Accidental Celebrity: Stafford Shurden of Drew, Mississippi

• Move over, Archie. You may have to share a “Welcome to Drew” billboard with Stafford Shurden very soon.

Stafford Shurden’s resume in itself will arouse your curiosity and have you perusing the first pages of his recent book, Meet and Three. A play on words between “meat” and “meet” makes perfect sense in this memoir.

The farmer, restaurateur, retired judge, podcaster, connoisseur, and reviewer of gas station cuisine can now add “author” to his list of accomplishments. 

Between his homespun “Stafford-isms” and his authentic personal stories of being forced to reinvent himself numerous times in the face of natural disasters, life’s detours, and a few calamities created by his own hand, deep life lessons emerge with humor, tears, vintage memories, and a resilient spirit that looks to the future.

Move over, Archie. You may have to share a “Welcome to Drew” billboard with Stafford Shurden very soon.

Stafford (52) grew up on his family’s cotton farm on Highway 49 between Drew and Parchman. Riding four-wheelers through the woods, hunting ducks, driving a tractor years before he was licensed to drive a car — these are the rich memories of his Delta childhood in the 1980s.

It was Mayberry, but better.

Mentors, much like the ones straight out of a Willie Morris autobiographical account, fill Stafford’s past. His granddaddy and his father had grown cotton, and from his earliest years, Stafford planned to follow in their footsteps. He would be a “gentleman planter,” a label that carried respect and status in the Delta. However, a changing cultural landscape intervened, erasing that opportunity.

The musician philosopher John Lennon famously said, “Life is what happens when you are making other plans,” and such has been the case for Stafford Shurden from the moment he took his first breath.

The glory days of “King Cotton” in the Delta were dying a painful death as he was growing up. The writing was on the wall as early as 1949, when the federal government began encouraging farmers to grow more grain. The Freedom to Farm Act of 1996 restructured the way cotton farmers operated. Costs for farm equipment skyrocketed as technology transformed everything, creating a new obstacle for an unskilled labor force. From the way human beings put the seeds in the ground to the way the final product was harvested, the changes and the challenges were epic. The cotton fields that had completely framed the Delta landscape for generations were replaced by miles of farmland covered in soybeans, rice, and corn. If farmers wanted to participate in the federal programs, they had to get on board.

Later federal legislation, like the 2002 Farm Security and Rural Investment Act, worked against family farms like the Shurdens’ by favoring large operations, rewarding size over stewardship. Low prices, rising land costs, and a subsidy system difficult to access squeezed out many Delta farms and weakened rural communities like Drew, which dotted the flatlands of Mississippi.

Stafford’s dad retired in 1999, and from that point forward, Stafford farmed for himself, planting less and less cotton and more and more soybeans. His loyalty to his hometown and a desire to preserving its nurturing spirit prompted the young man to get involved with the Chamber of Commerce. Even as he struggled to adapt his farm operation to the agricultural revolution around him, he made the audacious decision to open a restaurant in the shrinking downtown of Drew.

One of his oft-repeated “Stafford-isms” is, “If it’s meant to be, it’s up to me.” Stafford saw it as a community investment, something the citizens of Drew needed. The process was a three-year journey, and it can be described as the ultimate DIY project. Nevertheless, the original “Main Street Deli & Gifts” opened in May 2005. Very quickly, Stafford and his wife, Lesley, discovered that there was more to running a restaurant than having great food. The weak links in the chain were glaring in a chaotic lack of efficient flow and systems.

Stafford had no fallback plan, and so with his typical pluck and ingenuity, he says he just had to “figure it out on the fly.” With blood, sweat, and tears, he did, but the stress of impending financial doom loomed large for quite a while.

Nevertheless, that debacle was nothing like the soul-crushing Job-like challenges of 2006. In the space of twenty-four hours, Stafford’s best friend, mentor, and dad, “Bubba” Shurden, lost his battle with cancer, and a hailstorm completely destroyed his recently planted crop. He had lost everything, or so he thought.

In the middle of grief and financial ruin, Stafford says he had absolutely no choice but to plant again one day after burying his father again. The surprises kept coming as the Sunflower County Board of Supervisors persuaded Stafford to accept the justice court position that had been vacated by his dad’s death.

Stafford says, “Sometimes a man really doesn’t grow up till his daddy dies. So much was thrown on me when he died. His death put me into a corner where I realized I had to reinvent myself Again!”

What did young Stafford Shurden know about being a county judge? Less than nothing, but when has that ever slowed him down in a clutch situation? He would do as he had always done. He would “figure it out.” He stayed in the job for 14 years, was re-elected three times, the last time with 85% of the total votes cast.

The idea for Stafford’s now-famous “Gas Station Tailgate Review” began before he retired from his justice post. He posted his first video on a whim thirty days after leaving the bench. He was standing in the parking lot of the Double Quick in Indianola. It was rough and unprofessional, yet absolutely sincere, and people loved it, shared it, and a side hustle began.

Stafford was a natural at social media as a marketing tool. His restaurant, now named “Stafford’s Market & Deli” had benefited from his authentic brand of online conversation and video. In 2025, Stafford’s Market won the “Best Fried Chicken in Mississippi” and the “Best Blue Plate” in Mississippi Magazine’s “Best of the Best” competition.

When Stafford chose not to run for office again, he had already considered what, in retirement from the bench, might fill the time gap in his days. He had two guiding principles in his search:

1. Don’t lie.

2. Be careful what I post because my grandchildren will see it one day.

With his characteristic humor, he is dead serious, explaining, “I know videos will be around after I’m gone, so they are part of my legacy. I don’t want my kids or grandkids to be offended by anything I said on social media. I figured gas station reviews won’t embarrass them. They might even be entertained by them.”

Six years and more than a thousand videos later, Stafford has at least 60,000 followers growing Daily. Meanwhile, back at Stafford’s Market & Deli, he hosts a monthly event, “Success Supper Club,” where he brings in successful entrepreneurs who give their best encouragement and advice to small business owners and aspiring wannabes. The event and food and beverages are free. There is standing room only.

As Stafford reasons, “I don’t believe you can build up rural entrepreneurship without building up rural entrepreneurs!” Success Supper Club is a vehicle with a mission.

His entertaining “Gas Station Tailgate Reviews” are rarely without a few “Stafford-isms” that carry a bit of timeless wisdom. His “Live life with passion” is a staple. Another one is “The secret to life is there ain’t no secret.”

The winsome, charismatic country boy developed a huge following, getting at least ten or twelve suggestions a day through social media, telling of five-star gas station cuisine. He has also developed a relationship with the National Association of Convenience Stores, a tremendous resource and guide.

What started as a side hustle for fun has mushroomed. Stafford’s gas station food reviews expanded across state lines to Louisiana and Tennessee. He has scheduled stops in Georgia and North Carolina for the future.

Although he never announces his arrival at a convenience store, his growing presence on social media is making it harder to travel incognito. With 100,000 current followers across Instagram and other platforms, his two million monthly reviews have earned him celebrity status as a likeable good ole boy from Drew.

Follow him on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, X, and YouTube.