A new taphouse and oyster bar is preparing to open in Brandon, MS.
Backwater Grill Taphouse and Oyster Bar, owned by Jeff McClaskey, will be located at 2643 Spillway Road. What started as a small crawfish venue has grown into a 7,400-square-foot restaurant expected to debut in July.
“The main inspiration is we wanted something different from anybody else, and I think we’ve accomplished that,” McClaskey told What Now Memphis. “We’re on the water here at the reservoir and we’re on the backwater — that’s why we call it Backwater.”
The restaurant aims to be a one-stop shop, offering appetizers, pasta, po’boys, burgers, flatbread pizzas and gumbo, with a focus on Cajun and New Orleans-style fare. McClaskey said the team hopes to expand the menu over time to include rotating fish specials, such as redfish, snapper or grouper, along with specialty drinks.
Backwater Grill will seat up to 260 guests indoors, plus an additional 80 on the second floor and 200 outdoors. The space features a tiki bar, an upstairs bar overlooking the water and 36 televisions throughout the venue.
Inside, a keg room houses two 12-foot cypress epoxy tables and 14 taps. The restaurant will offer a self-serve beer system, allowing guests to load a card with money and pour their own drinks.
Outside, guests will find a 10,000-square-foot turf pad with three fire pits, a cornhole area and live music every weekend.
“The buzz has been off the charts,” McClaskey said. “I get phone calls every day, and everywhere I go, people ask, ‘When are you opening?’ This has been a very long project for me and my buddy Brian.”
McClaskey said Backwater Grill Taphouse and Oyster Bar is scheduled to open in about three weeks.
