An underground tunnel at Ground Zero Blues Club unveils a path of hidden Biloxi history
Ground Zero Blues Club has a strong lineup of music, a fun menu, celebrity owner and a prime spot in downtown Biloxi — and if those aren’t enough to draw people in, the new venue also has a secret tunnel.
The restaurant and club will welcome the public to the first concert on Friday, then lunch and dinner will be served Wednesday through Saturday starting Feb. 16.
Many who enter the historic building on Howard Avenue, a couple blocks from Beau Rivage and Hard Rock casinos, won’t be aware of what lies beneath.
That will change, as Academy Award winning actor Morgan Freeman and the other owners of Ground Zero make the most of the secret space and the story behind the trap door that leads to a bootleg tunnel.
Co-owner Lee Young says he’s researching the old buildings that once were part of a vibrant business district, and is working to is transform that history and architecture into The District on Howard mixed-use development.
Ground Zero is the first big step.
Biloxi’s past recalled
Young begins the story of what he’s learned about the mysterious tunnel and its use to transport alcohol to businesses and even city offices almost a century ago with the words, “According to legend.”
During Prohibition and the rowdy days of secret clubs and illegal liquor and gambling in Biloxi, businesses along Howard Avenue were repeatedly raided, Young said. He found records of fines handed out to some of the most notable business owners in the city.
The tunnel beneath the former Kress department store building, now Ground Zero, began at the railroad tracks that he said are still visible at the back of the building. An access point to the tunnel is still in the basement, which is another rare feature in low-lying Biloxi.
And the tunnel still runs to the middle of the street, Young said, and tees off in two directions.
It’s since been filled in, but at one point the tunnel ran all the way to City Hall on Main Street, said Peter Abide, Biloxi city attorney.
Young is searching to uncover more information about the tunnel.
At some point, he will send a camera down to film the length of the tunnel still accessible and feature the footage on a video in the restaurant so customers can see that piece of history.
The Back Room at Ground Zero, on the upper level of the building, is being transformed into a meeting room and event space and it will play on the theme of Biloxi’s boisterous past, he said.
Food brings it all together
The restaurant will connect the original Ground Zero at Clarksdale, in Mississippi’s Delta region, with Biloxi at the other end of the state’s Blues Trail.
Muddy Watters crawfish fritters top the menu in a nod to the Coast and the Blues legend.
Freeman contributes the “Morgan Special” to the snack list with a taste of his smoked pulled pork. Diners will get a taste of the Coast by ordering Bubba’s Boat — fried Mississippi Gulf shrimp on Biloxi’s Le Bakery po-boy bread. Or they can order Delta tacos, which are two Delta Johnny corn cakes filled with Ground zero smoked pulled port, haystack slaw spiced pickled onions and a “git back” sauce.
Sides are Mississippi standards like simmered turnip greens and cast iron black eyed peas, or hearty buttered biscuits and homemade potato chips.
In honor of Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich, who grew up in Biloxi when Howard Avenue’s downtown was in its heyday, and to honor Biloxi as the birthplace of Barq’s root beer, FoFo’s Barq’s root beer float is on the sweets menu to top off many meals for those who dine at Ground Zero in Biloxi.
This story was originally published February 10, 2022 at 5:58 PM.
