The signs out there look good, but is Hattiesburg ready for Big Trouble?

As soon as the sign went up, people started asking what Big Trouble was all about.

"It's not an immediate care," the sign below the name said.

Other signs that have entertained passersby over the last few months have included, "The zoo pays the giraffes to flirt with you;" "Sign up for yodeling classes today;" and "Ozzy Osbourne's 'No More Tears' is the best song about baby shampoo ever made."

At one point, the billboard might have posted something Captain Ron might say. Or ask his whereabouts. "Have you seen Captain Ron?" If they answer is yes, an eye exam is in your future.

Any movie buff putting two and three together might think Big Trouble had something to do with actor Kurt Russell, star of movies like "Captain Ron" and "Big Trouble in Little China." Close, but no shark attack.

Aside from the great name and fun messages, Big Trouble has nothing to do with Russell or giraffes, or even yodeling. Well, the yodeling is a maybe.

All witty sayings aside, Big Trouble is going to be a knock-your-socks-off Asian restaurant — and a whole lot more — good food, local artwork, friends working together and most importantly, an amazing customer experience.

"That's what we really want," said Emily Curry, one of the restaurant's owners. "We want to put that out with every customer, so we're spending a lot of time and resources and energy on what this place looks like.

"That's something that Dusty (Frierson) has been so passionate about for all these years is the level of service and kindness you can give a customer."

Right now, the sign says, "We are not open." It's going to take another month or two before Big Trouble is ready to opens its doors. In the meantime, they will keep entertaining the passersby and Instagram followers, which has grown to more than 1,500 in the short time it's been around.

The signs are fun. The food will be better.

The menu, created by Jeremy Noffke, will be fresh with a delicate balance of flavors and textures from across the Asian continent. Many of the dishes will focus on Chinese dishes, but there will be Japanese, Thai and more to sample.

"Noodles, fried rice, things like that," Noffke said.

There will be some traditional dishes and some "atypical dishes," too, Noffke said.

The good news is, as much as it sounds expensive, Big Trouble won't break the bank.

"Most of the menu will be like 6 to 18 bucks," Noffke said. "But, if you want to spend $40 on a (special) dish, you can do that, too. I think Dusty (Frierson) had said it best, like we're kind of fine-dining in disguise — a fine-dining restaurant disguised as a casual restaurant, just refined."

In addition to the "refined" Asian cuisine, there will be several dining areas, each with its own decor and personality. Murals and paintings by local artists will grace the walls and fun pops of color will surprise diners seeking that unique experience.

A cocktail bar with a separate entrance will be on-site for those who may want to stop in for a drink and maybe an appetizer or two. Customers will be offered the full dining menu, in case they want to enjoy a meal at the bar.

The cocktail menu will include specialty drinks designed to go with some of the dishes as well as other spirits, wine and beer selections.

How did Big Trouble come to be?

For three friends who have worked together a long time, it is a dream that is becoming a reality. These friends aren't just anyone. They are people who have already made their mark on the Hattiesburg hospitality industry even if you don't know their names.

Curry has been a fixture at Southern Prohibition Brewing for more than a decade and has worked with owner Quinby Chunn and others on a number of business ventures. Noffke and Frierson both worked at Robert St. John's restaurants Crescent City Grill, Mahogany Bar, Purple Parrot Cafe and Branch, with Frierson as general manager and Noffke flexing his culinary muscle in the kitchen.

Dubbed an educator of innovation and sommelier of wine and spirits, Frierson's gift is bringing restaurant dining to a new level by making it an experience, rather than just a place to get a meal. Noffke has raised the bar on pub food with his creative dishes served at SoPro and Branch.

"We had a long, wonderful stretch at Crescent City Grill and Purple Parrot … and Branch," Frierson said. "Then I did some restaurant consulting for a few years and then was involved in a project. I was involved in opening the SoPro kitchen with these guys (Curry and Noffke)."

After leaving St. John's New South Restaurant Group, Noffke worked on the Coast for a few years before returning to Hattiesburg and the SoPro kitchen.

