ST. FRANCISVILLE - Downtown St. Francisville has been expanding and becoming more focused on local business owners throughout the years, with one business doubling as a pizza restaurant and speakeasy.

One of these businesses is Big River Pizza Company, which opened last April.

Big River serves more than pizza, however. The pizzeria also has Proud Mary’s in the back, a bar paying tribute to prohibition-style speakeasy bars. Owner Lizzie Moss says the bar also pays homage to New Orleans.

“My way of taking a little bit of New Orleans and bringing it to the country,” Moss said.

Moss and her husband, Morgan, own two restaurants in the St. Francisville area: 1796 at the Myrtles and Big River.

As they prepared to open for Big River, Moss decided that they were not going to have a large cafeteria-style restaurant. They broke it up into thirds: dining, kitchen and bar.

“We didn’t walk in thinking we were gonna do a speakeasy, but the building lends itself to a speakeasy,” Moss said.

If you are looking to enter Proud Mary's, in speakeasy fashion, you have to walk through a door hidden in an armoire.

Proud Mary’s is open Wednesday through Saturday from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. Big River is open Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Each month, Big River also has a new specialty pie, as well as a $12 pizza special every weekday.