The secret’s out. You no longer have to be “in the know” to find the best steak in Brookhaven. Since early this spring, it’s been right there on Magnolia Blues BBQ’s menu. “For years, we were selling as many steaks as barbecue items,” said the restaurant owner Carl Craig. “But it wasn’t on the menu until about two months ago.”
Craig, a Brookhaven native, opened Magnolia Blues BBQ in the summer of 2013 with a vision of offering a traditional barbecue menu. Over the years, he’s responded to community demand for chicken wings and other fried items, opened a full bar in the restaurant, and become one of downtown Brookhaven’s favorite live music destinations.
BBQ, and a Side of Blues, too
“We try to hit every genre,” said Craig. Diners can expect to hear everything from country, to Billy Joel piano covers, to classic rock. For ten years, Wednesday nights at Magnolia Blues are a Brookhaven tradition, when Craig opens the stage for anyone and everyone for open mic night. “We really love our Wednesday nights here,” he said. “Musicians show up from all over.”
Barbecue is still at the heart of the experience, though. Everything—from the sauce, to the hand-cut fries, to the pickles—are made from scratch, in-house. “We’re gonna do all of this the right way,” said Craig. While he describes Magnolia Blues as today “the closest thing you’ll find to a steak house around here,” the ribs are still his favorite thing on the menu. “Since I was a kid, I was obsessed with cooking ribs,” he said. “I probably cooked my first rack of ribs when I was nine or ten years old. So, it’s something we do I’m really proud of.”
New York style pizza from Serio's
When Craig decided to move the restaurant from its original location to its current downtown spot in 2021—he’d found the perfect location in an old Fred’s Home Store. “It was a great opportunity, except for the fact that it was 20,000 square feet.” To break up the space, he decided to pursue an idea he’d been toying with for awhile: opening a pizza restaurant.
“I love pizza,” he said. “I was making it all the time at home and learning so much about it.”
Craig opened Serio’s Pizzeria in 2021, a carry-out authentic New York-style pizza shop. The pies are made with the highest quality ingredients, with sausage, sauce, and many of the toppings made in-house. Craig and his staff ferment their dough for two days before rolling it, coming in on Sundays and Mondays to meticulously prep for the rest of the week. “It’s a really specialty, thoughtful approach to pizza,” he said.
Sharing the building with Magnolia Blues and Serio’s is Mississippi Ice Daiquiri shop, which opened last fall. The concept is the brainchild of Michael LeBlanc, a Louisiana native who has called Brookhaven home for twenty years—but who got his start working in various Baton Rouge daiquiri shops. “The frozen drink thing is unique in towns like Brookhaven,” he said. “In Mississippi you just rarely see it like you do in Louisiana.”
Image courtesy of Brookhaven Mississippi
Mississippi Ice Daiquiri shop
In his small space, he has fostered an intimate “dive bar” environment, with five big screen televisions for watching sports, and a gated patio. “We always have music on,” he said. “From 4 pm–10 pm it’s my stuff—70s and 80s rock. Then from 10 pm–midnight, I relinquish the jukebox duties, and let the younger folks play that higher energy music.”
All three businesses have benefitted from timing their arrival with downtown Brookhaven’s recent renaissance. “I grew up here and my dad owned a business downtown,” said Craig. “And it was a ghost town. Now, you come here on a Friday night and you can’t find anywhere to park. It’s been great.”
“There’s so much traffic right here,” said LeBlanc. “And so many great events that all of the restaurants benefit off of.” The patio at Mississippi Ice, for example, is a favorite spot to sit back and watch the live music onstage at Railroad Park during the Summer Concert Series—a cold Brookhaven TKO cocktail in hand.
Find Magnolia Blues BBQ, Serio’s Pizzeria, and Mississippi Ice Daiquiri Shop on Whitworth Avenue, and learn more at magnoliabluesbbq.com, Serio’s Pizzeria on Facebook, and visitbrookhavenms.com.
