The Cottage at 215 Main Street
This charming cottage built in 1910 gives visitors a chance to experience life like the locals in the very heart of Old Town!
The cottage sleeps four people: One bedroom offers twin beds, while a cool Murphy bed pulls down from a closet in the living room. There’s a comfy front parlor that’s great for reading, as well as an eat-in galley kitchenette. The front porch and cottage garden make living outside irresistible, even on summer days.
Since the cottage is kid and pet friendly, 215 Main can be rented as headquarters for a family stay in Old Town or as a romantic getaway. It even comes with two bicycles for exploring the miles of nearby biking/walking trails (along the beach or across the bay bridge) or taking the Historic Biking/Walking tour of Old Town. 
A Passion for the Bay
This month - a visit with one of the most dynamic entrepreneurs in the Bay: Jane Alford - owner of Bay-tique Boutique and Carroll House Bed & Breakfast.
story and photos by Ellis Anderson 
Seventeen years later, she has no plans to go anywhere. She owns two thriving businesses in Old Town and is serving her second term as president of the Old Town Merchant’s Association.
“I absolutely fell in love with the area,” she says. “I have a real passion for Bay St. Louis.” That passion shows in the two lovely historic houses she’s renovated in Old Town Bay St. Louis. One serves as home for Alford and her fiancé/business partner Kevin Kulpeksa. Next door, at the elegant Carroll House Bed & Breakfast, the couple play host to visitors from across the country, many of whom who are discovering the area’s mystique for the first time. 
Wearing her chef's hat at the Carroll House B&B
A few blocks away, the fun and funky Bay-tique Boutique offers “Bay-ware” for all seasons. The shop is located in a bright corner of the historic Masonic Temple building. While the building itself presents a staid, solid presence on the first block of Main, Bay-tique literally blossoms out of the shop’s doors with color and a bright energy, making it hard to pass up.
Inside, coastal-style clothing and beachwear mix it up with locally crafted jewelry and souvenirs. Shoppers will notice that the merchandise is heavily weighted to items made locally or in the state of Mississippi. “Local pride” gift items like hats, mugs and t-shirts are a mainstay, as are the popular brands of casual clothing she carries. Shoppers can feel confident that they’re likely to be choosing items that are made locally. Alford explains that she has a three-tiered system when it comes to choosing what makes up the boutique’s inventory. “When I’m purchasing for the shop, I look for work by local artists first,” she says. “The next tier is to stock apparel and goods made in Mississippi. My third tier is made in the U.S. My goal is to have 75% of my merchandise within that system. It’s harder than you’d think , but I’m committed.” Alford could go into that “local artist” category herself. Her distinctive sense of style hits the mark every time when she’s producing “Bay-Centric” designs. She designs several lines of apparel in the store, including a show-stopping Bay St. Louis t-shirt made to look like a vintage baseball team uniform. 
Bay-tique actually began two years ago as an outgrowth of Alford’s B&B, the Carroll House. It opened its doors to guests first in 2011 and has since built a regular and loyal clientele thanks to the couple’s creativity and personal attention.
Kulpeksa (who also owns a landscaping business) keeps the gardens lush and well maintained. Some of the food that Alford prepares for her guests is even grown on-site. Another popular feature includes being able to visit with Alford in the enormous open kitchen while she’s cooking breakfast. The screened back porch is a favorite as well – most guests can be found sipping wine and conversing with fellow lodgers each evening. The B&B’s high number of top ratings on Trip Advisor is something any business would envy. For the second year in a row, Carroll House has received a coveted Certificate of Excellence from Trip Advisor, based on the number of four and five star reviews from guests. However, many guests at the B&B asked where they could purchase locally made gifts and souvenirs to take home. Alford and Kulpeksa realized there was a need for an Old Town shop that specialized in Bay-wares. They rented a shop front last year on Second Street, and Bay-tique was born. The store quickly gained a local following and visitors from out of town were delighted to have a wide range of locally made offerings in one place. Yet, when a space became available in the first block of Main, it proved irresistible to Alford and Kulpeksa. Although it was a much smaller space, the location and charm couldn’t be beat. As if two businesses didn’t fill enough hours, Alford was recently re-elected to her second term as president of the Old Town Merchant’s Association. “We have a passionate and diverse group of business owners,” says Alford. “This year we have a new budget and we’re going to work on marketing. We also want to form working alliances with other local organizations to help promote our area. For instance, we’ll work hand-in-hand with The Arts, Hancock County, to make this year’s Arts Alive! celebration in Old Town a success for everyone involved.” Alford’s happy the word’s getting out nationally about what “a cool place the Bay is.” “At the Carroll House, nearly everyone who comes to Bay St. Louis falls in love with it. The authentic character is so rare elsewhere and hard to find. Within the last year, I’d say 50% of our customers are wanting to move here and be part of the community. They’re either shopping for property or buying property. “Bay St. Louis has a great vibe and a great spirit. I’m so happy to be a part of it and am looking forward to seeing it grow and thrive.”
