The Gulfport Premium Outlets have a food court for the first time in eight years.
This is big news for folks who are rendered peckish or even properly hungered by shopping, walking, corralling children or taking the metal slide in the little playground area.
There are four local restaurants moved-in and open, with a fifth on the way and room for a sixth.
We paid the food hall a visit to gauge the quality of the revitalized location.
Three restaurants were open on our visit: Coastal Dirty Soda, On The Fly Wings and More, and Heart 2 Soul NOLA.
The Gilligan’s Island loaded tea from Coastal Dirty Sodas at the Gulfport Premium Outlets on Sept. 2. Jackson Ranger jranger@sunherald.com
When getting a lay of the land the first thing you notice is a vibe that is a bit … artificial.
Virtually everything in the building is the visual crafting of artificial intelligence. Even the welcome graphics on the outside of the doors are AI.
The menus and logos at OTF and Heart 2 Soul NOLA are AI. There are banners and graphics that look suspiciously like the product of a ChatGPT prompt.
Even the lady slowly moving through her plate of wings nearby was watching a TikTok video with a loud AI voiceover.
There’s a mural that isn’t AI on the east side of the building that depicts the outlet mall and the interstate exit. It’s a nice touch.
The food is what’s important, though. On The Fly primarily offers wings and fried fish. And at Heart 2 Soul you get a mix of soul food, wings and burgers.
The Wednesday special from Heart 2 Soul NOLA at the Gulfport Premium Outlets on Sept. 2. Jackson Ranger jranger@sunherald.com
At OTF, lemonade-in-a-bag was the liquid of choice. Raspberry, peach and blueberry options were offered.
These were not too different from what your friend’s mom throws together at their 11th birthday party. There’s zero tart and, along with the infusion of fruit flavors, they resemble nothing of lemonade.
That’s not to say they weren’t enjoyed. Especially by me, who likes fruit and sugar liquified into a bag. I’m a big Kool-Aid guy.
Now, the food. There were 26 wings on the table from OTF. Hot honey, garlic parmesan and lemon pepper. They were supremely average.
Whether that is good for an outlet mall or not, I’ll leave that to you.
The bad: the french fries. Soggy and served with a low-tier ranch. This is important. It virtually eliminates the crunch-and-cool compliment a side of fries is meant to bring to a wing plate.
The good: the fried fish was perfectly cooked and well-seasoned. It was genuinely flavorful and a good find in a mall setting.
10 lemon pepper wings and 10 hot honey wings from OTF Wings at the Gulfport Premium Outlets on Sept. 2. Jackson Ranger jranger@sunherald.com
At Heart 2 Soul we indulged in the Wednesday lunch special available at $14.
It was a chunk of country fried steak and mashed potatoes, both generously covered in gravy, and a side of collard greens and a roll.
The plate was the best food we had on our trip and represents a class of cuisine that typically isn’t readily available at similar settings.
The food trucks that have become common at the outlets will still have their place, at least through the year. But shoppers now have a daily option available to them that all bring a local taste.
Garlic parmesan wings and french fries from OTF Wings at the Gulfport Premium Outlets on Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. Jackson Ranger jranger@sunherald.com
This story was originally published September 3, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
Scott is the high school sports and Southern Miss athletics reporter for the Sun Herald.
Dining and Cooking