At 5 p.m. on a Wednesday this November, the Cougar Nation Coaches Show starts at Backwater Grill Taphouse & Oyster Bar, 2643 Spillway Road. Trivia follows at 6:30 and runs until 9. Over at 1927 Spillway Road, the wood-fired oven at Azariah's is cold, because Wednesday is one of the two days the pizzeria closes.
The two schedules fit together. Azariah's closes on Backwater's busiest programmed night, and from Monday through Saturday, every night Backwater's calendar leaves empty is a night Azariah's stays open. Now that the pizza truck has a permanent address, someone living in Palisades on the Reservoir or near Lakeshore Park can get through most of a week on one road.
The truck that found a front door
The Clarion Ledger reported on September 11, 2026 that Azariah's Wood Fired Pizza had opened in Brandon after moving from a food truck into a permanent storefront at 1927 Spillway Road. The paper described a locally owned spot serving dine-in, pickup and delivery, with handcrafted pizzas, calzones, cheese bread and desserts.
For people nearby, the move matters most because a truck is somewhere for a day and a storefront keeps posted hours. According to Azariah's online ordering page, the week looks like this:
- Monday and Tuesday: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Wednesday: closed
- Thursday through Saturday: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Sunday: closed
The same page describes the place in its own words: "Azariah's is a privately owned woodfired Pizzaria! We love Jesus and we love people!!" The menu has the same personality. The Gentile comes with ranch, mozzarella, pepperoni, chicken and bacon. The Pontius Pilate is built on a BBQ base with mozzarella, chicken, bacon, pineapple and jalapeños, then finished with a BBQ drizzle. You can order either one as a pizza or as a calzone, which makes one order work for a table that can't agree.
The ordering page also notes a 3% surcharge on credit card payments, so pay another way if you'd rather skip it.
Wednesday and Thursday belong to Backwater
Backwater Grill bills itself on its own homepage as family-friendly and "nestled by the reservoir." The menu covers Gulf seafood, oysters, po'boys, burgers and gumbo. Its weekly programming is heaviest on the two nights that bracket Azariah's day off.
Backwater's events calendar lists the Cougar Nation Coaches Show from 5 to 6 p.m. on Wednesdays, hosted by Derrel Palmer, whom the restaurant calls "the voice of the Cougars." Trivia Night follows from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Thursdays bring Karaoke Night from 6 to 9 p.m. The calendar keeps that rhythm through the holidays. It shows the coaches show and trivia on Wednesday, December 2, and karaoke on Thursday, December 3.
On a Wednesday, then, the Spillway Road answer is Backwater without anyone having to decide. Thursday is the one weeknight when both are open, with Azariah's serving until 9 and karaoke running at Backwater until the same hour. That gives Thursday a choice between a quiet pizza pickup and a louder table down the road.
The week, laid out
Put the two schedules side by side for November and the pattern is easy to see. The table uses Azariah's posted hours and the events on Backwater's calendar. Backwater's full daily hours aren't on the calendar, so the right-hand column shows only its scheduled events.
| Night | Azariah's Wood Fired Pizza, 1927 Spillway Rd | Backwater Grill events, 2643 Spillway Rd |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. | No scheduled event |
| Tuesday | Open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. | No scheduled event |
| Wednesday | Closed | Coaches Show 5 to 6 p.m., Trivia 6:30 to 9 p.m. |
| Thursday | Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. | Karaoke 6 to 9 p.m. |
| Friday | Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. | No scheduled event |
| Saturday | Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. | No scheduled event |
| Sunday | Closed | No scheduled event |
Mondays and Tuesdays close earliest, with the oven shutting down at 8. On those nights, an order placed on the drive home from work goes further than one placed after homework is done. Friday and Saturday give an extra hour.
Sunday is a Spillway Circle night
Sunday is the gap. Azariah's is closed, and Backwater's calendar has nothing scheduled. The everyday anchor sits just off the main road. State health department records list deli, bakery and seafood permits for the Kroger at 1070 Spillway Circle. With a deli counter, a bakery case and a seafood counter in one stop, Sunday dinner can still come from Spillway Road. It just comes home in a bag.
With Azariah's in place, a week of meals near Palisades breaks down simply. Pizza covers four nights plus Thursday, Backwater takes Wednesday, and Kroger fills Sunday. You can plan most of the week without heading toward Lakeland Drive.
When the week leaves Spillway Road
Between now and the end of December, a few dates pull the routine into Brandon proper and over to Flowood. They fall on days that work with the Spillway Road schedule above.
Saturday mornings in Brandon. The City of Brandon lists the Genuine MS Farmer's Market at the Brandon Amphitheater, 8190 Rock Way, on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon. The city's events calendar shows market dates on November 7, 14, 21 and 28 and December 5. The market closes at noon and Azariah's is open until 9 on Saturdays, so the morning and evening don't compete.
November 21 in Brandon. The city's Christmas Tree Lighting is listed for Saturday, November 21, the same day as one of the market Saturdays. The listing doesn't give a time or venue yet, so check the city's page that week.
December 3 in Flowood. The Chamber of Flowood & Visitor Center's Chili Cook-Off & Grand Lighting of Winner's Circle Park runs from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at 100 Winner's Circle Drive. Flowood's listing promises the park lighting, live music, cocoa, a Trail of Trees and the chili competition. The Eventbrite listing has the same date and hours, Thursday, December 3. That's a karaoke night at Backwater, and the Flowood event ends at 8, an hour before Azariah's closes. A chili-only dinner in Flowood still leaves time for a pizza on the way home.
December 19 in Brandon. The City of Brandon's 2026 Mayor's Youth Council Christmas Parade is set for Saturday, December 19, at 7 p.m., with the theme "Christmas Lights with Stars & Stripes." The city says it will release the route map later.
Backwater's calendar already lists a New Year's Eve event for Thursday, December 31, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Hours like those suit a family dinner earlier in the evening.
If you're in Palisades on the Reservoir and wondering how having a pizza oven, a trivia night and a grocery counter on Spillway Road figures into your home's value, Cindy Johnston knows this side of the Rez well. Get your instant home valuation, then call Cindy to talk through the local details behind the number.
