Page 68 - South Mississippi Living - July, 2026

Philip Natale
LOCAL BUSINESSES HONOR FIRST RESPONDERS AND MILITARY
Jeff Harris
story by Cherie Ward photos courtesy of Centennial Plaza, Jeff Harris, Phillip Natale and Taylor Bourgeois
On the Gulf Coast, support for first responders often looks less like a campaign and more like instinct. A restaurant quietly picks up the tab for a table of exhausted paramedics after a long shift. A hotel offers discounted rooms for military families visiting South Mississippi. A business owner drops off meals at fire and police stations after a hurricane.
Around the Coast, appreciation often arrives without much fanfare, but for many business owners, that support is deeply personal.
Taylor Bourgeois, owner of Coastal Pour Company Mobile Bar & Charcuterie, knows firsthand the sacrifices military members and first responders make because he spent years working alongside them. After serving in the United States Marine Corps, Bourgeois returned home to continue working in fire service, EMS, and law enforcement.
“That mindset never really leaves you,” Bourgeois said. “Across every role, the common theme was taking care of people during some of the hardest moments of their lives.”
Today, Bourgeois and his wife have built their business around many of those same values—service, hospitality, reliability,
and community connection. They offer appreciation programs and donation initiatives supporting military members, law
68 | July 2026
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