Bop’s Frozen Custard is aiming for an early 2027 return to Hardy Street after more than a decade. The new location will be the first in Hattiesburg since December 2018.
Before its closing, Bop’s had operated in Hattiesburg for 14 years, most of which were at 3320 Hardy St. Bop’s moved to 110 S. 30th Ave. in January 2016 and stayed there until it closed.
Bruce Lacey, who has co-owned the Bop’s Frozen Custard franchise system with his wife, Rebecca Lacey, since 2019, said the location might have stayed open had they bought the franchise sooner.
“We would have maybe never closed the Hattiesburg location,” Lacey said. “It’s always been well supported by the community. It’s a great, great area.”
Lacey said the company has spent seven years searching for a new Hattiesburg location, considering sites from Target off U.S. 98 to the University of Southern Mississippi. It eventually settled on 3104 Hardy St., a currently wooded lot to the right of Fuzzy’s Taco Shop.
“It’s a very hard process, especially with COVID and all the other things with drive-thrus, to get a drive-thru on Hardy Street,” Lacey said.
A major holdup with Bop’s returning to Hattiesburg was the city’s land development code, which requires drive-thrus to be 300 feet away from residential lots.
Bop’s site will be 200 feet from the nearest residential lot and required a variance to be approved by the Board of Adjustments and City Council before development could continue.
The variance was approved in April after Bop’s reassured residents that its store will be a stand-alone store featuring a drive-thru and indoor dining, with no neighborhood connections and access only from Hardy Street.
Bop’s said the drive-thru will not have an intercom, music or food sales, which the company says will prevent extra noise and smells from affecting nearby residents.
Interest in Bop’s return has already been shown up online. The Bop’s Frozen Custard of Hattiesburg Facebook page made its first post Feb. 25 and has since gained nearly 6,000 followers.
“Truthfully, I’ve never seen anything like that as far as our social media posts,” Lacey said. “Within 24 hours, we had more followers than our existing pages in D’Iberville and Gulfport. It was definitely overwhelming, but it told us we’re making the right choice in coming back to Hattiesburg.”
