You Can Sleep Where Barq's Root Beer Was Invented | Biloxi, MS

Terese Nicovich and Thomas Quave join us to share the incredible true story behind one of the most iconic brands ever born on the Mississippi Gulf Coast — Barq's root beer — and the historic Biloxi building where it all started.

🥤 How a French-educated flavor chemist left New Orleans for Biloxi in the 1890s and turned an artesian water bottling operation into a root beer empire
🧱 The original bottling house on Keller Avenue — where every bottle was hand-filled and hand-capped from 1898 to 1936
🚢 Supplying shrimp boat schooners with fresh water and handmade pasta before root beer took off
🏅 The Barq family's earlier creation Orangine, an orange drink that won a gold medal at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair
🐴 A wild family story about a 10-year-old delivering root beer by wagon as far as Vancleave — and barely outrunning a hurricane on the old wooden Back Bay Bridge
📦 How Barq's pioneered the 12-ounce bottle in the 1930s, using clear bottles sourced from the Fabacher brewing family in New Orleans
🏠 The five-year restoration of the original 1800s bottling house after Hurricane Zeta nearly knocked it down — preserving original wood, hand-forged hardware, and even the bricks from the original foundation
🛏️ Three suites named after the Barq granddaughters, a loft with a private balcony hot tub, and original family furniture throughout
🧈 Plans for breakfast service, small private events, monthly free tours, and even school field trips to keep Barq's history alive for the next generation
📱 The Birthplace of Barq's Bed and Breakfast is targeting opening within 60 to 90 days — follow their Facebook page and call to get penciled in for reservations

Follow The Birthplace of Barq's Bed & Breakfast here

Also big thanks to our sponsors:
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Taylor and Cox Law Firm
Forever Young Men's and Women's Health
Ensured Roofing
Mike's Stickers
Dewy Dew Bugz

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A location scout knocked on Savannah's door in high school and handed her a card. She thought it was sketchy and almost threw it away. Her mom made the call — and less than a week later, producers from LA were walking through their house in Biloxi scouting a Nicolas Cage movie.

Savannah and Dalton from Little Lighthouse Productions join us to talk about building a production company from the ground up on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and what it actually takes to work in film without leaving the state.

In this episode:

- How a stand-in role on the set of Arsenal — with Nicolas Cage, John Cusack, and Adrian Grenier — turned a high schooler with zero camera experience into a filmmaker
- Dalton's path from computer science and boilermaking into audio work, and leaving the nine-to-five in February to go full time
- What a real film set looks like: focus pullers, boom ops, grips, gaffers, and three cameras rolling nonstop
- Savannah's work with NFL Films — selected for their women's sports film program, then nine documentary shoots across last season, Hard Knocks and 30 for 30 style
- Shooting the Peacock series Road to the Show on Jesús Made, the Biloxi Shuckers shortstop who is now the No. 1 prospect in all of baseball
- Working on HGTV's Hometown in Laurel and Love and Fairhope in Alabama
- Creating Gulf Coast Real Estate (R-E-E-L) with Travis Page — part travel show, part real estate marketing
- Why audio matters more than video, and how a $35 Hollyland mic changes everything
- Mississippi's film tax incentives, the Film Mississippi crew registry, and why more local crew means more productions coming here
- The Mississippi Film Alliance — grants, mentorship, and the upcoming film summit in Jackson at MPB
- Gear progression from DSLRs and iPhones to Sony FX 30s and FX 6s
- Do you need film school? Honest advice for breaking in on the Gulf Coast in 2026

Whether you're a local business looking for professional video, an aspiring filmmaker, or just curious what goes on behind the scenes — this one's worth the listen.

Little Lighthouse Productions
(228) 861-2495
littlelighthouseproductions.com
@littlelighthouseproductions on Instagram and Facebook

Brought to you by:
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Taylor and Cox Law Firm
Forever Young Men's and Women's Health
Ensured Roofing
Mike's Stickers
Dewy Dew Bugz

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🔥 From a 10x10 tent to a brick-and-mortar joint on Government Street — this is how Salt & Sand BBQ built a barbecue business in Ocean Springs.

Chris Horton, Shelby Horton, and Emmanuel Brown of Salt & Sand BBQ join us to break down the climb from tailgate cookouts to competition wins to a full-service pit and catering operation.

