Video segment to feature SweetPea’s Table

Photo: SweetPea’s Table owner Amy Hughes helps prepare food in her restaurant’s kitchen Tuesday morning. (Bob Bakken/desotocountynews.com)

OLIVE BRANCH, Miss. — The cameras were rolling Tuesday at SweetPea’s Table as a national traveling web series called “America’s Best Restaurants” stopped in Olive Branch to shine a spotlight on the popular local eatery.

“America’s Best Restaurants” (ABR) is a roadshow dedicated to highlighting independently owned and operated restaurants across the country. Host Theo Williams and his crew spent the day filming the creation of signature dishes and interviewing owner Amy Hughes and others about the restaurant’s deep ties to the community.

While the show focuses on food, Williams noted that the selection process looks for ingredients that go beyond the menu.

“Obviously, restaurants are a key ingredient because we’re talking about restaurants… but ‘America’s Best Restaurants’ is more than just food,” Williams said. “We highlight what makes this restaurant special. It’s not just the food… it’s the people that make the restaurant special and the community that they serve.”

For Hughes, the road to being featured began with a phone call she initially dismissed.

“I’m still in shock and awe,” Hughes said. “We got a phone call from them several months ago, and at first I thought it was a scam, so I didn’t return the call.”

After doing some research and realizing the show was legitimate, Hughes returned the call. She learned that a loyal patron—whose identity remains unknown to her—had nominated Sweetpea’s Table. After an interview process, ABR confirmed the restaurant was a perfect fit.

The production crew filmed the preparation and plating of three dishes, capturing the process from the early stages in the kitchen to the final presentation. However, the segment also focuses heavily on the atmosphere Hughes and her family have cultivated over nearly 18 years of business in Olive Branch, the last seven and a half in their current location.

“We opened this restaurant just wanting to share good food and good hospitality,” Hughes said. “That’s what we want to highlight, is that this is a place where friends gather and share good food and have a good time.”

Hughes emphasized that the support of the Olive Branch community allows her business to give back, noting initiatives like their annual Angel Tree which helps children in DeSoto County during Christmas.

Williams, who has traveled to every state in the continental U.S. except the Dakotas since joining ABR in May 2023, described Sweetpea’s as a place that offers “generational memories.”

The completed episode is expected to premiere on the SweetPea’s Table Facebook page this spring. While an exact date has not been set, Williams estimated the segment would likely air in the spring.