In 1989, Martin Davidson, a New York native and a graduate of the
American Academy of Dramatic Arts, directed a film which focused on
race and society in the 1950s. Previously, Davidson had won acclaim
for directing the 1972 film The Lords of Flatbush. Heart of Dixie starred
Ally Sheedy, Virginia Madsen and Phoebe Cates. Set in Alabama, the plot
centered on Southern belle Maggie DeLoach (played by Ally Sheedy) and her
sorority sisters at a fictional university who begin to sense the changing
social order and their place in the “new” South. Released in August 1989, Heart
of Dixie generated generally good reviews. For example, the New York Times
found the film to be a “clear-eyed, funny and affecting movie.” Others thought
it lacked focus (and some, not surprisingly, found the “Southern” accents to be a bit much). Unlike the New York Times, a reviewer at The Washington Post hated it. "Ally Sheedy, Virginia Madsen and Phoebe Cates combine their negligible talents in Heart of Dixie," the Times wrote, "a melodrama so full of hams, it oinks." On the whole, though, Heart of Dixie was fairly well received, though it
certainly did not win any awards. 
The screenplay for Heart of Dixie was based on a book by author Anne
Rivers Siddons (right) titled Heartbreak Hotel, published in 1976. The book was
Siddons’ first novel and was based on her real-life experience at Auburn
University. At Auburn (then officially known as Alabama Polytechnic Institute), she was a member of the Delta Delta Delta Sorority and
(no doubt) enjoyed her time there. However, she was
also a bit of a “rebel” on campus, at least as far as race was concerned. As a
columnist for the student newspaper, The Auburn Plainsman, she was outspoken in favor of integration. The administration at
Auburn tried to suppress her column and ultimately removed her from the paper,
but the incident drew national attention. After graduation in 1958, she became
a senior editor for Atlanta magazine and published her first book in 1974. Another novel, The House Next Door, was made into a Lifetime television movie in 2006. A horror story, The House Next Door was praised by none other than Stephen King. Siddons continues to write, most recently
publishing Sweetwater Creek in 2005, set in the low country of South Carolina. 
Although the movie Heart of Dixie was set on the fictional Randolph
University campus in Alabama, many of the film locations were in Mississippi,
most notably on the campus of the University of Mississippi and in and around
Oxford. Among the movie locations was an old gas station about a mile from the
Ole Miss campus which was converted for the film to a 1950s diner. After the
filming had been completed, a local dentist named Don Newcomb (left) purchased the
property. A native of Ripley, Mississippi, Newcomb had worked as a teenager at
a soda fountain in his hometown before attending school at Ole Miss, where he earned
a degree in dentistry. After serving in the U.S. Navy, Newcomb established his
dental practice in Oxford, but he was also involved in other buisness interests, including a couple of local
restaurant franchise operations. In 1987, when Heart of Dixie was filmed, Dr.
Newcomb saw an opportunity to start his own restaurant in the converted gas
station and two years later, along with his office manager, Debra Bryson, and
two sons, Newcomb opened the 'Chequers' restaurant. The name was too much like
the 'Checkers' restaurant chain, however, so Newcomb changed the name in honor of his wife's parents. He called it McAlister's.
McAlister’s Deli was a instant hit with Ole Miss students and became a
popular local eatery. Featuring a more upscale version of fast food and focusing on sandwiches
and salads (but known especially its sweet tea), the restaurant retained many
features of the original gas station. In 1992, Newcomb opened a second store in
another college town, Hattiesburg, and a year later added another one in Tupelo, where
there was a branch Ole Miss campus. In 1995, the Tupelo store became the first
franchise McAlister's location (opened by a doctor from Oxford and a businessman from New Albany). Three years
later, the company was purchased and became the McAlister's Corporation and
moved its headquarters to Ridgeland. Since then, McAlister's has
grown to more than 300 locations in 23 states, ranging as far west as New
Mexico and as far north as Indiana. The restaurant has also expanded into the
college food service market and into shopping mall food courts. The prototype of the smaller-sized
McAlister's Select was opened in Ridgeland's Northpark Mall in 2002. Although
Dr. Newcomb and son Chris Newcomb remained with the corporation for a number of years,
they have since left to pursue other opportunities, including Newks Eatery,
founded in 2004 by the Newcombs and Debra Bryson. After opening the first
Newk's in Oxford, the chain has since expanded to almost thirty locations across
the South.
From from its origin in an abandoned gas station in the "heart of
Dixie," McAlister's Deli has proven to be a huge success. Based on that
success, there is no reason to think Newk's won't be just as popular.
PHOTO AND IMAGE SOURCES:
(1) Heart of Dixie: http://en.wikipedia.org
(2) Siddons: http://alabamaliterarymap.lib.ua.edu
(3) Don Newcomb: http://newks.com
(4) McAlister's: http://jackson.metromix.com
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