Mrs. Hippie Eats opens in Hernando
“I’ll never have to cook again!” a passer-by exclaimed when she peeked in the new shop going in at 182 E. Center St. in Hernando.
Mrs. Hippie Eats is a new take-andbake shop by Heather Ries. The store opened April 9 in the space that was formerly the commissary kitchen for Area 51 Ice Cream.
“I want to help make dinner easier,” Ries said, “especially since people are eating at home more often now.”
Mrs. Hippie Eats has a wide selection of frozen casseroles and soups ready to thaw and reheat. Ries will also have a handful of fresh items, like chicken salad and pasta salad, for grab-and-go.
Much of her menu has a Mediterranean influence. Casseroles like lasagna, chicken gnocchi bake and spanakopita are designed to feed a family. She also has a selection of pot pies, including a Mississippi Pot Roast Pot Pie using a popular slow cooker pot roast recipe as the base of the filling. Soups include both vegetarian and vegan options.
“There a few places near us doing classic Southern casseroles,” she said. “I wanted to do something a little different.”
Ries will also offer a line of meal prep dishes. These are single-serving complete meals that include a meat, vegetable and a starch. Opening day, the selection included Pork Tenderloin with creamed Brussels sprouts and mashed sweet potatoes and Teriyaki Salmon with cauliflower rice and edamame.
Freshly baked breads and a handful of desserts (items like cookies and tiramisu) will be available on the weekends.
The 900-square-foot shop is for takeout only.
Many will recognize Ries from her days as the owner of Ladybugg Bakery. Ries opened the original Hernando location of Ladybugg Bakery in 2011, just around the corner from her newest venture.
“It’s literally just about 700 feet from the original bakery on Commerce Street,” she said, adding that this would have been the 10th anniversary of Ladybugg Bakery.
Ries sold Ladybugg Bakery in early 2020. The bakery reopened under the new ownership in late June, but closed three months later at the end of September.
Ries said her decision to sell her family bakery was a hard one, but it was a time for a change and a more familyfriendly schedule. During the quarantine of 2020, she started making online cooking videos and cooking for friends to keep herself busy. As demand for her services increased, she decided to create a new business concept.
“I found a small, manageable space. And for now it’s just me and Joey [her husband],” she said, adding that at Ladybugg she had a staff of 12 and an expensive rent.
Ries said Mrs. Hippie Eats will feature her own original recipes, but she wants customers to know this new shop will not be a copy of Ladybugg Bakery.
“I sold my recipes for Ladybugg. So while I will be making chicken salad for example, it will be a different recipe,” said Ries.
While she will offer a limited menu of freshly baked breads and desserts at Mrs. Hippee Eats, Ries won’t be making the cakes and cupcakes she was known for at Ladybugg Bakery.
Curious about the new shop’s name?
Say “Mrs. Hippie” all together and you will get her play on words. “With me being from Mississippi, I thought it was the perfect name,” Ries said.
Jennifer Chandler is the Food & Dining reporter at The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at jennifer.chandler@commercialappeal.com and you can follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @cookwjennifer.