Restaurant on seemingly everyone’s wish list is opening first South MS location
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Cook Out is renovating 11464 U.S. 49 in Gulfport, coming soon.
- Chain expands Mississippi footprint; nearest Cook Outs are Hattiesburg and Mobile.
- Menu emphasizes char-grilled burgers, trays and 40 milkshake varieties.
Ask people what new restaurant they’d like to see open in South Mississippi and Cook Out always makes the list.
The first is on the way to South Mississippi, bringing the franchise’s big menu of burgers, trays and dozens of varieties of milkshakes to the Coast.
City officials met with Cook Out representatives at the end of the year and renovations are starting at the former Moe’s Southwest Grill at 11464 U.S. 49 in Gulfport, north of I-10.
The next closest restaurants in the chain are in Hattiesburg and Mobile, with Mississippi locations also in Jackson, Oxford, Starkville, Meridian, and Columbus, according to the company website. Cook Out is headquartered in North Carolina and operates more than 300 restaurants in 11 states, mostly in the Southeast.
The restaurant is known for its big menu and affordable prices. Customers have a choice of char-grilled burgers made with fresh, never frozen beef, and chicken breasts dressed with bacon, cheddar and other toppings, or served Cajun style.
Chicken wraps, cheese quesadillas, corn dogs and chicken nuggets also are on the menu, along with Cook Out’s famed trays with a choice of burgers, barbecue and chicken plus two sides and a drink.
The beverage menu is even bigger than the main dishes and sides. Forty varieties of milkshakes come in candy flavors like Snickers and Heath toffee, and “fancy” flavors like peach cobbler, Oreo mint, chocolate cherry and cappuccino. Fresh watermelon shakes cool things off in July and August, and eggnog milkshakes are available only in December. Floats, Cheerwine and fresh brewed tea also are among the beverages.
Cook Out restaurants typically have drive-thru lanes, limited seating and are open late, well past midnight, which should make the Gulfport location popular with hospitality staff that gets off work late at Coast casinos and restaurants.
This story was originally published February 12, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
