The Downtowner
Gulfport, MS
Robert St. John's breakfast-and-lunch diner in the old Triplett-Day pharmacy building, open since June 2026, with sweet potato pancakes.
Atmosphere
For 65 years the corner of Highway 49 and 14th Street belonged to Triplett-Day Drug, which opened in 1955 and closed in March 2020. The building sat empty until Hattiesburg restaurateur Robert St. John gutted it and opened The Downtowner on June 9, 2026. It is his 27th restaurant and his first on the Gulf Coast. He designed it to look like it has been there since 1948, and the walls carry more than 1,000 photographs of Gulfport across a century, gathered with help from local historian Paul German. Trophies from Little League teams, bowling leagues and fishing tournaments fill in the gaps. St. John calls it a living scrapbook for the city, and it reads that way.
What to Order
Breakfast is the draw, and the sweet potato pancakes are the dish diners at the opening were talking about. The rest of the morning menu runs to biscuits, traditional pancakes, eggs, waffles, sourdough French toast, avocado toast and acai bowls. Lunch leans Southern: chicken and dumplings, fried chicken, meatloaf, and vegetables like black-eyed peas, butter beans and turnip greens with cornbread. St. John has described the food as real food for real people, the cuisine his grandmother made, and the lunch list backs that up. Menus at a restaurant this new can shift, so treat this as a snapshot.
Good to Know
The Downtowner serves breakfast and lunch only, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., and current listings show it open seven days a week. Hours can change, so confirm before a special trip. It sits at the corner of Highway 49 and 14th Street in downtown Gulfport, and street parking is the usual arrangement. A new restaurant with a good story draws crowds, and weekend brunch is the likeliest time for a wait. There is no website of its own that we could find, and online ordering is listed through a third-party platform.
Our Take
This is the place to start a downtown Gulfport day, less for any one dish than for the room, where you can read a century of the city off the walls while you eat. Order the sweet potato pancakes, then walk the photographs while you wait for the check. Go on a weekday morning if you want time to look, and call ahead if you are bringing a big group.
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Details last verified September 2026. Always confirm current hours and menu directly with the restaurant.