 The runway at Stennis International Airport is one of the longest in the Southeast. photo courtesy HCPH  While most people who live on the Mississippi coast are aware of both Port Bienville and Stennis International Airport, they’re not familiar with the facilities’ assets - or their economic potential. Hancock County Port and Harbor Commission (HCPHC) executive director Ashley Edwards is changing that. In fact, Edwards is planning for Hancock County to soon be a name that’s recognized in global corporate circles. As a former business journalist, he understands that it’s mainly a matter of getting the word out - the two facilities, both managed by HCPHC, sell themselves. For instance, the port boasts a 3800-acre industrial site connected to the Intercoastal Waterway. Three major interstates run within a stone’s throw. The industrial park is served by a shortline railroad that ties into the CSX lines. The airport’s creds are equally impressive. The grooved and lighted runway is one of the longest in the Southeast, stretching for over a mile and a half. It’s strong enough to support super-sized aircraft like the Antinov, the largest cargo plane in the world. The new 24,000 square foot hanger and 10,000 square foot terminal - representing over a $7 million investment - give Hancock County a multi-level menu of benefits to offer potential investors. “People don’t realize what an incredible set of industrial sites and assets we have here in Hancock County,” says Edwards. “Our infrastructure gives us a major competitive advantage to leverage. And we’re beginning to have a lot of success targeting industries that fit our profile.”  photo courtesy HCPH  photo courtesy HCPH The director explains that a substantial growth sector in the world economy now revolves around the emergence of new technologies that convert natural gas into products or liquid fuel. Hancock County’s proximity to the Gulf’s oil and gas production, and the fact that several natural gas pipelines run through the county, make it a natural home for those types of companies.
The marketing strategy is paying off. Edwards says that several “deals are in the pipeline,” while in the coming months, HCPHC will be making several major announcements about new investments coming into the county. He points to Jindal Tubular as an example. The company purchased the former PSL plant at the port’s industrial park for $104 million and are investing another $10 million to expand it. “Hancock County has a high quality of life and a low-cost of doing business,” says Edwards. “And we have the availability and the infrastructure to make the processes of any company more efficient.” Stennis Space Center (SSC) is another major selling point for investors considering Hancock County, even though it’s not under the purview of HCPHC. In addition to being an aerospace and scientific hub, the unique federal and corporate “city,” happens to be the working home of the largest concentration of rocket scientists and oceanographers in the world. Edwards reports that fact alone makes firms “perk up and take notice.” He points to Rolls Royce, Rocketdyne and Selex-Galileo as a few of the internationally known companies that are taking advantage of the synergy that occurs at SSC, where the corporate world works side by side with the community of scientists and researchers. But attracting new businesses is only one important part of the county’s successful economic strategy, according to Edwards. The second critical factor is retaining and expanding firms already located in the county. The types of companies already hosted by the HCPHC currently are extremely diverse. In addition to the international giants, the commission also works to support smaller home-grown firms like Lazy Magnolia Brewery and Hotsticks (which manufactures drumsticks that are shipped all over the world). “When visitors come here and tour our facilities, they’re in awe,” says Edwards. “I wish I could spend every day just telling the story of Hancock County and all we have to offer.” |
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