Coast restaurant owner is transforming McElroy’s. ‘Coolest outdoor bar I’ve ever done.’
The first location of Marina Cantina opened in Gulfport in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic and was an instant success as customers discovered its open-air, waterfront location and south-of-the-border menu.
This week, Thomas Genin launched renovations on the building that will house Marina Cantina 2, on the water in Ocean Springs.
What was McElroy’s on the Bayou, sitting along U.S. 90 just east of the Biloxi Bay Bridge, is getting “a total redo” inside and out.
Genin said the dining room windows looking out to the bayou are being replaced with glass doors.
“The whole building will open up on pretty weather days,” he said
A 6,000-square-foot deck on the back side of the building will be outfitted with cabanas, fire pits and a stage for live music, creating “the coolest outdoor bar I’ve ever done,” he said.
The former oyster bar will be outfitted with a grill. The menu basically will be the same as the Gulfport location, although the daily specials will differ.
Marina Cantina features fresh ingredients and the “unlikely mix of flavorful Southwest and Central American-inspired flavors combined with Southern comfort food,” or what Genin calls “Cabo San Lucas hits Mississippi.”
How long will the reno take?
Marina Cantina on Lorraine Road in Gulfport opened last fall in October 2020.
“My goal is to have Ocean Springs open around the first anniversary,” Genin said.
For those who drive there, the restaurant will have 120 parking spaces. Genin said he is in the permitting process to expand the docks to provide three times the boat parking he has in Gulfport, a 30-minute boat ride away.
“Marina Cantina is a concept and a brand that has really taken off,” he said. If lumber prices weren’t so high now, Genin said, he’d probably be building three more locations.
“This will be the seventh open-air restaurant that I own,” said Genin, who also operates The Blind Tiger restaurants on the Mississippi Coast. “Outdoor has never been more appealing,” he said.
What about McElroy’s?
Although his customers told him they wished there were a Marina Cantina in Ocean Springs “We didn’t seek out this deal,” Genin said.
Mickey McElroy, who owns the building in Ocean Springs, approached Genin’s landlord in Gulfport and even ate at Marina Cantina to see if the concept was right for his building.
McElroy will continue to operate his Harbor House restaurant a couple of miles away in Biloxi.
Genin said he will give the McElroy employees the first shot at jobs when the new restaurant opens, and the deal is finalized.
“He’s got a great handshake,” Genin said.
This story was originally published May 6, 2021 at 5:50 AM.
