BAY ST. LOUIS OLD TOWN MERCHANTS ASSOCIATION
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  • Home
    • Upcoming Events
  • HOT SPOTS
  • Shop
    • 211 Main
    • Antique Maison
    • Bay Books
    • Bay Elements
    • Bay Life
    • Bay-Tique
    • B.E.E. by the Bay - A Fine Art Gallery
    • Biz-zee Bee
    • California Drawstrings
    • Clay Creations
    • Cottage Curios
    • Fleurty Girl
    • Gallery 220
    • Jane Evans Designs
    • Magnolia Antiques
    • Salty Soul Outfitters
    • Sassy Bird Interiors
    • Smith & Lens Gallery
    • Social Chair
    • Southern Accents
    • Tami Curtis Gallery
    • The French Potager
    • The Porch
  • Dine/Drink
    • 200 North Beach Restaurant
    • Bodega Spirits and Liquor
    • Cuz’s Old Town Oyster Bar & Grill
    • Daiquiri Shak
    • Dan B Murphy's Restaurant & Bar
    • Ms. Mary's Old Town Snoball
    • Mockingbird Cafe
    • Parrot Head Bar & Grill
    • PJ's Coffee
    • Pop Brothers
    • Purple Banana
    • Serious Bread Bakery
    • Smokin' Jo's
    • The Buttercup on Second Street
    • The Creole Creamery
    • The Sycamore House
  • Stay
    • Bay Cottages
    • Bay Town Inn
    • Life's A Beach Cottage
    • Sandy Feet Retreat
    • The Trust Bed & Breakfast
  • Services
    • Bay St. Louis Historic Depot, Visitor Center, Museum, & Displays
    • Bodega BSL
    • Full Moon Clockworks
    • Hancock Chamber of Commerce
    • Hancock County Historical Society
    • O'Dwyer Realty
    • The Arts, Hancock County
    • The Loft
  • Entertainment
    • 100 Men Hall
    • Alice Moseley Museum
    • Bay St. Louis Little Theatre
    • The Shoofly Magazine
  • Maps
  • 2nd Saturdays
    • November 2019
    • October 2019
    • September 2019
    • August 2019
    • July 2019
    • June 2019
    • May 2019
    • April 2019
    • March 2019
    • February 2019
    • January 2019
    • December 2018
    • November 2018
    • May 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • January 2018
    • December 2017
    • November 2017
    • October 2017
    • September 2017
    • December 2019
    • September 2020

The Mockingbird Cafe

Gourmet coffee, Lazy Magnolia brews, Mockingburgers, local art
110 South Second Street  Bay St. Louis, MS  39520  228.467.8383​

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Photos by Caroline St. Paul
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The Mockingbird Café is always one of the first stops for people visiting Bay St. Louis.  Usually they were commanded by some friendly local to go there.  Or they may have read about the Mockingbird in Southern Living (it’s been featured there several times) or some other national publication. 

Visitors can always find interesting locals willing to converse in the lively café.  On any given day, you’re likely to find college students who have stumbled on the Bay during their travels, scientists who work at Stennis Space Center, day-trippers from New Orleans and beyond, kids from the nearby schools and lots of artists and writers.  The mix of people is as irresistible as the food and beverages served up by smiling baristas.  The Mockingbird’s affectionate nickname is “The Town’s Living Room,” and it is. 

The owner is best known as Alicein Wonderland, which are her real first and middle names ("hippie parents, you know").  The fairy tale name suits her effervescent personality, which has an underpinning of steely determination.  She needed it after Katrina, when as a new mother, she and her former husband opened the café in 2006 - in the midst of the carnage left by the storm.

“There was a need for a gathering place for the town to heal, a loving and hopeful spot,” Alicein says. 

Alicein, who grew up in Bay St. Louis, has traveled “far and wide,” and believes this has impacted her worldview.  And along the way, she’s always gathering ideas to improve the Mockingbird.  Which is hardly “just” a coffeehouse.  It’s also an art gallery, featuring local artistic icons like J.J. Foley and Kat Fitzpatrick.  And it’s a music venue, featuring some top quality artists, as well as locals who gather for open mike nights.

“We’ve been fortunate to get bigger name performers on their way to places like the House of Blues in New Orleans.  In musician circles, we’ve become known as a homey spot to perform, since our audiences are always welcoming and receptive.”

In the past year, with chef Julie Ragusa coming aboard, the kitchen is bursting with fresh ideas and the menu is leaning heavily toward  farm-to-table dishes.  Ragusa worked as a chef and a chocolatier in Belgium for many years, so the confections coming out of the kitchen are gourmet quality.  In addition to the “world-famous Mockingburger,” fresh sandwiches and scrumptious breakfasts, look for crème brulet, Café Vienna muffins, Lemon Feta Shortbread cookies and chocolate mousse.  You can order up every kind of beverage from an expresso to a locally brewed craft beer.  

The town’s living room also serves as a starting point for a running club on Thursday nights, just another example of how this business has become a central part of the community

“We’re all pieces of the big puzzle, working to make our town loved and successful,” says Alicein.  “Our philosophy at the Mockingbird is that kindness is the most important thing.”
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