Page 38 - South Mississippi Living - May, 2020

DINING
Coast Restaurants Serving Our Communities
story and photos courtesy of The Mississippi Coast Restaurant & Beverage Association
In order to promote our local restaurants and to keep our communities safe amid COVID-19 concerns, the Mississippi Coast Restaurant & Beverage Association joined forces with the City of Gulfport to take the “Good to Go” campaign Coast-wide.
“City of Gulfport Economic Director David Parker came up with the idea for his city and shared the idea with us, so that we could carry this message to the other cities and counties and promote those restaurants open for take-out and delivery business,” said Susan Perkins, executive director of the Coast Restaurant Association. “We delivered window signs to restaurants, partnered with Mitchell Distributing to print and provide banners, and worked with WLOX Gulf Coast Weekend to make the live list readily available online for our community.”
Restaurant owners like Laura Pylate of Georgia’s Corner Market in Vancleave have converted most of their business to take-out orders and ready-to-eat and take-and-bake foods. She said an overwhelming number of her patrons purchase items to bring to their loved ones who cannot leave due to age or increased risk. “We serve a large number of medical personnel who still have families to feed,” Pylate said. “If we can make a small di erence in this time of need by taking the burden o our community, we believe there is a need for us to keep our doors open and our curbside available for take-out, and of course our bakery case stocked. We all need a little sweetness and comfort in these crazy days.”
Saucier resident Eric Walker works at Keesler Medical Center and frequents Biloxi restaurant Parrain’s Jambalaya Kitchen for take-out for his parents. “Being able to still have boudin and jambalaya is a reminder of the good Cajun food and rich culture of our Gulf Coast,” Walker said. Marlen Babin opened Parrain’s in November 2019 and plans to stay open to serve the local community through this crisis.
For a current list of “Good to Go” restaurants, visit www.gulfcoastweekend.com/
good-to-go-restaurants.
If you are a restaurant owner and would like to participate in the “Good to Go” campaign, please e-mail director@ chefsofthecoast.org.
38 | May 2020
www.smliving.net | SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living
A VANCLEAVE RESIDENT frequently visits Georgia’s Corner Market in Vancleave for to-go orders.
GEORGIA’S CORNER MARKET keeps their bakery case stocked with goods available to the community.