GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX) — A building that served Gulfport for decades is getting a second life.
The Downtowner officially opened its doors, welcoming its first guests and serving food from a kitchen in the old Triplett Day Pharmacy building, which operated in Gulfport for 65 years.
Robert St. John, the restaurant owner, said the menu features what he calls heritage cuisine.
“It’s just real food for real people,” St. John said. “It’s the cuisine my grandmother made.”
For St. John, this is his 27th restaurant and his first on the Gulf Coast, a destination he said he has dreamt of coming to.
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“We spent our summers on the Gulf Coast,” St. John said. “The coast has always had this romantic feeling for me with all these great memories from my childhood and I always knew I’d do a restaurant down here.”
Pictures from the pharmacy line the walls.
Ed Hilton used to stop in for coffee at Triplett Day. He was the first in line when doors opened.
“This is long overdue,” Hilton said. “I was hoping this building would be reutilized as a diner.”
Hilton said it was worth the wait.
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“This is the first time I’ve tried sweet potato pancakes and I’m satisfied with them even without the toppings,” Hilton said.
Server Lynn Mason is now with the Downtowner after spending five years with the pharmacy.
“Everyone I served was like family,” Mason said. “It’s just good to see old faces and have the Downtowner kind of resemble the Triplett Day.”
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