Iconic South MS landmark demolished, developer says he has big plans for site
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Cotita Holdings demolished a former Pascagoula restaurant site for redevelopment.
- Plans include a mixed-use site with upgraded apartments and commercial options.
- Dent commits to affordable rents despite planned property upgrades.
Cotita Holdings LLC Owner Hayes Dent plans to turn the former Cornerstone and Cotita’s restaurant site into a mixed-use development. Demolition of the building concluded last week.
A mixed-use property typically combines residential and commercial uses within the same structure or development.
“We are looking at multiple options to include partnering with someone on a local level that may know of a good business to go there,” Dent said. “We’re 100% open to opportunities that will enhance the property.”
Benny and Avis Cotita purchased the property at 3841 Market St. in the late 1950s and turned it into an Italian and steak restaurant, according to their granddaughter Suzanne Martin. After Benny Cotita’s death in 1983, the building was passed to their daughter, Donna Cotita Smith, who leased it to various restaurant operators.
Following Hurricane Katrina, the former Cotita’s building saw a number of owners including Gulf Coast Properties of California, LMR Holdings LLC and, now, Cotita Holdings LLC.
Dent said renovations done by a previous owner left the structure “not in a position to be salvaged.”
The apartment complex next door remains intact and is occupied by over 30 tenants, according to Dent.
‘It needed to be demoed’
According to Dent, the former owners of the over-8,000-square-foot facility split the building into at least four office spaces.
“That was not the purpose of the building,” Dent said. “It just wasn’t a sustainable model.”
Dent said he is making continued improvements to the neighboring apartments, including rehabbing units and installing new roofing and railings.
“We’re continuing to upgrade that with more improvements to come,” Dent said.
Dent said there are no current plans to raise rent in the apartments.
“We work hard to keep our apartments affordable and we want to offer clean, safe workforce housing,” Dent said. “We have zero plans to just turn around and raise rent because we tore a building down.”
Cotita’s Legacy
According to Martin, Avis Cotita moved from the Mississippi Delta to the Coast in search of work after World War II. Not long after, she met Benny Cotita and the two married just 14 days later.
About a year after they married, Avis and Benny Cotita purchased the building they later transformed into Cotita’s.
Martin said she spent much of her childhood in the apartment her grandparents built above the restaurant and, at around 12 years old, began working at Cotita’s.
“That’s where we went to stay with my grandparents and that’s where we went to have Christmas,” Martin said. “I grew up on top of that restaurant.”
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The restaurant also doubled as an event space, hosting wedding receptions, birthday parties and community gatherings. As Cotita’s grew in popularity, Benny and Avis Cotita built apartments next door and launched an amusement equipment business behind the restaurant.
“I have so many people tell me how fun my grandmother and grandpa were,” Martin said. “My grandpa would give you the shirt off his back. I think that’s part of the reason why they became so popular, because everybody loved them.”
After hearing the building would be torn down, Martin said she salvaged pieces of petrified wood and bricks from someone on Facebook.
“Since it’s been torn down, I’ve ridden by more than I ever have, because it’s just sad,” Martin said.
This story was originally published July 22, 2025 at 11:52 AM.
