Downsizing during retirement takes different forms for different people.
For Wanda Joiner, who has been in the restaurant and catering business for more than 50 years, reaching that milestone means transitioning from cooking for hundreds to preparing meals for one.
After serving her last meal at Wanda’s Catering, she has now transformed the building into a warehouse displaying 
hundreds of tablecloths, napkins and decorative items used in her business through the years. All are now for sale. The kitchen equipment, she said, was all bought by one individual earlier in her business-closing process.
Joiner said missing her friends will be a big adjustment.
“My work and being around people has been my first love and I will miss that,” she said.
She will also miss catering, including selecting appropriate decorations for weddings, birthday parties, anniversaries and other special occasions. Whatever the occasion, she has provided the food. She remembers when she served only punch and cake at weddings.
“Now, food for wedding receptions is elaborate,” she said. She said she still uses the lace tablecloth used at the first wedding she catered.
Before opening Wanda’s, she worked in Margie’s Dress Shop with the I.A. Ferrell Co. in Thomastown. It was while there she became interested in decorating, assisting her employer at her store.
Joiner’s first adventure in business came when she opened an antique shop and restaurant in Durant, which she operated for several years before moving to Kosciusko to serve meals at the restaurant most will remember as The Place for Fish.
Business was also once located on on West Jefferson Street across from the fire department, where she served Sunday lunch and hosted special occasions. That building also served as a warehouse for her catering equipment.
“I have always tried to do my best and make sure my customers got their money’s worth,” Joiner said. The largest group she has fed was 750 at a campers’ retreat. Whether it was multiple hundreds or 150-200 on a Sunday, she said she tried to honor that policy.
Joiner delighted in the food she prepared and the unusual decorations customers were treated to with each visit. Whatever the season, the décor would be reflected. Vintage items taken from her antique collection were always included.
In retirement, she will occasionally offer special orders from her home and honor the commitments she made before announcing her retirement.
Joiner said she appreciates and treasures the friendships made through the years with some spanning three generations in a family.
