Chef returns to MS Coast with new restaurant two decades after Hurricane Katrina
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- Chef John “Chappy” Chapman opens Coastal Kitchen in Long Beach decades after Katrina.
- Coastal Kitchen menu centers on seafood, steak and cocktails, opened in December.
- Chapman returns to Mississippi Coast more than two decades after closing Chappy’s.
In Long Beach, inside dining rooms decorated in coastal white and blue, John “Chappy” Chapman is greeting customers again.
It’s been more than two decades since Hurricane Katrina forced the chef to close his original Chappy’s Seafood Restaurant, a Long Beach staple since the 1980s.
And it’s been over 40 years since Chapman, a Mobile native, first merged his love of food and entertainment and entered the restaurant world.
Now he is back on the Mississippi Coast.
“It’s been fantastic,” he said.
His newest restaurant, Coastal Kitchen, opened in December on Klondyke Road. The menu features seafood, steak and cocktails. But it deviates from his previous restaurants, including an Orange Beach, Alabama, establishment called Pier House, which he sold before returning to Long Beach.
In Orange Beach, he served tourists. On the Mississippi Coast, he serves locals.
“I know people here,” Chapman said as the lunch hour crowd died down on Tuesday. “I feel like a lot of them are family.”
The original Chappy’s Seafood Restaurant in Long Beach opened in 1984, and many locals with fond memories there have celebrated Chapman’s return. Now, Chapman said, some new customers at Coastal Kitchen come with stories from the original restaurant, or bring their younger family members to taste Chapman’s new dishes.
For the longtime chef, Coastal Kitchen’s menu is unique. It includes beloved southern favorites, including oysters, gumbo and fried green tomatoes. It also features fresh fish, stuffed chicken and sesame crusted tuna with gingered carrots, among other dishes catered to evolving modern tastes.
The interior is bright and airy, with accents of white brick, deep blue walls and a mural inspired by waves.
Some customers arrive in large groups. Others sip wine in the afternoons, sitting on patio furniture outside near a fountain. The drink menu also includes mojitos, daiquiris and watermelon margaritas.
Chapman, who grew up fishing, crabbing and growing his own vegetables, said the restaurant is modeled for hospitality, rather than quickness. Customers, he added, should feel at home when they visit.
“Bye girls,” he told a group of women walking out the door after lunch one recent weekday. “Come see us!”
229 Klondyke Rd., (228) 731-3273
Lunch served 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday - Sunday, dinner served 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday, and 5 to 10 p.m. Friday - Saturday. Closed Mondays.