Coast restaurateur is opening new bar with unique design, easy food and sunset views
A new bar and restaurant called The Deck cuts a new silhouette on Pass Christian’s beachfront with its angled roof designed for coastal breezes over food and drinks.
“Our goal is to have that complete for Cruisin’ The Coast,” Jourdan Nicaud said of this latest venture of Nicaud Restaurant Group.
The 25th year of the antique and classic car show runs Oct. 3-10. As the largest event in Mississippi, brings in a crowd of cruisers and spectators, always looking for a new restaurant to try.
Those who stop by The Deck at 107 West Scenic Drive will find it’s all outside and it’s covered to take advantage of the water views and make it safer to gather.
Nicaud said fans and large heaters will keep it comfortable all year.
The casual beach architecture is matched by an equally casual taco and sandwich bar, along with draft beer and daiquiris — best enjoyed as the sun sets over the beach.
Biggest antiques mall on the way
His company owns Bacchus, Fill-Up with Billups, Field’s Steak & Oyster Bar, Charred Steak & Oyster Bar and Rooftop Tacos and Tequila restaurants on the Coast and other areas of the state. Now Nicaud is expanding his reach into antiques and downtown housing.
Mississippi Antique Galleria will turn a former Gulfport shopping center into what Nicaud said he believes is the largest antiques complex in Mississippi.
Hurricane Zeta damaged the roof of the sprawling complex at 1909 East Pass Road, between DeBuys and Cowan roads in east Gulfport.
The damage is being repaired., he said and the goal is to open in February or March.
Coming to downtown Biloxi
Crews are working to transform what was Josette’s Costume Shop at 902 Howard Ave. in Biloxi into apartments.
The short- and long-term rentals will stretch along Caillavet Street, and Nicaud said he expects they will attract those who work downtown and people from outside the area looking for a second home.
Construction should be done by around Jan. 1, he said.
Signs will be posted in about a month, he said, to provide information for those who want to live in walking distance to MGM Park for Shuckers’ baseball and The District, where actor Morgan Freeman’s Ground Zero Blues Club was announced as one of the new tenants on the way.
Getting the historic Magnolia Hotel in Downtown Biloxi ready to become the second location of Field’s Steak & Oyster Bar is more involved and will take longer than expected, Nicaud said.
The building on Rue Magnolia, between U.S. 90 and Howard Avenue, had extensive damage from Hurricane Zeta in October 2020. The entire building with its multi-level porches will have to be raised to build a new foundation, and also will need a new roof.
Now that he’s settled with the insurance company, “We should be resuming construction on that in two to three weeks,” he said.
His brother, Field, is a chef who joined the family business. Together they opened the original Field’s fine dining restaurant in Bay St. Louis in 2019 and Rooftop in Ocean Springs in 2020.
They hope to have the renovations to Magnolia Hotel done early next year, Jourdan said, and debut Field’s in downtown Biloxi.
This story was originally published September 21, 2021 at 5:50 AM.
