2 new business opening up in downtown Hattiesburg

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WDAM) – Two new businesses are opening up in downtown Hattiesburg during the month of April, including a cigar lounge and a coffee shop.

The establishments continue the momentum of activity in the city’s center, as more vacant storefronts with storied pasts are brought to life again.

Spring Street Cigars already is accessible to customers after a soft opening.

“The building was built back in 1899,” owner John Higgins said. “It was originally a department store,”

Higgins and his team worked to make sure the exterior featured a salute to the Hub City’s past.

“We copied the original sign on the building, so our sign on our building is exactly what the sign would have looked like in 1905,” said Higgins.

Guests can purchase and enjoy the cigars in the two-story building.

“We have both a public smoking area downstairs, and seating area downstairs, but upstairs split into two,” said Higgins. “One is a public area. It is TVs, seating areas, games. You can play dominos, you can play darts, things of that nature.

“And then we have our private membership area.”

Air purification and evacuation systems help make sure customers don’t leave smelling like smoke.

A humidor features premium cigars kept at a temperature of around 70 degrees in 70 percent humidity.

“If you don’t already smoke cigars, our people can show you how to cut them, how to light them, how to enjoy them,” said General Manager Mo Daher.

Guests also will be able to sit outside in the courtyard seating area, where they can see some of the original brickwork from the century-old building.

Jazz plays throughout the store on a digital baby grand piano with several original jazz album covers as artwork from New Orleans.

“This is an old building,” said Higgins “We like old buildings. We like to take old buildings remodel them rebuild them and turn them into something new again.”

Spring Street isn’t the only new establishment coming to an old Hub City building this month.

Shawn Whitaker hopes to open Café De Luna by the end of the month.

“In 1936, like I said, it was a shoe repair shop,” said Whitaker.

Whitaker’s business will feature coffee, tea, other beverages and light food items.

The quaint building and outdoor courtyard area may be small,, but he believes it will fill a big void that he noticed when he moved here with his wife.

“There’s no coffee shop downtown, and they say, ‘Well, you can’t put a drive thru on it,’” Whitaker said. “And I said, ‘But this is downtown. You have four, major courthouses, 1,500 people work downtown and they walk down here.’”

With the outdoor seating area in an old alley, Whitaker hopes to bring a little bit of Europe to south Mississippi.

“You feel like you are in Paris or in Europe in that little courtyard setting, so we are trying to make it when you come in, you are in a different place,” said Whitaker.

Visitors may come for the coffee, but he is making sure there is plenty to look at in the decades-old building.

Whitaker said he kept a lot of the old, tongue-and-groove from 1936 so that guests could enjoy the historic charm.

And Whitaker’s daughter will be serving up plenty of options to fuel busy downtown Hattiesburgers.

“Everybody has a spot to sit, everybody has USB and plugs, so they can plug in, sit down, and connect to free WIFI,” said Whitaker.

Between a retro floor in the courtyard, a restored juke box and an antique, picture collage, Whitaker said he thinks he’s found the perfect blend of old and new in the heart of Hattiesburg.

“Downtown is thriving, so we need these kind of coffee shops, bodegas, more restaurants,” said Whitaker.

Both business owners said they were excited about the future in their respective spaces and making their mark on a growing downtown.

“We actually never looked any place other than downtown,” Higgins said. “The city has been more than welcoming.

“Can’t say enough about their attitude of bringing new businesses and the revitalization of downtown.”

Spring Street Cigars is located at 107 E. Front St.

Café De Luna will be located on West Pine Street across from The Porter and is expected to open by the end of the month.

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