🥩 Chris met his wife at a barbecue competition in 1994, stepped away from cooking when his kids were young, and got pulled back in feeding the Ocean Springs High football team under the oak trees after Friday night games

🏆 The first competition he entered after that layoff, he and Frank Crochet took grand champion — he's since finished third out of 67 teams in ribs at the Shed Showdown, and he was headed to the Rib Rumble the weekend we recorded

♨️ He runs an Old Hickory gas-assist pit on pecan and cooks brisket hot at 300° instead of low and slow, going by probe tender instead of the clock — plus the biscuit test, why the point faces the heat, and what he does with the trimmings

🎓 Shelby and Emmanuel both hold culinary degrees and came up through the Beau Rivage, bringing espresso brownies, Dubai chocolate cheesecake, and the king cake cobbler that won Best King Cake in Ocean Springs

💒 15 weddings on the books through April, catering inquiries landing daily, and a 24 to 48 hour turnaround — the catering side may end up bigger than the restaurant

📈 Less than a year in at 2335 Government Street, they've been featured in South Mississippi Living and just picked up their beer permit, with covered outdoor seating and football season specials coming next

Don't sleep on this crew.

Salt & Sand BBQ
🌐 https://saltandsandbbqco.com
📍 2335 Government St, Ocean Springs, MS
📱 https://www.facebook.com/p/Salt_and_Sand_BBQ-100089080817955/

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Brought to you by:
Southern Magnolia Smiles
Taylor and Cox Law Firm
Forever Young Men's and Women's Health
Ensured Roofing
Mike's Stickers
Dewy Dew Bugz

Download our App:

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This week on Brown Water Banter, it's a double feature as two homegrown tackle companies pull up to the studio to talk shop, share their stories, and show off what they've been building from the ground up.

🔧 Trey and Sam from 2 Rednecks Fishing Tackle join us to break down how a shed in the country, a YouTube education, and a whole lot of trial and error turned into a full soft plastics and hand-tied jig operation — complete with custom CNC-cut molds, a CAD-designed jig head that took a year and a half to develop, and colors engineered around how fish actually see (pink looks like silver to trout — who knew?)

🎨 From the swamp twister to the dock runner to the unreleased color-shift "burple" bait that still doesn't have a name — the product lineup is deep and growing

🦌 Every cobia jig is hand-tied with natural deer hair, snelled with Mustad hooks, and built because store-bought versions kept breaking on legal fish — three in a row at the boat

🏪 Originally online-only at rftackle.com, they've since expanded into Nelson Outdoors, Shore Thing Outdoors, and Lonesome Pine Outfitters in Grand Bay — with more stores on the way

🐱 Sean and Justin Wedgeworth from Wedgeworth Fishing Gear hop in next with a freshwater-first approach built around limb lines, bank poles, and noodle fishing — all born from not being able to find the gear they wanted anywhere on the market

🪝 Double-rig limb lines with 300-pound mono, snelled Whisker Seeker hooks, glow-in-the-dark beads, and a five-gallon-bucket storage system that keeps everything tangle-free and ready to fish

🐊 They've pulled up everything from 34-pound flatheads to eight-foot alligators on the Tchoutacabouffa and Biloxi Rivers — and once caught a blue cat and a gator on the same double rig at the same time

🧒 The noodle setup is a family favorite — five feet of line, a circle hook, a piece of chicken breast, and kids chasing bobbing pool noodles down the river like a water Easter egg hunt

📦 Currently stocked at See the Swamp, Foul Play Outdoors, Bindale Feed, and Knights Outdoors in Alabama — with big 10- and 12-foot bank poles now in stock that you can't find anywhere else this side of the Mississippi River

💬 Both crews talk the reality of bootstrapping a tackle business — self-funded, no loans, full-time day jobs, learning margins and retail on the fly, and figuring out social media one forgotten memory card at a time

Also big thanks to our sponsors:
Southern Magnolia Smiles
Taylor and Cox Law Firm
Forever Young Men's and Women's Health
Ensured Roofing
Mike's Stickers
Dewy Dew Bugz

Download our App:

Apple users click here

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All of our links here

Scott and Mandy from Red Radio Productions join us to talk about their journey from a living room podcast to landing a streaming deal with WLOX — and everything in between.

