Page 34 - South Mississippi Living - June, 2018

PEOPLE zucchini!
“Cheese, whiskey, zucchini!” Bobby Mahoney said while having his photo taken. While it’s not the usual “cheese,” anyone who knows Mahoney knows that usual just isn’t his style.
So why cheese, whiskey, zucchini? “You just can’t help but smile when you say ‘zucchini,’” Mahoney laughed. And truly, that’s what Bobby Mahoney is all about: making others laugh.
Mahoney is the owner of Mary Mahoney’s Old French House in Biloxi,
a place that is near and dear to his heart. The restaurant is named after his mother, Mary, who Mahoney says had a doctorate in “Social Endeavors.”
“How does one receive a doctorate in Social Endeavors in the ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s in Biloxi, Mississippi? She went to the news stand every Tuesday and picked up The New York Times,” Mahoney said. She read about food, music, art and fashion for 30 years and cultivated her talent: her personality. Mother donned an evening dress every night, and I tell everybody that she could talk to you about anything from horse racing to Giacomo Puccini,” Mahoney recalled. “She could talk to people in a way that no one else could.”
Mary passed away on December 29, 1985, and was buried on New Year’s Eve. “We opened up the restaurant that night because that’s what she’d have wanted,” Mahoney said. “We fed a bunch of people. Growing up she’d always tell me, ‘Bobby, go take care of my customers,’ and that’s exactly what we did.”
After her passing, many people wondered whether Mary Mahoney’s could make it without its matriarch. Mahoney quickly stepped up and became the face
of the restaurant, running the business with the help of his sister, Eileen Mahoney Ezell. Having grown up working in
34 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • June 2018
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Coast Character:
BOBBY MAHONEY
story by Kelsey Sunderman-Foster photo by Donn Hupp
TELLIN’ JOKES & TAKIN’ CARE OF CUSTOMERS
Five crows sitting on a fence; you shot and killed one. How many you got left? NONE! You think them crows are gonna hang around and get shot?
the restaurant from the age of 17, Mahoney had learned the importance of giving his customers an experience worth remembering.
“If I just told people we had good food, they could care less” Mahoney said. “When people come here, they know that I’m going to tell them something that makes them smile
and you can’t beat laughter.” And laughter is exactly what you’ll get on any given evening at Mary Mahoney’s. Ask anyone who’s been and you’re sure to hear about one of the infamous “Mahoney Jokes.”
“A good joke is like a good song. How many times are you going to listen to it? It makes you feel good, even for the second, third or fourth time,” Mahoney said. “They might be corny, but they make people smile.”
The legacy left behind by his mother is alive and well, carried on by her family. It’s clear that Bobby Mahoney is devoted to his mother’s restaurant and her memory, but even more so, he is devoted to continually taking care of her customers and making them smile.