Steaks and music put this South MS restaurant on the list of ‘America’s Best Restaurants’
Producers from the “America’s Best Restaurants” website travel the country to bring attention to locally-owned restaurants — and they’re on the way to South Mississippi.
The ABR Roadshow will stop Jan. 23 at Sully’s restaurant at 1316 30th Ave. in downtown Gulfport. The video they produce will showcase the restaurant’s food, music and connection to the community.
The producers were looking for restaurants to feature in various parts of the country, said Sully’s co-owner Brian McLelland, and Sully’s was selected.
“We could have chosen any of our ventures to do this at,” he said, but the Gulfport location has much more tourist traffic than Sully’s in Hattiesburg and Petal.
The video will be featured on social media channels and McLelland will show and tell why Sully’s is among “America’s Best.”
The restaurant was named for John L. Sullivan, a champion boxer from Boston who won the last “official” bare-fisted fight in 1889, in 75 rounds. The fight was on the grounds of what is now Sully’s restaurant in Hattiesburg.
Music every night
Sully’s in Gulfport has the same “fight” as its namesake. It opened in January 2022 at the former Climb CDC building on the fringes of downtown Gulfport. The building was dressed up with reclaimed wood accents for character and has plenty of space for dining, a bar and a large events center.
Getting people to the restaurant at the edge of the downtown is a challenge, as is the competition from “lots of places to eat,” McLelland said. More than 100 restaurants opened across South Mississippi in 2023 and more are on the way.
Sully’s stands out by being the only or one of few restaurants on the Coast to have live music seven days a week.
“Live music is kind of where we started,” he said.
Beyond that, Richburg Hall within Sully’s has 10,000 square feet to host weddings, corporate events, parties and other events.
Gulfport hosts several events for Cruisin’ The Coast in October and Sully’s joined the party in 2023, sponsoring an event that Cruisers praised for being a fun venue to see antique and classic cars, out of the heavy traffic areas.
McLelland said they also hosted a Jeepin’ the Coast event and on Jan. 26 will bring the Molly Ringwalds for a performance.
Known for steaks
To qualify as a “Best Restaurant” requires food that wows customers and Sully’s promises “legendary food and drink.”
“Our steak’s kind of what got us to where we are today,” McLelland said, and are purchased from a boutique butcher in Iowa.
“All of our steaks are a minimum 21 days wet aged, never frozen,” the website says. They are dusted with a special house seasoning and char grilled to order.
They also make lots of burgers on the Coast, he said, and weekly specials are created around fresh seafood.
Other favorites on the menu are spicy chicken and andouille pasta, sandwiches, appetizers, and for dessert, funnel cake fries and their own cheesecake.
America’s Best Restaurants has featured more than 1,000 restaurants. The premiere of the Sully’s episode will be announced and will be seen on a webpage dedicated to Sully’s and on the restaurant’s website.
