Sunsets on the horizon: Restaurants with ocean views going up in Biloxi
BILOXI -- The restaurants are coming back to the beach and East Biloxi.
Three new restaurants should be open by the end of the year, including The Fillin' Station in East Biloxi, and Snappers Seafood and Hooters on the beachfront.
By about the end of October, diners will be stopping in for a fill-up at The Fillin' Station. The former gas station on the corner of Main Street and Howard Avenue is being transformed, but retains the atmosphere of old Biloxi.
"We're just trying to bring back some of the seafood culture in East Biloxi," said Mark Lumpkin, who owns the restaurant with Jim Reeves.
"We'll be doing a lot of specials," and be open for lunch and dinner, said Manager Scott Adams. A daily plate lunch such as meatloaf and sides will be featured, and Chef Ashley Cabana said chargrilled oysters, an oyster bar and etouffee will be among the northern Gulf fare for dinner.
"Everybody we've talked to is really excited about it," said Lumpkin, a first cousin of singer Jimmy Buffett. One of the recipes for The Fillin' Station is for After-Thanksgiving Turkey and Andouille Sausage Gumbo. "It's straight from the kitchen of Ma Buffett," Lumpkin said.
The restaurant will seat 30 inside and 45 outside, and have a 16-foot bar and a small stage for acoustic entertainment. The garage door can be opened for sea breezes.
Adams said some of the thousands of receipts they found from the 1930s will be framed and displayed in the garage, and Lumpkin said he's looking for photos of both the original garage and the old fire company that is now his law office.
Hooters will be next to open, Nov. 4. Developer Ray Wooldridge said he and builders Roy Anderson were shooting for Cruisin' The Coast but "we were a bit delayed by the storms."
The new location is on the north side of U.S. 90, across from Sea Breeze Condominiums and near Treasure Bay Casino.
"We wanted to see the businesses rebuilt on the Coast," he said. The new location was eligible for insurance but still provides views of the water and sunset.
Brandon Wooldridge, the project coordinator for R.W. Development, said the new Hooters deck will be 1,200 square feet, three times the standard size. Half the deck will be closed, with space heaters for year-round use.
The menu will feature the famed Hooters chicken wings, along with burgers and seafood. "Everybody is pretty fired up," said Brandon Wooldridge, including potential employees. They just started to interview for the 120 positions Monday and by Tuesday already had hundreds of applicants.
Ray Wooldridge said the restaurant is "just a sign that everything will return," and he hopes it will spur other development on the beach.
On the south side of U.S. 90 at Rodenberg, Snappers Seafood is being rebuilt on the site of the former restaurant and Wet and Wild Beach Club; owner Mark Balius hopes to open by Christmas.
"We've been here since '93," said David Mason, who oversees the dining-room operations. All that was left of the original restaurant was a slab of concrete; the new restaurant is raised 18 feet with parking below. An elevator will take customers to the second floor, where windows will overlook the beach and a dining deck will extend the length of the building. Combined, they will seat about 140 people.
"Lunch and dinner definitely, breakfast probably," will be served and Mason said the fare will be primarily seafood, steaks and chicken.
"Our gumbo was unbelievable," he said. The seafood was local and fresh daily. "We carved our own steaks."
Snappers' decor will be beach, with the steel support poles painted like ships' masts with crow's nests, and marks showing how high the water was during Katrina.
"Since the day after Hurricane Katrina we started planning what we were going to do," said Mason. "We're getting something back on the beach besides condos and casinos."
Source: By Mary Perez, SUN HERALD
