Page 32 - South Mississippi Living - November, 2020

safe & sound
#VisitMSResponsibly
Post-Pandemic Openings
story by Lynn Lofton photos by Charles Steinruck and Cannonblue Lalley
Coastal Mississippians have been through many adverse times and always rebound with remarkable resiliency. The current pandemic is no exception – life continues and new businesses are opening. There’s The Scratch Kitchen food truck, Hotel Beatnik and Craft Advisory Brewing & Bistro in Ocean Springs; Mississippi Aquarium in Gulfport; and Fleurty Girl in Bay St. Louis.
Hotel Beatnik
402 Porter Ave., Ocean Springs 282.285.7424 www.beatnikhotel.com
Craft Advisory Brewing & Bistro
1314 Government St., Ocean Springs 228.334.5000
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Fleurty Girl
153 Main St., Bay St. Louis 228.344.3106 eurtygirl.com
The Scratch Kitchen
316 Government St., Ocean Springs Find us on Facebook
Mississippi Aquarium
2100 E. Beach Blvd., Gulfport 228.214.1300 www.msaquarium.org
All of these fledgeling businesses are o to a good start while being mindful of safety precautions. They’re on board with Coastal Mississippi’s Destination Promise campaign. “Safety has always been an important consideration, but it became a priority message as the pandemic reached our shores,” CEO Milton Segarra said.
At Mississippi Aquarium the number of guests allowed to visit each day is limited. Reservations can be secured in 30-minute time slots and guests are admitted before their scheduled time when capacity allows.
“We are very fortunate to have an outdoor/indoor campus, making it much more enjoyable and easier for guests and our sta to practice social distancing,” says CEO Kurt Allen. “We strongly encourage guests to reserve timed-entry tickets before visiting.”
He adds that the facility is also integrating other policies including numerous sanitation stations throughout the campus, mandatory masks, announcements encouraging
social distancing and rigorous cleaning protocol throughout the day, especially for high-touch areas such as viewing windows, escalators and kid crawls.
Hotel Beatnik is being “very, very careful with our housekeeping,” according to employee David Despot. “We opened in mid August with a great launch and lots of bookings. It’s going very well.”
Fleurty Girl in Bay St. Louis is the third location for the New Orleans-based ladies apparel shop. Asked how things are going at the new shop, owner Lauren Haydel replied, “Great, better than our other shops. Our French Quarter store is doing 30 percent of what it normally does and our airport store is closed because there are so few air travelers.”
Haydel feels the challenges of opening during a pandemic have not been di icult. “It was easy doing business with the city because I was able to do everything online,” she said. “And before the state mask mandate, we required them at Fleurty Girl. We’re trying to keep everyone safe.”
32 | November 2020
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Mississippi Aquarium
Craft Advisory Brewing