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Crystal Grill in Greenwood Mississippi, founded in the 1920s as “The Elite,” has evolved through the years and was passed down through Ballas’ family. His uncle bought into the restaurant in the 1930s and held a contest to come up with the name Crystal Grill, which the restaurant has kept ever since. In the 1930s, the restaurant also went by Crystal Cafe before changing to Crystal Grill. Ballas’ father joined his uncle the same year Ballas was born in 1952. What started as a one-room café quickly grew to six rooms with nearly 250 seats.
“It got larger than life and quite an undertaking for any entrepreneur, but it has been a labor of love,” Ballas said. “We’ve had a lot of success and a lot of good times.”
Famous diners over the years have included talk show host Dick Cavett, boxer Max Baer, actors Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washington and Cecily Tyson, singer Marty Stewart and football quarterback Archie Manning. The restaurant received an outpouring of support and well wishes form its local diners, too, garnering over 1,000 Facebook comments to its post announcing the closure.
Tom Joynt © 1974 - 2025
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