Restaurant News & Reviews

These 9 restaurants closed after Katrina and are the most missed on the MS Coast

It’s been 17 years since Hurricane Katrina devastated South Mississippi, forever changing our landscape.

The storm took a lot from us, including beloved restaurants we’ll never get back.

And while the Mississippi Coast’s dining scene is bigger and more diverse than ever — with new restaurants opening every month in Bay St. Louis, Biloxi, Gulfport, Ocean Springs and beyond — residents still miss their favorites from all those years ago.

We asked the Coast to tell us their favorite restaurants that closed after Katrina. More than 400 people responded to our survey. Here are the top nine most-missed spots:

Annie’s Restaurant, Henderson Point in Pass Christian

  • Destroyed in Hurricane Katrina and never reopened

  • Favorite dishes: beer battered shrimp, broiled flounder, fried chicken with spaghetti, seafood gumbo

  • Diners also raved about the “smeje” style shrimp and oysters, which included garlic, cheese and a butter sauce

Annie’s restaurant on Henderson Point in Pass Christian before Hurricane Katrina destroyed it.
Annie’s restaurant on Henderson Point in Pass Christian before Hurricane Katrina destroyed it. Tammy Smith Sun Herald/file/2005
Annie’s Restaurant 120 W. Bayview in Pass Christian after Hurricane Katrina.
Annie’s Restaurant 120 W. Bayview in Pass Christian after Hurricane Katrina. John Fitzhugh Sun Herald/2005

Mary Mahoney’s Café, Biloxi

  • This portion of the restaurant was open 24 hours and closed after Katrina.

  • Favorite dishes: French dip, pizza bread, beignets, roast beef po-boy, seafood bread, breakfast biscuits

Mary Mahoney’s Old French House in Biloxi, Miss.
Mary Mahoney’s Old French House in Biloxi, Miss. Alyssa Newton anewton@sunherald.com

Bombay Bicycle Club, Biloxi

  • Destroyed in Hurricane Katrina and never reopened

  • Favorite dishes: Fried shrimp, desserts made with ladyfingers

Patrons of Bombay Bicycle Club joke together during a late afternoon break.
Patrons of Bombay Bicycle Club joke together during a late afternoon break. Sean Loftin Sun Herald/file
Tammy Beaugez of Gulfport struts her stuff during the ”Dance like Elaine” contest at the Bombay Bicycle Club in Biloxi in 1998. The Seinfeld event was sponsored by Live ’95 radio station and led up to the viewing of the final episode of the show. Beaugez was the hands down winner of the contest.
Tammy Beaugez of Gulfport struts her stuff during the ”Dance like Elaine” contest at the Bombay Bicycle Club in Biloxi in 1998. The Seinfeld event was sponsored by Live ’95 radio station and led up to the viewing of the final episode of the show. Beaugez was the hands down winner of the contest. Vernon Matthews Sun Herald/file/1998

Alberti’s, Biloxi and Ocean Springs

  • The restaurant with a large gorilla statue relocated to Ocean Springs after Katrina and later closed.

  • Favorite dishes: spaghetti and meatballs, filet mignon with pasta Alfredo

A souvenir shop and restaurant had two fixtures on U.S. 90 in Biloxi. The alligator is for the souvenir shop and the gorilla for Alberti’s Italian Restaurant.
A souvenir shop and restaurant had two fixtures on U.S. 90 in Biloxi. The alligator is for the souvenir shop and the gorilla for Alberti’s Italian Restaurant. Tim Isbell Sun Herald/file/2003

Bay City Grill, Bay St. Louis

  • Closed after Hurricane Katrina and never reopened

  • The standout dish residents miss is the Bay Alfredo, a house-made fettuccine Alfredo with shrimp and crab.

Friends of the Animal Shelter in Hancock County held a benefit calendar signing at Bay City Grill in Bay St. Louis in 2004.
Friends of the Animal Shelter in Hancock County held a benefit calendar signing at Bay City Grill in Bay St. Louis in 2004. James Edward Bates Sun Herald file

Hunan’s, Biloxi

  • The U.S. 90 restaurant closed after Katrina.

  • The standout dish residents miss is the Peking duck, a roasted duck served with their take on “pancakes” and hoisin sauce. Beef Schezuan was also a crowd favorite.

Cuco’s Mexican restaurant, Biloxi

  • Closed after Katrina

  • Favorites include: tacos, fried ice cream, macho nachos, chimichanga

Chappy’s, Long Beach

  • Closed after Katrina

  • Favorites include: fried shrimp, steak

Vrazel’s, Gulfport

  • The original location of the popular restaurant was on Highway 90 and was destroyed in Katrina. The restaurant moved next to the Island View Casino and closed in 2012.

  • Diners still rave about the perfectly-cooked steaks. One resident said the restaurant’s “soups and sauces really set it off.”

Bill Vrazel, owner of Vrazel’s Fine Food Restaurant in Gulfport, stands in what is left of the dining room at his business on U.S. 90 in Gulfport. Vrazel had several cargo containers from the Mississippi State Port wash up and into his building from the wind-driven storm surge of Hurricane Katrina. Katrina made landfall on the Mississippi Gulf Coast on Monday, Aug. 29, 2005.
Bill Vrazel, owner of Vrazel’s Fine Food Restaurant in Gulfport, stands in what is left of the dining room at his business on U.S. 90 in Gulfport. Vrazel had several cargo containers from the Mississippi State Port wash up and into his building from the wind-driven storm surge of Hurricane Katrina. Katrina made landfall on the Mississippi Gulf Coast on Monday, Aug. 29, 2005. David Purdy Sun Herald/2005
Bill Vrazel, owner of Vrazel’s restaurant in Gulfport, stands in front of a mural that was found and restored after Hurricane Katrina.
Bill Vrazel, owner of Vrazel’s restaurant in Gulfport, stands in front of a mural that was found and restored after Hurricane Katrina. Sun Herald File

This story was originally published August 29, 2022 at 5:50 AM.

Profile Image of Justin Mitchell
Justin Mitchell
Sun Herald
228-604-0705
Justin Mitchell is the Sun Herald senior news editor and works on McClatchy’s audience engagement and development team. He also reports on LGBTQ issues in the Deep South, particularly focusing on Mississippi.
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