Unique South MS destination will link Bay St. Louis, Pass Christian by water
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- Thomas Genin is developing Tiger Beach on Henderson Point with pier and docks.
- Some amenities exist; rentals and certain services begin in May.
- A water taxi will link Tiger Beach and The Blind Tiger (timeline TBD).
The entrepreneur who reinvigorated South Mississippi’s waterfront bar scene is doing it again.
Except Thomas Genin, owner of The Blind Tiger restaurants, is building a whole beach and tourist destination at Henderson Point in Harrison County. He’s calling it Tiger Beach because the complex will be an extension of The Blind Tiger in Bay St. Louis, the original location of the popular restaurant and bar on the bay.
A water taxi will connect the two. But that’s only one of many elements he’s building or planning. Tiger Beach will eventually be a full-on resort, appealing to boaters, fishermen, tourists and locals who just want to enjoy the water.
It will be the first business to open on Henderson Point since Hurricane Katrina.
‘It’s not just a restaurant sitting on Henderson Point,” Genin said. “This is something I’ll probably develop and expand for the next three to five years.”
Boaters will love Tiger Beach
Genin is developing Tiger Beach on more than 3 acres that fronts on the Bay of St. Louis eastern shore and sits beside Mallini Bayou.
“Tiger Beach will change boating in the bay,” Genin said.
The beach is only 1.8 miles from The Blind Tiger in Bay St. Louis, which Genin said just had its best March ever. As a lover of boats and beaches, Genin and his family have visited some of the best in the Bahamas, the Caribbean and Mexico.
“We kind of think we know what people want when they come to town,” he said.
The first thing Genin had to accomplish was to remove a big rock pile, debris left from the Bay St. Louis bridge destroyed in 1969 by Hurricane Camille. It took six months to secure permission.
“We hauled rocks out of there for a week with an excavator and dump truck,” Genin said. When it came to permitting, things didn’t get easier from there. But he was determined to get it done.
Tiger Beach now has a beach with four cabanas. There’s also a long pier and generous dock space, all the better to fit boats, boats and more boats. Kayaks, sail boats, canoes and other boats without propellers can pull up to the beach.
Charter boats, inshore tours, boat rentals and jet ski rentals will be available in May.
Several food venues coming
A Tiger Beach shop on the pier will offer all the essentials for boaters: beach towels, hats, tanning lotion and such. And then there is Sails, an outdoor eatery at ground level with a colorful patchwork of rectangular cloth providing shade. The kitchen will be mobile to meet flood regulations.
The casual spot will feature burgers, wraps, chicken fingers, and more. A cheeseburger, called a boat burger because it’s wrapped up and ready to go, will be only $7.
Lunches can be packed for Ship Island picnics. As Genin asked, who doesn’t want fried chicken fingers on a boat? Sails also will offer ice cream, snowballs and candy.
The main building will feature an elevated restaurant that is almost finished but not yet named. Genin expects it to open around Labor Day. He suggests adults will want to enjoy upscale casual dining that primarily features grilled meats and fish.
Meanwhile, the wooden patio beneath the restaurant will also open by May, Genin said. The patio is outfitted with tables and a bar.
A Louisiana company, Marsh & Bayou Outfitters, will operate a tackle shop at Tiger Beach. Pilings have been driven for the shop.
Genin has even more ideas for the property. He hopes, eventually, to build a lodge.
“I tell people this is a resort without the hotel yet,” he said. “But the lodge is coming. It’s just going to take a while.”
