Page 42 - South Mississippi Living - December, 2015

HALF SHELL OYSTER HOUSE
Half Shell Oyster House has New Orleans vibe Gulfport
ADDRESS:
2500 13th Street, Gulfport
PHONE:
228.867.7001
HOURS:
DINING ROOM Sun. - Thu.
11:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. Fri.
11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
OYSTER BAR Mon. - Sun. 11:00 a.m. - until
story and photos by Julian Brunt
It’s rare these days for a restaurant concept to emerge that seems to have universal application, but the Half
Shell Oyster House seems to be that exception. The Gulfport location was
the first. It opened in 2009 and is just as good today as it was six years ago. Since that time, six sister restaurants have been born. Wow!
Here’s the basic idea; play heavily on the New Orleans/French Quarter theme, but do it right and don’t spare any expense. The floors are brick and wood, ceilings are open beamed, and there’s multi-level seating that has the feel of NOLA balconies and sidewalk
cafes. Even the light fixtures seem to
be of the right historical period. The atmosphere could not be better for this style of jazzy, Creole, Gulf Coast sort of place.
Just a quick word on location, an important factor in any business. The Gulfport Half Shell is on the corner
of Highway 49 and 13th Street, an address that can only be described as the very heart of old town Gulfport. Parking is ample, but you may have to walk around the block, which seems a small price to pay. This is just another example of the solid business decisions that have gone into making this one of
42 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • December 2015
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ABOVE: OYSTER sampler. RIGHT: VOODOO shrimp po-boy.
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