Blue Front Cafe
The Blue Front Cafe opened in 1948, making it the oldest juke joint in Mississippi in continuous operation. The cafe' was owned by Carey and Mary Holmes, an African American couple from Bentonia. In its heyday, the Blue Front was famed for its buffalo fish, blues, and moonshine whiskey. One of the couple’s sons, Bentonia blues legend Jimmy "Duck" Holmes, took over the Café in 1970 and continues to operate it today. The Cafe is the center of the famed Bentonia School, a style of blues unique to the area and made famous in the 1960s by Nehemiah "Skip" James.
107 W Railroad Ave / Bentonia, MS
