McElroy’s owner buys long-vacant casino site on Caillavet Street. What’s his plan?
He still has 18 years left on his lease but James “Mickey” McElroy told the Biloxi City Council he wants more.
McElroy said he’d like to expand McElroy’s HarborHouse restaurant he operates at the Biloxi Small Craft Harbor in downtown Biloxi, next to Hard Rock Casino.
He also bought a long-vacant casino site on Caillavet Street, where he plans to build an events center for weddings and other functions.
McElroy introduced his son, daughter and granddaughter during Tuesday’s council meeting and said it is for them he wants to extend the lease and get other protections so they can continue to operate the restaurant in the future.
In a letter to the mayor and council, McElroy said he had to borrow $1.5 million after Hurricane Katrina and use his insurance proceeds to replace the city’s building and continue his restaurant he operated since 1974.
He borrowed another $375,000 in 2019 to expand and add outdoor seating, he said, and $59,000 for air conditioning units and an awning.
“In order for us to continue to grow with Biloxi’s expanding economy, I understand there will be the need for future additions to the city’s building that will require additional financing,” he said.
Biloxi has so many development projects in the works, he said — “I just want to be a part of it.”
Plans for growth
“We are doing very well at the restaurant,”McElroy said.
He’s considering expanding into the area beneath the restaurant, similar to the outdoor seating area created during the coronavirus at Sal & Mookie’s restaurant, located across the Town Green from his business.
Both restaurants had to be built above the flood elevation, leaving a large space underneath. McElroy would add a ground-level bar and more seating.
“The harbor’s phenomenal,” he said, and it draws people from all over the United States, many of whom wander into his restaurant.
If he is going to invest, McElroy said, he needs extra time on the lease to pay for the loan. He also asked for the right of first refusal for his family at the end of the lease. He didn’t say how long of an extension he proposes.
The council didn’t take any action, but councilmen Kenny Glavan and Nathan Barrett told McElroy they appreciate his investment in the city.
Will there be a McElroy’s casino?
He purchased the property on Caillavet Street from The Peoples Bank, McElroy said.
“That piece of property was sitting for a long time,” he said, and that stretch of the street that runs between Beau Rivage and IP casinos remains nearly empty years after it was cleared for development.
His new venue will be a one-story building to accommodate weddings, Mardi Gras balls, class reunions and other functions, he said.
“We need something on Caillavet like that,” McElroy said. He’s thinking functional, “with a little big of a wow factor to it,” he said, along with some wrought iron to give it Southern flair. He and his family are trying to come up with a name for their new venture.
Will he build a casino on the approved site?
“I wouldn’t do it if they let me,” he said.
