King cake pop-up is a preview to The Downtowner restaurant coming to South MS
Robert St. John is shooting for August for the opening of The Downtowner restaurant in Gulfport and gave the community a first look and taste at a king cake pop-up Friday.
He’ll be opening The Downtowner on the corner of 14th Street and U.S. 49 in what was the Triplett-Day pharmacy and lunch counter. He plans to keep the look of the distinctive exterior while knocking down an interior wall to create a bigger dining room and kitchen area, plus a private dining room
A van stuffed with 150 king cakes in flavors like blueberry — St. John’s favorite — strawberry lemon and pecan praline was emptied and sold out in about 30 minutes Friday morning.
St. John just started making king cakes at his Loblolly Bakery in Hattiesburg a year ago. He developed his recipe after first visiting bakeries in New Orleans and bringing home 32 cakes to try.
King cake from Dong Phuong Bakery was the gold standard and what people told him was the one to beat. “After eating 32 it was definitely the case,” he said.
That gave him a starting point for his cake and once he developed the recipe he wanted, they had trouble keeping the cakes in stock at the Hattiesburg bakery.
So they decided to take king cakes on the road for more people to enjoy. He put Gulfport on that list and another pop-up is planned in two weeks on Feb. 21 at 10 a.m.
Making a community restaurant
While on the Coast, St. John walked through his new restaurant, revealing his plans.
For a long time he’s wanted to open a restaurant on the Mississippi Coast, where St. John said he spent a lot of time when he was growing up.
“I looked at this location for a couple of years,” he said.
“We’re busting this wall out, “ he said on the tour, “and there are two spaces next door. Those will be extra dining, and there also will be a small private dining space.
Old-time Gulfport flair
“It will feel like it’s been here since 1948,” St. John said. “It will be the most Gulf Coast restaurant ever in Gulfport, Mississippi. It will be the local place. You’ll feel local. You’ll be surrounded by images of the coast and all walks of life.”
This post-war America atmosphere will be carried by the decor and the menu.
“It’s all going to be Gulfport nostalgia,” said Ryan Goldin, owner of the building.
“It’s a dream come true,” he said, to have the building restored and this restaurant in Gulfport, all in walkable distance to Mississippi Aquarium, Jones Park and the Amtrak station.
With the addition of the two small shops, The Downtowner will be 4,500 square feet and seat 150 to 160 people.
On the menu
The Downtowner menu will be similar to St. John’s Midtowner restaurant in Hattiesburg, he said..
Along with a breakfast menu, “We’ll have kind of a grab-and-go section for people that just want coffee and a breakfast sandwich or pastries,” he said. “We’ll be bringing some baked goods from the bakery, either daily or at least three times a week.”
Lunch will be meat and three sides, he said.
For his Coast restaurant he plans to do dinner, Friday and Saturday night to start, with “old line Coast seafood” like stuffed flounder and trout almondine.
“Nobody’s doing this anymore,” he said.
Feeding Mississippi and Coast
St. John has 420 employees at his Mississippi restaurants and bakery and the Gulfport restaurant will add another 50, he said.
Paige Brennan, the new manager, was selling king cakes and looking for a house on Friday.
St. John already is feeding people in South Mississippi and across the state with the Extra Table initiative.
“Extra Table is killing it these days,” he said.
Last year the organization donated more than 6 million pounds of food at 63 agencies, he said, about seven of them on the Gulf Coast.
This story was originally published February 8, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