'Kicking the tires' on an idea

Noffke and Curry began "kicking the tires" on the idea of working together with Frierson, this time at a new restaurant with a new flavor. When brainstorming ideas of name, Big Trouble was thrown out, and it stuck.

"We really enjoyed working together," Curry said of Noffke and Frierson. "It went well (at SoPro) and we'd all been kind of thrown together so we decided to move on to another restaurant together.

"We all love Asian food, but this guy (Noffke) loves Asian food and he's going to be the one coming up with all the recipes and stuff, so we decided to do that. And it's just kind of started turning into this."

Investor David Chunn — father of SoPro owner Quinby Chunn — jumped on board to help finance the massive project.

In addition to Curry, Frierson, Noffke and Chunn, Big Trouble's management team brings even more layers of hospitality to the mix.

Christian McBeth, Rachel Nicolosi and Logan Montgomery have extensive histories in the service industry: McBeth in the kitchen, Nicolosi in the dining room and Montgomery in the bar.

'Word of mouth goes a long way'

Nicolosi, who will manage the front of the house, was general manager at Southern Prohibition. Before that, she was general manager at The Depot.

"Our shared goal is we want to have the best service in town," Nicolosi said. "We want people to feel super welcome when they come in. We want people to not be scared or intimidated to ask a question about the menu or anything, really.

"We want them to be able to leave this experience going, 'That was money well spent in every single way, like can't wait to go back.' Word of mouth goes a long way."

Kitchen manager enjoys fruits of his labor

McBeth will manage the day-to-day kitchen operations along with Noffke. It's a place where he feels most comfortable.

"Yep, I will be (Noffke's) right hand," McBeth said. "Maybe I'll be his left hand. Maybe both hands."

McBeth said he had known Noffke for a few years but didn't know him well until the restaurant opened at Southern Prohibition, where he was a patron and later an employee. He worked with chef Josh Casper at The Depot before joining the SoPro team.

"I like to work with food and kind of stay behind the scenes and watch everything, watch all the wheels turn and just kind of do my own thing," McBeth said. "I like to think that I'm a pretty humble person, but that changes in my brain whenever I look out and I see someone enjoying (their meal) and I'm like, yeah, I made that."

Casper also experiments with Asian cuisine and occasionally hosts special dinner nights at The Depot.

"He kind of kind of inspired an interest in Asian cuisine of all sorts in my brain," McBeth said. "Once I found out that Big Trouble was opening, I was like, yeah, this seems like a natural fit and I get to come here and hone my craft further."

Cocktail bar in capable hands

Montgomery worked his cocktail magic at St. John's restaurant group, including the cocktail lounge, Branch, before leaving to work a a bartender in Atlanta for a while.

"I honestly found my passion for food and beverage at Crescent City Grill under Dusty and Jeremy's tutelage," Montgomery said. "I quickly moved up in the Mahogany Bar and Branch. When COVID hit, it kind of called the reset button. So I came home, spent some time with family, worked in a hospital for a bit, then quickly realized that was not for me. So I got back into food and beverage after that."

Montgomery will be working on some new cocktails for Big Trouble, putting his other passion to work as well.

"I really like the creative side of things," he said. "I was a chemistry major in college and, well, life happened. The bar can kind of be a chemistry set that I can play with without risking an explosion."

Oh, wait a minute. What happened to Kurt Russell?

Curry said while Big Trouble isn't a Kurt Russell-themed venue, there will be a little something special somewhere in the restaurant that acknowledges the big-screen hero.

"We're accepting of how much we have to embrace and love Kurt Russell now," she said.

Big Trouble

Big Trouble, a new Asian restaurant, is expected to open sometime in early 2024.

The restaurant is at 2313 Hardy St. Applications are being accepted, usually between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., but applications may be picked up at any time.

Do you have a story to share? Contact Lici Beveridge at lbeveridge@gannett.com. Follow her on X @licibev or Facebook at facebook.com/licibeveridge.

This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: New Hattiesburg restaurant gets into Big Trouble before it opens