🎶 How a late-night walk down Government Street in Ocean Springs sparked the idea to create a platform for original music on the Mississippi Gulf Coast

🎙️ Starting the Red Radio Facebook page around 2017, filming bands in the living room during COVID — masks and all — and building from there with help from Mitchell Gruich and a set of webcams

🏠 Why their living room is invite-only (and has been nominated as one of the best live music venues on the coast)

🎪 What Red Radio After Dark actually is — a modern Vaudeville experience with live music, comedy, burlesque, crowd participation games, and a diaper gag that somehow keeps killing

🥁 How Scott's cover band  Doctor Zarr's Amazing Funk Monster takes them across the region — from Memphis to the Delta — while Mandy networks and scouts original talent in every city they hit

🎸 Artist support as the core mission — giving bands a produced EPK, introducing them to new audiences, and helping acts like Daniel House and Jupiter Pilot get that springboard

📺 The big announcement: Red Radio is building a six-episode pilot season for WLOX's revamped streaming service — airing after the 10 o'clock news on Friday nights starting September 4th, with a 20-episode season planned for next year

📱 How to watch — through the WLOX News app's live stream and on-demand section, with extended and unfiltered versions living on their YouTube channel

🎯 The long game — national syndication is the next goal, and the South is alive with original music that deserves the spotlight

🤘 Upcoming events teased including a vampire ball on October 30th, a circus-themed After Dark at the Merry Widow on August 28th featuring analog missionary, and the return of Pickers and Poets

💬 Real talk about the grind of running a two-person operation, why they chose not to go nonprofit, and the balance between artistic vision and logistical reality

Also big thanks to our sponsors:
Southern Magnolia Smiles
Taylor and Cox Law Firm
Forever Young Men's and Women's Health
Ensured Roofing

🍎 Apple users click here 👇🏼
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Captain Zach Courtney from ChEnected Charters joins us to talk all things offshore fishing out of Mary Walker Marina in Gautier, Mississippi. From his freshwater roots in Brandon to chasing 200-pound yellowfin tuna in a 25-foot Sea Hunt, Zach breaks down how he built his charter business from the ground up and why he's all-in on blue water fishing out of the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

🎣 How growing up bass fishing on an 18-acre lake and making trips to Ship Island as a kid eventually led to a full-blown case of "yellow fever" for yellowfin tuna

⛽ Running a 25-foot Sea Hunt with 140 gallons of fuel to Ram Powell and barely making it back — and the time his Invincible ran dry three miles south of Petti Bois with a 202-pound tuna on board

🧪 The chemical engineering degree from Ole Miss (after playing football at East Mississippi Community College) and how that background shaped the name Connected Charters

🗺️ Why Mary Walker Marina is perfectly positioned for offshore runs — from snapper on the triple rigs to tuna at Ram Powell, Horn Mountain, and even south of the Mississippi River with the Venice fleet

📡 How Hilton's satellite imaging platform is worth its weight in gold for reading chlorophyll, currents, and tracking drill ship locations before ever leaving the dock

🐟 The difference between summer and winter tuna seasons — long runs with live bait in summer versus short runs with dead bait and topwater poppers in winter, and why January 2025 was the best month of tuna fishing he's ever seen

⚔️ Swordfish stories including hand-lining a 211-pound sword after the rod exploded during the Mud Marlin Classic — and finishing second by just 25 pounds

🎯 Why small hooks and light leader are the secret to getting bit, and how blue runners are his go-to all-purpose bait even though they're smart enough to swim right back under the boat

🔥 The current mahi explosion offshore, bait balls so thick poogies were landing on the bow, and why the water has been chocolate milk from the river all the way out to 100 miles

🥩 Pro tips on preserving yellowfin — leave the skin on, freeze in large chunks, never rinse with water, and let it come to room temp before searing until it cuts like ice cream

🎵 A shoutout to Dick Jagger, whose fishing anthem "Raise One Up" name-drops ChEnected Charters with the lyric "in the sippy, you know that your boys stay connected"

Also big thanks to Southern Magnolia Smiles, Forever Young Men's and Women Health, Taylor and Cox Law Firm, and Ensured Roofing Company for the support!

🎵 From the dock to the deck — the fish rap nobody asked for but everybody needs. Listen to “Here Fishy Fishy”

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Grand Bay NERR is one of 30 National Estuarine Research Reserves in the country, it sits right on the Mississippi-Alabama line, and most people on this coast have never set foot on it. 🐢

Biologist Andrew Heaton and stewardship assistant Ashley Bosarge from the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve came into the studio to walk us through what's out there — and what you can do on it.

🥾 Nature trails open every day during daylight hours, free

Plus the answer to something every one of us has faced on a back road: what to actually do when you find a turtle crossing in front of you.

CHAPTERS

Grand Bay NERR is a NOAA partnership funded 70% federally and 30% through the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources. It overlaps the Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge and is named for the watershed, not the Alabama city. Trails are open daily during daylight hours; the interpretive center is open 9 to 3 daily except holidays. Off Highway 90, down Franklin Creek Road to Bayou Heron Road in Jackson County.

