Another popular South MS restaurant closes as competition and costs increase
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Owner Jonathan Allen announced the immediate closure on Wednesday.
- The Blow Fly Inn operated since 1955 and gained national attention on the Food Network.
- Restaurants continue to face rising competition and higher food costs.
It had a menu of seafood and Southern favorites and one of the prettiest water views on the Coast. Wednesday, though, the Blow Fly Inn closed in Gulfport.
This restaurant at 1201 Washington Ave. was an out-of-the-way place many people didn’t just happen to pass, yet it became a favorite among locals once they discovered the place.
In 2022, Coast businessman Jonathan Allen purchased the restaurant on Bayou Bernard, and he announced Wednesday night on social media he made the decision to close immediately.
“It’s bittersweet as I dined there as a kid and have many stories about it,” Allen said.
The Blow Fly was founded in 1955 and Guy Fieri from The Food Network found the hideaway and the tiny plastic fly atop each dish, The “dive” landed on the Food Network’s “Best Places to Eat.”
After the original Blow Fly closed, reopened and closed again in 2016, Tasty Tails Seafood House added the spot as its second location in 2017.
Allen said he tried to resurrect the Blow Fly and believed it needed to survive.
“But I am only human like those that have come before me. I wanted to believe it would turn around and the food and environment would be everlasting,” he said.
In January, Allen and David Potter closed Tripletails Restaurant and bar on the beach in Bay St. Louis.
The restaurant boom across South Mississippi continues as more places keep opening in an already competitive market.
This year also has brought many more closings as owners contend with higher prices for food and supplies and the challenge of finding staff to work in all these restaurants.
Allen said he called all staff members to tell them of the closing and would help them find new jobs.
He also thanked the loyal customers and said, “I kept it open longer for you.”
