End of the Line

Bay St. Louis, Mississippi

By Polly Dean

Photos by Jimmy Jacobs

April 2021

The Blind Tiger

You’ve got to love an eatery that doesn’t even have a freezer, because they believe in serving everything fresh!

That’s the philosophy of this waterfront restaurant and bar in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Their motto is “Frozen food has a different taste to it – we don’t roll like that!” Combine that with a décor reminiscent of the Bahamas – open air breeze, sand between your toes, amazing view, and ice-cold beverages – and you have the perfect watering hole to follow a day of flinging a fly.

You won’t find a freezer in this kitchen area!

The Blind Tiger’s Waterfront Staples menu never changes, offering handmade cheddar burgers, mahi tacos, Royal Red shrimp and loaded cheese fries that are always fresh cut daily. In keeping with their laid-back style, the daily specials are written on a chalkboard.

You can enjoy those tasty delights either inside, on their patio or at water-view picnic tables in the yard.

The two full-service bars serve up margaritas, mojitos, other rum drinks and a variety of tropical concoctions. Ice cold beers, including a selection of local craft favorites, are available as well.

The patio bar at the Blind Tiger.

The name Blind Tiger is not an accident or simply dreamed up. The term is derived from its use during the days of the unlawful practice of rum running. During the era of Prohibition from 1919 to 1933, illegal late-night bars in southern towns were called blind tigers. Bay St. Louis had several that were popular with politicians, musicians, prostitutes, business men and even law men. The owners of the blind tigers coordinated shipments of rum from Cuba into the Bay St. Louis area via small speed boats that could evade the larger and slower boats of the U.S. Coast Guard.

Picnic tables overlooking the boat harbor.

This portion of the Mississippi coastline was popular with smugglers due to its proximity of the easy distribution  routes on the Mississippi River and its tributaries. Part of the lore is that Al Capone, Chicago’s most notorious gangster, had a riverfront compound only seven miles from Bay St. Louis on the Jourdan River. Check out the Blind Tiger location in Bay St. Louis, along with their other restaurants in Biloxi, as well as in Slidell and Covington, Louisiana at theblindtiger.biz.