Pier 15 opens with food, drink, entertainment and its own Biloxi River sand beach
Pier 15 opened Thursday on the Biloxi River in Woolmarket and people are wondering if it is a river bar, a restaurant or an entertainment venue.
“I have called it all those,” said Kim Ivy-Talley, who with her husband, Keith Talley, and family will welcome people from 11 a.m. to midnight Thursday through Sunday with a cold drink, a lite bite and music.
The restaurant is at 12046 Sandbar Lane, off Lorraine Road coming from either the Woolmarket exit in Biloxi or the Lorraine Road/Mississippi 605 exit in Gulfport.
The Talleys discovered the building that now is Pier 15 several years ago while on the river. They bought it knowing they’d open the bar, Talley said, raised it above flood elevations and built the docks and the decks.
It has a large parking lot for those who drive to the venue and an expansive dock along the river frontage for those who arrive by boat or jet ski.
It also has its own sand beach with chairs where customers can sit and sip with toes in the sand, or get up and play cornhole and washers games.
Fun and games
“We are going to build a beach volleyball court behind those palm trees,” Talley said, indicating an area behind the sand beach.
Live music is planned for the grand opening celebration on Saturday and weekend music is being scheduled through the summer. Karaoke is every Thursday night.
“We have our own karaoke system, our own light show,” she said, and family members who will be there to help with special events and karaoke nights.
Son Tucker Thomas is helping manage and run Pier 15 and son-in-law Jake will be the DJ for karaoke. Daughters Taylor handles the the marketing, Kerri tends bar and Jordan and Courtney help with special events, along with future daughter-in-law Kiersten and son-in-law Conner. Josh will be a bartender.
With the combination of its waterfront location, entertainment and family participation in Pier 15, “There’s nothing like this,” Talley said.
Food and drink
The drink menu is more expansive than the food menu until May, when a custom-built food trailer will arrive at Pier 15 and bring an expanded choice of food and snacks.
For now, the menu offers a variety of nachos, pizza, pulled pork sliders and all-beef hot dogs.
The arrival of the trailer will add brisket burgers, fried bologna sandwiches, loaded fries and other favorites people can eat on the upper or lower decks while they watch the river and the boats go by.
Several varieties of cold beer are on tap, and the machine that swirls frozen wine daiquiris is labeled with “The Blue 1” for those who want a Blue Hawaiian, The Green 1 (margarita), The Orange 1 (mango) and The Red 1 (strawberry.
Pier 15 will be open all year, with televisions for those who want to watch the games, a roll-up garage door letting in the breezes on warm days and curtains and heaters planned on the lower deck come winter.
The upstairs deck and bar area are open to ages 21 and older, and smoking, vaping and pets are not allowed on the property.
An ADA ramp allows handicap access to the bar, entertainment and the sweeping river views.
This story was originally published April 6, 2023 at 12:14 PM.
