Remember Trilby’s? The favorite Coast restaurant is making a comeback years later

Mary Perez
·3 min read
The sign is up along U.S. 90 in Ocean Springs that Tribly restaurant soon will return. It was among the favorite fine dining restaurants in South Mississippi for decades.

A Coast tradition is returning 33 years after a charming fine dining restaurant closed in Ocean Springs.

Work is under way to bring back the elegance and cuisine of Trilby’s restaurant at 1203 Bienville Blvd., Ocean Springs, just east of Washington Avenue. The new owners are hoping to have the restaurant ready for its debut before the end of the year.

“We’ve done a lot of renovations,” said Anthony Rametta, who returned to South Mississippi from Florida to become executive chef and general manager of the new Trilby’s.

Work to reopen started with shoring up the distinctive building and putting down new floors, “So the building’s going to be here another 100 to 150 years,” Rametta said.

Now crews are completing interior finishes, landscaping and other touches to make a big impression.

In addition to the main dining room with warm wood trim are four private dining rooms — each with a different design to match its size and purpose.

The business meeting room has soundproofing. The party room is festive for baby showers and other celebrations. The chandelier room sparkles with crystals.

Trilby’s often is mentioned as one of the restaurants people miss most in South Mississippi, and Stuart and Ann Weidie are bringing it back for the community, Rametta said.

Ann Weidie is designing the space to give it a luxury feel similar to the original restaurant. Hints of her style are the wine case in the entry, lighted artwork and a fountain to welcome customers.

Fine food and drink

An accessory bar will provide classic cocktails from the age of the original Trilby’s and provide a premium list of bourbon and whiskey, Rametta said.

The menu will be classic French Creole, and the restaurant will be open for lunch and dinner.

“We do have several of the original recipes,” the chef said, such as Trout Amandine Trilby and other popular dishes.

Rametta will add his own specialties. He’s well acquainted with the tastes of Coast residents and visitors, having served as executive chef at Scarlet Pearl, Hard Rock and Golden Nugget casinos and assistant executive chef at IP Casino,

Carrie Bounds-Hitchings was hired to serve as front of house manager.

History of Trilby’s

The story of Trilby’s goes back generations.

Lillian Trilby Grenet Steimer learned to prepare and properly serve gourmet dishes from her grandfather, Honore Grene, according to the history printed on Trilby’s souvenir menu. Grene owned one of the most celebrated Parisian restaurants of the Second French Empire.

Trilby traveled extensively with her father, eating at fine restaurants and charming recipes out of hesitant chefs.

She and her husband, Ted Steimer, first opened Trilby’s in Ocean Springs in 1948 on Washington Avenue where Aunt Jenny’s Catfish Restaurant operates today. They moved Trilby’s to Bienville Boulevard in 1955.

Trilby’s closed in 1990, when Jack and Jane Gottsche bought the restaurant and opened it as Germaine’s, according to Sun Herald archives.

By 2005, it was Chandler’s Fine Dining, which was owned by Vikki McElhose.

Alberti’s moved into the Ocean Springs building after Hurricane Katrina leveled its Biloxi location in 2005. The restaurant closed in 2010.

Most recently the building housed an antiques shop.