Page 38 - South Mississippi Living - January, 2024

THE FACES OF THE BLIND TIGER
When coastal entrepreneur Thomas Genin opened The Blind Tiger Bay St. Louis, he wanted a fresh chalkboard menu, a come-as-you-are atmosphere, and lots and lots of open-air space that says, “come on in and stay a while.”
And now, more than 10 years later, the mastermind behind TBT’s multiple restaurants and butcher shops, is continuing to expand the brand, growing it both in and out of the Magnolia State.
“It’s a very simple concept,” Genin said. “It’s open air, it's a lot of kids, it's a lot of fun and friendly conversation between friends and family. And I wanted to do something that was not just a bunch of out-of-the-bag processed frozen to fried to plate type of food. I wanted chalkboard menus because fresh is always best and our freezers are only for ice.”
TBT grew from a love of laid-back, vibrant bars and incredible food that Genin discovered in little out-of-the-way eateries in places like Baja California, Mexico, the Virgin Islands, and the Bahamas.
The Bay St. Louis location is the flagship restaurant which opened in 2012. TBT is now also in Biloxi, Slidell, Louisiana, Madisonville, Louisiana, and soon, Fairhope, Alabama. The Blind
Tiger Butcher Shops followed in Bay St. Louis and Pass Christian, which are not only butcher shops but also double as made-to-order delicatessens.
So how does Genin, a dedicated family man, keep all TBTs smoothly running? That’s easy, he has a fantastic team behind him.
Scott Sutherland became a general manager at one of Genin’s restaurants in 2015 and believed in the TBT brand so much that he transitioned to a managing partner about a year ago. His days are now filled with visiting each TBT site to make sure everything is running efficiently and jumps in to lend a hand when needed.
“I travel close to 200 miles a day,” Sutherland said, adding he jumped at a chance to be a part of the expanding, promising future of TBT. “You can either do one of two things, you can put your money on what you believe in and try to create something special that can grow and expand into different markets, or you cannot. And it's all growing with the Fairhope property coming online within 90 days.”
Libby Sudduth, general manager of TBT Bay St. Louis,
The Genin Family.
38 | January 2024
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