Customers from as far as South Florida, Kansas mourn closure of beloved Mississippi seafood restaurant

Published 2:05 pm Friday, March 31, 2023

Customers of a beloved seafood restaurant on the Mississippi Gulf Coast are reminiscing and mourning after the owners decided to close its doors.

For the past 20 years, the customers of the Cajun Crawfish Hut have been enjoying the restaurant’s iconic dishes, including its gumbo, fried green tomatoes, fried alligator and, of course, its number-one seller — crawfish.

The owners announced the closure on Facebook and have said they are ready to retire.

Subscribe to our free email newsletter

Get the latest news sent to your inbox

On social media, customers from as far away as Alabama, Kansas and South Florida expressed their sadness at the announcement.

“Oh, Jim and I are happy for you, But heartbroken for us—we have lost our VERY FAVORITE place to eat!!!” Jean N. wrote.”Traveling for 9 hours from Longwood, Florida, to Long Beach, Mississippi, was SOOOO worth the drive!!! Your Fried Green Tomatoes can NEVER be duplicated—we know–we tried them everywhere we went that had them on the menu. We will certainly miss you Gus and Donna!!!”

Former employees also expressed their thanks for the memories and lessons learned at the restaurant.

“It was my privilege to work with the both of you over the many years of friendship we shared..” Cathy C. wrote. “Love you and wish you the best during your transition into retirement…”
“Definitely the end of an era!” Morgan B. wrote. “I enjoyed working there in high school, and it was one of my pap’s favorite spots before he passed away. He loved talking with Gus. Happy Retirement, Gus & Donna. You guys deserve it!”
The owners said they thank all who made the restaurant what it was and thanked the City of Long Beach for its support over the 20 years the restaurant was open.

“We want to thank all of our customers in Long Beach and Gulfport and those who traveled even further for the last 20 years,” the post said. “Thank you to our regular customers, who we had the joy of seeing almost every day. Thank you to our team members and our previous team members. And of course, thank you to the city of Long Beach. We will miss you all.”