A historic Mississippi Coast hamburger spot beloved by locals, tourists and celebrities has shuttered.
The owners of Burger Burger at 1039 Howard Ave. in downtown Biloxi have retired. The restaurant, a division of Sablich Enterprises, is no longer serving its famous Burger Burgers and Southern cooking, the company said.
Biloxi Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich, who ate there often, said the restaurant “has been part of the fabric of Biloxi for years.”
The story started in 1927, when New Orleans jazz musician Abbie Brunies and his wife, Mildred, brought their Burger Burger recipe to Biloxi and opened Abbie’s Little Diner on Benachi Avenue.
Their 18-inch burger was covered in a secret sauce and topped with yellow mustard and chopped raw onions, according to “A brief history of Biloxi burgers.”
“Traditionally fries and a Barq’s root beer accompanied this glorious treat,” the history says. Forty years later in 1987, Biloxi native Martha Ann Ebberman bought the diner and the trademark recipe from the Brunies.
The Elvis Presley connection
This was long after Ebberman, whose stage name was Ann Rae, met Elvis Presley when they performed at a show at Jesuit High School in New Orleans in 1955. She convinced her father, promoter Frank ‘Yankie’ Barhanovich Sr., to book the young Presley on the Coast.
He did, and according to Sun Herald accounts. Barhanovich staged the Coast’s first Elvis show at the Slavonian Lodge in Biloxi on June 26, 1955.
Presley was impressed with how Barhanovich managed the career of his teenage daughter, who sang for Decca Records, and once asked Barhanovich to manage his career.
From singing to cooking
Ebberman kept the diner open until 1993 and then continued to serve Burger Burgers at an Ocean Springs restaurant.
In a Biloxi comeback, she partnered with Coast businessman Jamie Sablich to open Burger Burger in January 2001 in a house on Howard Avenue.
“This quaint, comfortable little house takes us back to a time when all-wood buildings would be filled with that wonderful atmosphere, great conversation, and, of course, one of the best burgers, sandwiches and breakfast choices in all of Biloxi,” the history of Biloxi burgers says.
Ebberman became as accomplished in the kitchen as she was on the stage.
In addition to the old fashioned and jalapeño cheese Burger Burgers, her customers had favorites like fried pork chops, cabbage dressing and unusual breakfast biscuits like hamburger steak biscuit smothered in brown gravy or with creole crawfish etouffee.
Other daily specials might be fried bologna, Catfish on the Bayou, chicken and dumplings, liver and onions and crawfish pasta.
“Grab a root beer float or a slice of one of Mrs. Martha’s homemade pies, cakes or cobblers,” a Facebook post invited.
What’s next?
It’s uncertain what will happen to the Burger Burger recipe and the now-empty building where so many of these hamburgers were devoured. “If it doesn’t come back, we’ll certainly miss its history in Biloxi,” the mayor said.
