At 6 a.m., the lights come on at Velvet Bean inside the Markham Hotel. The lobby has a soaring ceiling and large windows overlooking downtown. When the Amtrak trains arrive, people walk past toward Mississippi Aquarium. Two blocks west on 14th Street, The Downtowner starts its griddle at 7 in a building that sold prescriptions and milkshakes for 65 years. On a Saturday, the last call comes at midnight farther down 25th Avenue.
None of those three places existed a year ago, but all three sit in rooms Gulfport already knew. Downtown didn't add new buildings in 2026. It refilled old ones, mostly along a single street. That changed which hours downtown is open and which days it still goes quiet.
Three Old Addresses, Three New Tenants
The Markham, 14th Street and 23rd Avenue. The hotel first opened in January 1927. The outside still looks much as it did then. Inside, the Sun Herald calls it a contemporary showpiece, with photos of old Gulfport and the Coast hanging throughout. It reopened in April with 115 rooms. It also brought back several places for people who aren't staying the night: Velvet Bean, The Library Restaurant and Lounge, the restored Crystal Ballroom and a rooftop bar. Velvet Bean debuted April 23. It serves breakfast sandwiches on croissants and biscuits, and paninis like Tuscan fig and brie. You can walk in straight from the street without going through the hotel.
The Downtowner, 14th Street and U.S. 49. This is the old Triplett-Day Drug Co. building. The pharmacy and lunch counter operated there for 65 years and closed March 31, 2020, when the owners retired soon after the pandemic began. Robert St. John announced the restaurant in October 2024. After construction delays, it opened June 9, 2026, serving breakfast and lunch from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily. Hattiesburg residents know St. John from Ed's Burger Joint, Crescent City Grill and The Midtowner. The Downtowner is his 27th restaurant and his first on the Coast. He told WLOX that his love of restaurants "came from the Mississippi Gulf Coast," going back to summers at his mother's fish camp on the Pascagoula River. The walls are covered with old Gulfport photos and memorabilia, some of it loaned by residents after St. John asked them to bring in their trophies. Seating ranges from booths to high-back counter stools. Coverage also mentions a room set aside for Triplett-Day itself.
Neighbors Tap & Table, 1307 25th Avenue. This took over the former Downtown Bistro space. Matthew Bounds, known online as Your Barefoot Neighbor, and CJ Bryant opened it in mid-May with a block party. The opening menu ran to shareable small plates: chicken cobbler, deviled eggs, pineapple cornbread and crab dip. Live entertainment was planned for the patio. By late August it was hosting Dolly Day, a Dolly Parton celebration with music, specialty drinks and a book drive for a local nonprofit.
Each opening borrowed a name or a room that already carried local memory. Earlier owners had already shown each corner could draw people. The new tenants spent their effort on restoration and pulled the city's history into the décor.
Why 25th Avenue Is the Spine
Plot the addresses and most of them line up on one street. In WLOX's coverage of the Channel South project, U.S. 49 and 25th Avenue are the same road. That puts The Downtowner on the corner of 14th Street and 25th Avenue. Walking south from there:
- Tavi's Salumeria, 1618 25th Avenue. A sandwich shop built on imported Italian and Spanish meats and cheeses.
- The former Pop Brothers shop, 1501 25th Avenue. It closed after September 13.
- Neighbors Tap & Table, 1307 25th Avenue.
- Channel South, 25th Avenue at West Beach Boulevard. The mixed-use project that broke ground March 20.
The Markham sits two blocks east of The Downtowner on 14th Street. Chandeleur Island Brewing Company is at 2711 14th Street, on the other side of 25th Avenue. In practice, the downtown that changed in 2026 is a T: one stretch of 14th Street crossed by 25th Avenue running down toward the beach.
A Saturday, Hour by Hour
With all of the openings in place, a downtown Saturday covers the whole day. The hours below come from each business's current listing or the latest local report. Hours change, so check before you go.
- 6 a.m. Velvet Bean opens at the Markham and serves until 2 p.m. daily, according to the Sun Herald's May report.
- 7 a.m. The Downtowner opens for breakfast and lunch until 2 p.m.
- 11 a.m. Neighbors Tap & Table opens.
- 4 p.m. The Library's bar and the Markham's Upstairs Bar both open.
- 5 p.m. The Library dining room starts dinner service, running to 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
- 10 p.m. The Upstairs Bar closes.
- 11 p.m. The Library's bar closes.
- Midnight. Neighbors closes.
That's 18 hours from first coffee to last call, with the Markham handling the morning and evening and 25th Avenue handling the late night.
Where the Week Still Goes Quiet
The same listings show the gaps. Neighbors' own site now lists it closed on Sundays, though opening-week coverage gave Sunday hours of noon to 6 p.m. The Upstairs Bar is also closed Sunday. The Library dining room is closed Monday through Wednesday and serves dinner only Thursday through Saturday. Its bar stays open every day, closing at 9 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday.
So the early-week evening downtown mostly happens at the Library bar, and a Sunday plan works best before 2 p.m. The new places concentrated their hours on the busiest days rather than trying to stay open late every night. If you're hosting guests early in the week, plan around that.
The Shop That Closed, and Why
Pop Brothers closed its gourmet popsicle shops in downtown Gulfport and Ocean Springs in mid-September after 11 years. Shannon Arzola told the Sun Herald that business hadn't slowed. The owners couldn't keep up with running two businesses. The popsicle business was put up for sale, and the owners reported interest from buyers in South Mississippi and the New Orleans area.
The family is staying on 25th Avenue. Octavio and Shannon Arzola and Shannon's brother, Chuck Kelly, are putting their energy into Tavi's Salumeria. In the Sun Herald report, Shannon said she has plans for Tavi's she hadn't been able to carry out, including events every month or so and possibly classes. Those are stated plans, and we haven't found any announced dates yet. When a downtown storefront goes dark, the people behind it often reinvest a few doors down.
What Comes Next on the Same Streets
The coming calendar uses the same blocks:
- Depot District at Dusk is listed for Friday, October 16, from 4:30 p.m. until dusk downtown, with live music, vendors and restaurant and bar specials. The listing describes it as a monthly third-Friday event.
- The 9th Annual Pink Dress Run/Walk is listed for October 17 at Chandeleur Island Brewing Company. It's a run-walk and pub crawl that raises money for local cancer patients.
- Gulfport Harbor Lights Winter Festival is listed for November 27, 2026, through January 2, 2027, at Jones Park. The festival's own site says tickets go on sale November 1.
- Cruisin' the Coast runs October 4 through 11, with registration at Jones Park. Because of the storm forecast, organizers said on October 7 that they were taking the weekend day by day. Some Friday and Saturday events had already been canceled, so check the organizer's live schedule.
The next big change is at the south end of 25th Avenue. In a May 2026 report, WLOX described Channel South as a $105 million mixed-use project at Beach Boulevard and 25th Avenue. It includes Hotel Holden, a Marriott Tribute Portfolio property, and was expected to open in August 2027. The Mississippi Business Journal reported that plans call for street-level retail and dining, and a publicly owned parking structure expected in 2026. August 2027 is a projection, and we haven't found a newer construction update. Unlike this year's openings, Channel South is new construction.
AM EQUITY REALTY is based in Hattiesburg, so we were glad to see one of our own hometown restaurateurs open on 14th Street. We follow these downtown changes block by block because they shape how a street feels to the people who live near it. If you're weighing what this new activity on 25th Avenue means for a home nearby, Book a Consultation and we'll go through it with you.