Also big thanks to Southern Magnolia Smiles, Forever Young Men's and Women Health, Taylor and Cox Law Firm, and Ensured Roofing Company for the support!

🎵 From the dock to the deck — the fish rap nobody asked for but everybody needs. Listen to “Here Fishy Fishy”

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Captain Mike Strickland with the Mississippi DMR returns to break down Operation Dry Water, Fourth of July boating safety, and what actually gets you stopped on the water. 🚤

We talk probable cause boat stops, impaired boating enforcement, gunnel riding, no wake zones, inflatable PFD rules, engine cutoff switches, and the difference between safety stops and regulatory inspections. Captain Mike also shares real stories from the water, including a runaway boat incident and a Governor’s Award rescue involving an elderly man stuck in the mud with an alligator closing in. 🐊

Topics include:

🚤 Operation Dry Water

Listen before you hit the water this holiday weekend

Also big thanks to Southern Magnolia Smiles, Forever Young Men's and Women Health, Taylor and Cox Law Firm, and Ensured Roofing Company for the support!

🎵 From the dock to the deck — the fish rap nobody asked for but everybody needs. Listen to “Here Fishy Fishy”

Want to be a part of the Pelican Gang?

Check out our merch Here.

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Three charter captains pack the Brown Water studio for a Friday night snapper roundtable that runs nearly three hours deep — and this one covers a lot of ground.

C-BO from Spray You Later Charters, Chance Seymour from Mississippi Gulf Coast Fishing Charters, and Captain JJ from Family Tradition join the show to talk red snapper rules, rough weather, reef building, charter life, and what is really happening on the Gulf Coast water.

🐟 The Mississippi Gulf Fishing Banks raffle is back, with $20 tickets for a chartered red snapper trip and proceeds helping support reef permitting and deployment.

🌊 The captains break down one of the worst weather seasons in years, snapper quota issues, honest DMR reporting, the move from Tails n’ Scales to MS Creole, and why data matters.

🦈 They also get into shark depredation, cobia recovery, sheepshead limits, captain’s licenses, booking platforms, inshore charter pricing, private reef deployment, toilet reefs, buried car bodies near Squash Channel, and Chance’s move from a 31 Bertram to a 37 Freeman.

Rules, raffles, reefs, and real talk — this is a true Gulf Coast roundtable.

Also big thanks to Southern Magnolia Smiles, Forever Young Men's and Women Health, Taylor and Cox Law Firm, and Ensured Roofing Company for the support!

🎵 From the dock to the deck — the fish rap nobody asked for but everybody needs. Listen to “Here Fishy Fishy”

Want to be a part of the Pelican Gang?

Check out our merch Here.

Download our free app: Apple: Here Android: Here

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🎣 The guys from the Pascagoula Men's Club are back in the Brown Water Studio — Chris Langston and Jack Northrop stop by to break down everything you need to know about the Inshore Challenge fishing tournament hitting Point Park on June 13th

💰 One entry fee covers ALL categories — redfish, speckled trout, flounder, cobia, snapper (now aggregate weight for two fish), and largest tripletail — with payouts up to $1,500 for first place

🐟 New this year: $100 lunker pots for both snapper and speckled trout, with 90% going back to fishermen and 10% to a charitable organization like Backpack Buddies

👧 The kids' rodeo is back for anglers 12 and under — any legal inshore fish counts, even a catfish — just sign up at the Pascagoula Country Club before you fish

🎟️ Register early for $60 before June 7th — after that it jumps to $80 — forms available at Wayne Lee's, Nelson's, and Dad's Superpawn in Pascagoula or just call Jack or Chris directly

🍗 Captain's meeting is June 12th at Pascagoula Country Club with food, door prizes, gift bags, and a full rules rundown — doors open at 6PM, meeting starts at 7PM

🥃 Raffle prizes include a rod and reel combo, a $300 Wayne Lee's gift card, and a liquor wagon loaded with 35 bottles

🏘️ Chris and Jack talk about what the Pascagoula Men's Club actually does — building wheelchair ramps, cooking for the fire department after losing a colleague, cutting overgrown yards for elderly residents, and supporting Backpack Buddies.

Also big thanks to Southern Magnolia Smiles, Forever Young Men's and Women Health, Taylor and Cox Law Firm, and Ensured Roofing Company for the support!

Want to be a part of the Pelican Gang?

Check out our merch Here.

Download our free app: Apple: Here Android: Here

All our links: Here