These 19 restaurants are open now or will be coming soon across South Mississippi
A smorgasbord of new restaurants just made their debut across South Mississippi or will open soon.
“People are always excited to have new restaurants,” said Anne Pitre, marketing and communications manager at Hancock Chamber of Commerce. She lists some of the newer places like The Loft and The Jolly Olive that opened last year, along with Salt Pepper Oak, a Texas barbecue restaurant coming to Diamondhead.
“The more variety we have, the happier we are,” she said.
This new batch of restaurants brings a big variety of cuisine, location and experiences. Favorites like Blow Fly Bar and Grill in Gulfport and Chef Scott’s sushi in Ocean Springs are returning and people can have a tea party or go for Mexican, barbecue, cajun and cookies.
Here’s the list of new restaurants to try and those about to launch:
Newly opened
Bacchus on the Bayou in Ocean Springs opened Friday on U.S. 90 near the Biloxi Bay Bridge in what was Marina Cantina. Customers can sample cajun Cuisine indoors or out, with sweeping views of the water. A sister restaurant to Bacchus on the Beach in Pass Christian, it features fresh seafood and oysters, Mardi Gras pasta, Spinach Bienville with crab, handcrafted cocktails and their famous pork chop and other daily specials.
Empanola Biloxi opened Monday, giving South Mississippi a taste of empanadas made savory or sweet and with a New Orleans twist. It’s next to Smoothie King at 310 Popp’s Ferry Road near the corner of Pass Road in Biloxi. Another location is planned for later this year in the Barq Building restoration in downtown Biloxi.
Great American Cookies and Marble Slab Creamery share a building in Ocean Springs, next to the new Firehouse Subs in the Winn-Dixie shopping center on U.S. 90. Choose a fresh-baked cookie or homemade ice cream — or mix them up in cookie shakes and other desserts. The eateries are open daily.
J’rome Bar-B-Que & More is open at 2417 Guillotteville Road, Gautier, which is South of U.S. 90 off Ladnier Road. Chris Clausell is cooking up favorites like rib dinner, rib sandwich and pulled pork, with sides that change frequently and could be homemade baked beans, potato salad and a slice of cake.
Gardenia Tea Room by Almost Home catering is open at 314 U.S. 90 in Waveland, behind Goodwill. It’s a place to sample a variety of hot teas, served with tiers of savory nibbles like pimento cheese sandwich bites or mini crab quiche, along with fruit tarts or other mini desserts. They also host children’s teas.
El Saltillo Mexican Restaurant & Bar opened Jan. 10 at 2108 25th Ave. in downtown Gulfport. It advertises a taste of free soup every day to go with its shrimp fajitas, burritos, salads, Margaritas and other Mexican specialties for lunch and dinner.
New York Pizza has just opened in D’Iberville at 11026 Lamey Bridge Road, for those who enjoy pizza, spaghetti, chicken Parmesan, calzones and other Italian favorites.
The Daiquiri Shop opened just before Christmas in the promenade at Beau Rivage Resort and Casino in Biloxi. It features frozen drinks, with or without alcohol, and a variety of tacos, chips, guacamole and salsas. The rotating menu of “pop-up style” foods features Mexican fare, barbecue, Coastal cuisine and other concepts. The venue is open Thursday through Sunday
Coming soon
Blow Fly Bar & Grill on Washington Avenue in Gulfport has a total makeover and is scheduled to open for lunch on Tuesday, Feb. 22. Dinner will be added to the menu March 1, with choices like fried green tomatoes, Bayou Bernard burger, a 6-ounce filet, Mississippi chicken salad wrap and riverside chicken sandwich.
Chef Scott’s Restaurant. Chef Scott Scott Khong, who closed Chef Scott Sushi Bar when his son became seriously ill, remodeled a storefront on Thorn Street in Ocean Springs. He’s preparing to the debut of his new sushi restaurant in the next week or two.
Zaxby’s Ocean Springs is going up at 4013 Bienville Blvd., just east of Walmart, in Ocean Springs. The restaurant will open around mid-March and featured freshly-made chicken fingers and traditional or boneless wings with a variety of sauces, along with appetizers, salads, sandwiches and milkshakes.
Salt Pepper Oak, a barbecue restaurant, is coming at 16940 Kapalama Road on the northeast side of Diamondhead. They’ll be preparing Central Texas style barbecue created with large offset smokers for fresh brisket, ribs, sausage, beef ribs, chicken and pork.
The Toasted Yolk Cafe is scheduled to open in May next to Howard Square apartments at 902 Howard Ave. in Biloxi and across from MGM Park. Breakfast and lunch will be served all day, along with their signature bloody Mary and bloody Maria and diners will be able to eat indoors or outside on the patio.
Chipolte Mexican Grill is under construction at One Promenade in D’Iberville. Joe Pegram, a partner in Streamline Development Partners, said the restaurant should be ready to open this spring. Everything is fresh, including burritos and burrito bowls and salads that come in varieties like Mexican, keto, vegetarian and vegan.
Juicy Caboosy will open soon at Mason Avenue and West Fifth Street in Long Beach. A train caboose brought from Missouri to Long Beach is the centerpiece of the restaurant, where people will be able to stop by for a healthy fruit juice in the morning, for a sandwich or pimento cheese dip in the afternoon and a “boozy caboosy” and charcuterie boards at sunset. Friends and co-owners Tomeka Bryant and Ailsa von Dobeneck work in the railroad industry and restored the 1944 caboose and added a pole barn for indoor seating.
Jaded Pub & Spirits is coming to 19099 Pineville Road in Long Beach. The pub will be a place for people to gather and play pool, sample craft beers and craft cocktails, nibble on fresh bar eats, sing a little karaoke and enjoy live music.
Pier 15 Daiquiri Bar and entertainment venue will open soon on the Biloxi River in Woolmarket.
Cafe Eight Seventy One is coming to Howard Avenue, across from Nativity Cathedral, in what was Adele’s Cafe. It will have a new look and feel, new management, who are natives of New Orleans, and a new chef and menu. The restaurant will serve a taste of New Orleans and soul food and will be open for lunch and on weekends for dinner and live entertainment.
Aztecas Restaurant & Cantina is coming to the long-vacant building what was Mateos and Hooters at 1906 Beach Boulevard in Biloxi. The family-owned Mexican restaurant already has South Mississippi locations in Gautier, Gulfport and Ocean Springs.
More restaurant news
Several new restaurants opened at the end of 2022: Slim Chickens in Biloxi, Bluebird Bakery & Donut Co. in Vancleave and Potbellie’s Burgers & BBQ in Vancleave.
The makeover continues of a former art gallery in downtown Gulfport into Renée’s: A New Era of French Cuisine restaurant at 1321 27th Ave.
Plans for Saucier Restaurant at 8161 Woolmarket Road, Biloxi, went to the Biloxi Development Review Committee in January.
McDonald’s at 970 Cedar Lake Road in Biloxi is getting a remodel of the dining room, counter and restrooms.
This story was originally published February 16, 2023 at 7:30 AM.
