New sweet shop opens in South Mississippi, and it has a surprise inside
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Dirty Dough opened a Biloxi shop, first location in Mississippi, Louisiana or Alabama.
- Shop bakes shipped dough onsite and sells cookies, waffle bites, cinnamon rolls and drinks.
- Craveworthy Brands bought the chain in September 2024; CEO Gregg Majewski leads expansion.
A new sweet shop, the first of its kind in Mississippi, Louisiana or Alabama, just opened in Biloxi, and it’s intentionally messy.
Dirty Dough Cookies is tucked inside 900 square feet in a shopping center with Rouses Market, a sandwich shop, a wine store and other community businesses at 376 Pass Road. The next closest location is in Pensacola, Florida.
The shop starts with soft, gourmet cookies and takes the experience a step beyond, adding “dirty” fillings, layers and toppings to the cookies, ice cream and drinks.
“It’s what’s on the inside that counts,” is the company’s motto. Peanut butter oozes out of the PB Overload cookie. Milkshakes are stirred with berries and creme or the customer’s own choice of flavors and sprinkles. Cinnamon rolls go one better with a sweet and savory maple-bacon combination.
Five of the cookies are classic and always are on the menu, while other selections change each week. They might be pumpkin-spiced oatmeal, strawberry cupcake or sticky bun cookie, said Misty Lusk.
She and her husband, Scott Lusk, an attorney and Biloxi native, and their daughter Olivia Lusk, a recent college graduate, opened the shop the week of Cruisin’ The Coast.
“We needed an A-plus location, because we’re not a necessity,” Misty said, but they only needed a 900-square-foot kitchen and take-out counter. People found the store and they already have regulars, she said.
Surprise menu updates
Just before the debut, the company announced the Dirty Dough menu was expanding, Misty said.
“We’re bringing cookie bars and waffle bites and cinnamon rolls and dirty drinks,” the company said. Misty and her family quickly reconfigured the small shop to accommodate these big new products., she said
The new waffle bites are flying off the shelf, she said. The waffles are made to order and then topped with ingredients to become churro, funnel cake, peanut butter sundae or Nutella M&M bites.
Instead of sinking their teeth into a gooey cookie, some customers go for a creamy milkshake or a dirty drink that could be peachy keen, strawberry swirl, a sunset splash or a create-your-own flavor.
How it works
Dirty Dough started in Phoenix, Arizona, when two college students used grandma’s recipe and started baking cookies.
Craveworthy Brands acquired the company in September 2024. Craveworthy founder and CEO Gregg Majewski, who previously served as CEO of Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches and grew the company from 33 to 300 locations, now is overseeing the expansion of Dirty Dough and its menu.
The dough is shipped to each franchise for consistency, and the local store employees bake the cookies and make the toppings and fillings, Lusk said.
Buy a single cookie and it’s packed in a box to make it like a gift. “You can mix and match — your single, four box, half dozen, dirty dozen,” she said.
This story was originally published October 22, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
