Sun Herald Article

The Sun Herald recently spent some time with us to share what’s on the horizon — a thoughtful look at our next chapter along the Coast.

This MS Coast city is getting new restaurant from James Beard finalists and more

By Mary Perez Updated April 25, 2025 7:37 AM

Some of life’s greatest indulgences are good food, wine, books and community, and all will come together in one place at The Collective in Ocean Springs. There on Porter Avenue, Alex Perry and Kumi Omori, the owners and chefs at the James Beard-finalist Vestige in downtown Ocean Springs, are about to open another intimate, yet more relaxed restaurant, Ashiro.

Sharing the building, David and Heather Denison will introduce The Book Porter independent book store with reading nooks, a coffee bar, and a beer and wine counter. Wine expert Sean Perkins, who has traveled extensively, will bring Corktown Wine Shop to The Collective and pour and sell some of the wines he’s discovered.

The Collective is the creation of Ted and Roxy Condrey and will be the sum of the talents, the experiences of these new tenants and their desire to share these with Ocean Springs, the town they now call home. Think of it as a place to hang out, meet friends and dine on the deck while the kids discover the play area. This cultural hub will present wine tastings and book signings. A deck at the adjacent Rain Residential building will become a stage for music, a play or presentation. “Whatever we can imagine, we can do,” Perkins said. They are working for a summer opening of the three businesses. Walls of windows will connect the restaurant and shops at The Collective in Ocean Springs with the natural surroundings on Porter Avenue in Ocean Springs. The Collective will house a fusion restaurant of Japanese cuisine and Gulf Coast ingredients, along with a wine shop and book store.

ASHIRO

Where Vestige is an upscale restaurant with a set menu, Ashiro will be a more relaxed Japanese restaurant with a menu that blends the flavors of Japan’s Tohoku region with the ingredients of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. This new restaurant is named for Omori’s hometown in Japan, and the menu will be a personal reflection of her culinary memories and heritage. One of her mother’s classic sardine recipes will be reimagined with local seafood, using fried Spanish mackerel, Perry said. Eight to 10 tables, some of them outdoor seating, will make for a relaxed dinner that Perry said will be “a lot more experimental,” than at Vestige. “It will be the same level of quality and attention to details,” Perry said, “but a lot more relaxed” and with lots of flavor. They plan to test dishes with friends and family to refine the menu before launch, with a focus on shared plates and both small to larger dishes. Perry and Omori will be very hands-on in establishing this new restaurant, while Carson Neves, who has been the sous chef at Vestige for more than 10 years, will be instrumental in the operations there, Perry said.

The Book Porter

The street side of The Collective began with a home on Porter Avenue that was incorporated into a more contemporary building. The back side of the building is walls of windows to let in the light and connect to the greenery at the rest of The Collective campus. Inside the front door will be a new bookstore with community and families in mind. In the children’s area, where Heather Denison imagines murals, there will be built-in seating for kids to curl up with a book and tables for their projects. The middle of the building will hold the inventory of new books to browse, along with a coffee shop that will feature grab-and-go food prepared by local chefs, and a small bar offering beer and wine, particularly for special events. David Denison says the upper floor includes a reading attic, part of the original house, which could provide hideaway space for reading and community meetings. He sees a long table in the loft, overlooking the windows and views, as a place for book clubs and book tours. He’d like to see The Book Porter as a book signing stop on a literary circuit with Fairhope, Jackson and New Orleans. This is their first book store, but Heather said, ”We frequented many,” when they lived in Oxford and Jackson and other spots they visited. Sean Perkins, who will open a wine shop at The Collective, joins Heather and David Denison, who are bringing a book store to the building on Porter Avenue in Ocean Springs. The stores and a restaurant by the owners of Vestige are expected to open in the summer.

Corktown

The name comes from an Irish neighborhood near the old Tiger Stadium in Detroit, and the wine shop is on the west side of the building, with its own entrance, as required by Mississippi regulations. Yet Corktown Wine Shop will be an integral part of The Collective and offer curated selections from small winemakers around the world for people in Ocean Springs to try and enjoy. The emphasis will be on boutique wines from agricultural wineries and small-batch producers, Perkins said. He’s designing wine display racks that like the floor-to-ceiling windows will give the space an open, modern vibe, he said. To give people a chance to try these new wines, he plans to offer wine tastings and wine dinners. His vision is to grow the local wine community and connect people through shared experiences, Perkins said. Walls of windows will connect the restaurant and shops at The Collective in Ocean Springs with the natural surroundings on Porter Avenue in Ocean Springs.

The Collective will house a fusion restaurant of Japanese cuisine and Gulf Coast ingredients, along with a wine shop and book store.

The Collective is across the street from The Beatnik hotel on Porter Avenue and a stroll or golf cart run from the beach and downtown Ocean Springs. The Beatnik launched the Ocean Springs Collective on Porter Avenue in 2020. Next came the building at 401 Porter that houses Seaside Fitness and Rain Residential. A community garden also is on the property and mid-week farmers market will be starting again soon. A rendering shows a street view of The Collective, which will b home to a fusion restaurant of Japanese cuisine and Gulf Coast ingredients, along with a wine shop and book store. Courtesy of The Collective

Read more at: https://www.sunherald.com/entertainment/restaurants/article304677086.html#storylink=cpy