Lumber & Liquidation
Serving Tunica Since April, 2023
By jennifer Minyard
P K. Miller and her husband Ed are no strangers to running a business. After successfully running the Levee Commissary for seven and a half years, they were ready for a break.
“After we sold the restaurant Ed was restless,” says Miller. “He wanted to open up something else, but less stressful because the restaurant business is very stressful. He’s always worked with wood all of his life, and he knew that there was a need for lumber in the Tunica area.”
A Little Off the Square Lumber & Liquidation Etc. opened in Tunica last April.
“The name of the company describes our location in town, and it also kind of describes us because we’re both ‘a little off the square,’” says Miller.
Ed, a native of Tunica, has enjoyed working with wood all of his life.
“His mother used to say that when he was little, she would give him a piece of wood and a hammer and a nail, and he would just sit and play for hours, and it’s just kind of been going on like that ever since,” says Miller. “He is just so knowledgeable, and that’s one of the things that is really helpful to customers. If you have a question, he can tell you what supplies you need and explain how the job needs to be done.”
The store has everything you need in the way of lumber plus they also have electrical, plumbing and gardening supplies. Miller also posts videos to their Facebook page, which also features daily posts.
“Lumber is our main thing, but we have also branched out and I’ve brought in garden supplies, plants and seeds, hanging baskets and ferns, and stuff like that into town which we didn’t have before,” she says. “I like the lumber, but I’m more interested in the gardening. In the fall, we have a lady here in town named Toni Cannon, and she grows gourds and pumpkins and brings them here and we sell them. It’s just wonderful.”
While Ed grew up in the Tunica area and P.K. is a transplant from Hollywood, Calif. but has has lived in Tunica for about twenty-five years.
“God brought me here with my first husband,” she says. “I came here sight unseen, and then my husband passed away, and I met this wonderful man. Isn’t that cool? I love it here. I would never move. This is one of the nicest little towns, just like Mayberry.”
Convenience for the community was a major factor in deciding to open a lumber company.
“We didn’t want people to have to drive all the way up to Southaven just to get a piece of plywood to put on a window that broke, and we’ve really done very, very well with it,” she says. “We’ve been accepted really well in town.”
In fact, that they are preparing to open a second location called L&L Lumber.
L&L Lumber will be located at 2251 Hwy. 61 N, while A Little Off the Square is located at 928 Delta St.
Nearly a year into their endeavor, the Millers are both pleased with their decision to go into the lumber business.
“We’re very happy with it. We’re older, I’m sixty-four and he’s going to be sixty this year,” she says. “I think we finally found our niche!” For more information, check out their Facebook page and their website, 82outlet.com.
