‘Meant to be.’ Waterfront restaurant planned for Henderson Point, the first since Katrina
Even before the second Marina Cantina opens in Ocean Springs, owner Thomas Genin has announced plans to build a third restaurant on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
The newest location is at Henderson Point, on a two-acre lot at the southwestern tip of Harrison County near Pass Christian with water on two sides. The lot has sat empty for 16 years after Pelican Cove Marina was destroyed during Hurricane Katrina.
The restaurant would be in the only commercial waterfront spot and would be the first to open in Henderson Point since Katrina, Genin said.
“I kind of have a sentimental attraction to this land,” said Genin, who owns Marina Cantina in Gulfport and four of The Blind Tiger restaurants on the Mississippi Coast and in Louisiana.
He’s had his eye on this property since he built his first restaurant in the Pass in 2007, he said.
He was kitchen manager for a time at Annie’s restaurant, which was right across the street from the marina.
He was a regular at Mallini’s Bar there, he said, before it also was swept away by Katrina.
He kept his boat at the marina and he and his girlfriend, now his wife, would take night cruises from there, he recalls.
He’s tried to buy the site two or three times, but he said the timing was never right.
“I think it’s meant to be,” he said. “We’re super excited about being able to make a restaurant happen on this piece of land,” he said, and to provide jobs for another 50 employees.
Waterfront site development
Genin met with the Henderson Point property owners association a couple of months ago to show them his plans.
The artist’s rendering is of Marina Cantina that he opened in Gulfport in 2020. He intends to use the same basic plan, with modifications for any requirements needed at the Henderson Point site.
It will take several more months of permitting on this choice site, he said, to get clearance from the county, Department of Marine Resources, FEMA and other agencies to rebuild there.
That part of Harrison County has seen a slow rebuild since Katrina.
A 2007 Community Plan for Henderson Point shows many people want to see the return of a marina and a restaurant. Genin said he’s had a lot of positive feedback and also assured homeowners he doesn’t plan loud music.
He does plan to break ground in 2022, he said, and is shooting for a grand opening in spring 2023.
What’s next for Marina Cantina
Crews will begin work by cleaning, landscaping and repairing the bulkhead and boat docks to get the marina operating, Genin said.
By next spring, he plans to rent kayaks, paddleboards and floating tiki bars to let people enjoy the site, he said, and sell ice and fishing supplies. He’s already got fishing charter boat owners who are interested in trips from the marina, he said.
Even before customers get to study the menu — a mix of Southwest and Central American-inspired flavors with Southern comfort food — they will be wowed by the views of the bay and sunsets at Marina Cantina at Henderson Point, Genin said.
“They’re as good as it gets,” he said.
Restaurants coming to Ocean Springs, other sites
The second Marina Cantina is under construction on U.S. 90 in Ocean Springs, where the former McElroy’s restaurant is being totally transformed inside and out, with a huge deck and bar overlooking the bayou.
Genin said he’s working to open in late October or November despite supply chain issues and delays while contractors are sick and personnel at permitting offices are backed up because of the coronavirus.
“Coronavirus put everybody in time out,” he said.
And he’s building two more waterfront restaurants — a Blind Tiger and a Marina Cantina — to open in 2022 at locations yet to be announced in central Mississippi.
This story was originally published August 25, 2021 at 5:50 AM.
