GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX) — Neighbors Tap & Table held its soft opening Thursday ahead of a grand opening this weekend.
TikTok creator Matthew Bounds, known as “Your Barefoot Neighbor” to his 2.4 million followers, signed the lease on the former Downtown Bistro space on 25th Avenue on Jan. 1, 2026.
Five months later, the completely renovated space is ready to welcome guests.
Bounds said the restaurant is a way to welcome his local followers with his passion for food.
“I hope people walk in and they just feel what I do, which is such a swell of community and just a place to get together, hang out, make a new friend,” Bounds said. “The art on the wall is reflective of our staff. It’s diverse. It’s people from all walks of life. And that’s who we want to see come in the front doors.”
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Complete renovation
Bounds said he initially thought the space would only need new finishes.
As he and his team began looking through the building, they realized it would take more work.
“So when we took over the old downtown Bistro, we had just planned to maybe repaint and hang new curtains and get some new chairs,” Bounds said. “And that was going to be it. And one thing led to another. And this building and this whole business kind of really is a living, breathing thing. And it has told us what it wants to be. And we’ve ended up remodeling the entire space, basically.”
The grand opening, which Bounds calls a “block party,” is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.
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