WAVELAND, Miss. (WLOX) — A new restaurant and hangout is about to open in Waveland, offering the city’s only oyster bar.
After more than a year in the making, The Sand Bar on Coleman Avenue is about to open.
Owner Thomas Genin said the beachside hangout marks another post-Katrina comeback on Coleman Avenue.
“It’s a great feeling,” Genin said. “And the city of Waveland has been really good to deal with. And they’ve helped us build this in record time.”
Genin said the goal was to offer something different in the area.
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“We wanted to have a couple of things unique and there’s not currently, there’s not an oyster bar in Waveland,” Genin said.
Two levels offer different experiences
Downstairs offers an open, casual vibe, with a sand pit for kids and plenty of golf cart parking.
“Upstairs is more of a traditional, ‘let’s go have a meal,’ sit down and enjoy grilled oysters, fresh fish, local shrimp, really good burgers, that kind of thing,” Genin said.
The restaurant’s chargrilled oysters are topped with four different cheeses and garlic butter and served with toasted bread.
Mayor Jay Trapani said he expects The Sand Bar to draw more development to the area.
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“We still have a lot of green space down here,” Trapani said. “And so as more businesses get open, it’s just going to bring more people down here. And they’ll see that they can make a living down here.”
Genin plans to open the doors within days.
Genin opened Tiger Beach earlier this month. The Sand Bar will be his second Mississippi Gulf Coast business in just a few weeks.
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