a bit of the barbecue.

Leatha’s was featured on an episode of “Man Food Fire” on the Cooking Channel for the amazing ribs, and it is one of the stops on the Mississippi Culinary Trail on VisitMississippi. org.

ABC Television host Dan Vega also stopped by in 2013 to get a plate of his own. The likes of Drew Brees, Christian Slater, Matt Lauer, B.B. King, Jason Campbell, Steve McNair, Jerry Clower, Gerald McRaney and Delta Burke have had the pleasure of dining on Leatha’s barbecue.

“Leatha’s is incredibly hard to find, but well worth the search once you do,” said Alison Murphy of Mens Journal. “Its location isn’t the only thing Leatha’s keeps under wraps, though — its secret sauce draws barbecue devotees from every state around for being the perfect mix of tangy and sweet.”

Jackson took over the business in 2009 after a stroke forced her mother, Leatha Jackson, out of the restaurant business. Leatha Jackson started her restaurant in Foxworth in the 1970s. Word-of-mouth raves induced people from around the Pine Belt to seek it out. Jackson relocated to Hattiesburg in 2000. She died in 2013.

“I remember once I was eating there in a party of 30 and Bonnie took all of the orders without writing any of them down,” St. John said. “When she repeated them all back without one mistake, she received a standing ovation.”

People who have worked with Jackson and her family had nothing but fond memories of the experience.

“I was in business with the Jackson family for seven years starting in 2000,” said John Neal, owner of the Keg & Barrel and The Neal House. Neal helped Leatha open her famous restaurant in Hattiesburg.

“Bonnie was a wonderful person. She always had a smile on her face when greeting her customers. Her enthusiasm for life was contagious. She was extremely proud of the over 40 years Leatha’s Bar-B-Que has been one of the most well-known restaurants in the Southeast.”

Family members, who will continue to run Leatha’s, said dealing with the loss is tough.

“Leatha has two other children, Carolyn Stepny and Ive Ville Dickham,” said Jackson’s niece, Katrina Morgan. “They will be taking things over now. She would have wanted it that way.”

However, moving on will be difficult for those whose lives Bonnie Jackson touched.

“It was a pleasure to work side by side with Bonnie and her family,” Neal said. “She will be sorely missed.”