Dede White: A Familiar Name With A New Flavor

Dede White: A Familiar  Name With A New Flavor

Dede White is a name people know in Water Valley. After all, he has lived here for the past 53 years. He is also not new to the business scene here in town, as patrons of D&D BBQ or “Dede’s This and That” are well aware. However, his new venture is fresh, much like the mouth-watering smell of fresh-cooked hamburgers wafting through his restaurant, Dede’s, located on Martin Street in the Old Taylor Grocery Building. 

Running a restaurant was not something White had planned, as his only experience in the food industry was helping his brother, who owned the former barbeque spot on Main Street. But after years of selling barbeque, often from his own front yard using the oven rack from his grandmother’s house, a friend of his suggested he open a restaurant. 

That friend’s name is Marsha, and she is now the manager at Dede’s, where the goal is to have an “old-fashioned country store,” with familiar favorites like handmade hamburgers, chicken strips, and catfish plates. The ingredients are high quality and the cooking style is “just like grandmomma and granddaddy used to do it.” 

White told me he is most excited about the restaurant because of the opportunity to interact with his customers, which he says are a combination of old friends and new. He is grateful to everyone who has stopped by and especially appreciates all of the promotion he has been given by word of mouth and on social media. 

“We are going through about 50 to 60 pounds of ground beef a day,” he reports. He loves working for himself and the opportunity to meet new people each day. 

Business seems steady at Dede’s as several people go in and out while we are talking. White knows and speaks to each one of them. But things have not always been so good for White. For almost 20 years he struggled with drug addiction and hit rock bottom. 

“I had no money and was facing up to seven years in prison, but the judge said he was going to give me a second chance…so I took that chance and ran with it!” White did not hesitate to tell his story and says he shares it every chance he gets so, hopefully, it can help others. 

“No one else could help me, I had to believe I could do it (overcoming addiction).” 

His message to young people is to stay in school and listen to the older people in your life with experience. Today, White is 49 months sober and loving every minute of life. 

When asked what he liked best about Water Valley, he said, “It’s a small town and I love the people.” 

He also loves the other food options around town, stating that Crawdad Hole is his favorite place to eat outside of his own restaurant, and that the owner, Justin Showah, is a good friend. Justin even named a menu item after him at the Crawdad Hole, “Dede’s plate,” which is a half-pound of shrimp, two potatoes, and two sausages. 

White also loves the breakfast menu at B.T.C. and says the best thing is the people of Water Valley get along and work together. “The business people support other businesses, which helps everybody,” he says. 

White hopes the success at Dede’s continues in the coming months. He would love to expand his current location and he thinks the small businesses in this town are helping it thrive. 

According to him people have come from Batesville, Oxford, and other neighboring areas to Water Valley because “someone told them they had to try my hamburgers.” 

Don’t get him wrong, there are difficult aspects of operating a restaurant, like managing a staff and the expenses, but White has lived in this town his whole life and he feels like he knows what people want. 

When I asked him what his favorite item on the menu was, he quickly responded, “an old-fashioned hamburger!” 

He invited me to come back later and bring my family, his treat. So I loaded up Robin and the girls and we went to see if the stories were true. 

Short answer…they are! The service was friendly, the company was warm and inviting, and as for the food, let’s just say I took Dede on his word and ordered the cheeseburger, and just like he and so many others have said, it was delicious! Dede White is a name people know in Water Valley, but as he says, “I’m just a country boy trying to make it!”