The owner of Tay’s Barbeque, Mr. Ramsay Taylor, has recently acquired and reopened the Thunders Liquor store on Market Street in Pascagoula. Taylor with 14 years of experience in the industry brought all of his principles to the new store. He credits his success to having knowledgeable staff, a really clean store, shopper-friendly, products the customers are looking for, and great prices. When questioned about his decision to reopen Thunders he stated, “Thunder’s had been an excellent liquor store at one-time and I had no doubt that it could be that again”.
The legend of Thunder’s started with John “Thunder” Thornton, who opened Thunder’s Tavern in 1977. An extremely popular dance and night club the Tavern had to be closed upon Mr. Thornton’s death in 2019. Mr. Thornton opened the liquor store across the street from the Tavern in 1985.
Knowing the long history of Thunders, Mr. Taylor negotiated the use of the name and logo in the sale. Taylor says, “I loved the name, and I knew everyone would call it Thunders anyway since it had been there for so long. Thunders will always be a landmark in Pascagoula!”
Ramsay, a native of Pascagoula, is quite a business entrepreneur. Thunder’s makes his fourth purchase in Pascagoula, with his commitment to rejuvenate old buildings into thriving businesses. His first purchase, the Old Marguerite’s Italian Village became the home of the Tays Barbeque. His second venture was in 2017, The Jury Room/Bar in downtown Pascagoula. And soon to be renovated and opened, new apartments in the old Odd Fellow’s Lodge in downtown Pascagoula.
Ramsay’s mission is to preserve a piece of the Pascagoula history while seeing the community grow and move forward. He states, “I think all of these multi-use projects going on are key to the future of Pascagoula”.
When questioned about the fate of the old Thunders Tavern, Ramsay has an extremely specific vision, however, he stated with his most recent project that the timing is just not right for him. His idea would be to turn the Tavern into a conference center/reception hall. With its 10,000 square feet, large commercial kitchen, great location, and plenty of parking the building could accommodate large or multiple small events. There is a need in Pascagoula for a place like this. And he states, “Maybe someone will see this and implement my vision for the place!”
Ramsay is enjoying the new success of Thunder’s Liquor and states that many of his customers have stopped in to share their memories of Thunder and the Tavern. Drop by and tell him your stories!
