Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to Huck's Cove (3000 Oak St., Gautier).

The story of Huck's recovery is tied with my own. When the New Urbanists visited the Coast in October to begin the charrette process, I was a news correspondent. Gautier was my assignment. I toured the city with a small group of architects and officials. We spent the day assessing the damage, and the severity of it all never hit me until we came to Huck's Cove.

Everything was horrible. The West Pascagoula River deposited a dozen feet of water inside the bar, ripped up the back deck and boat dock, punched trees through the roof. And I'm not even going to talk about the kitchen.

I walked through the remains of what I could tell used to be a unique and vibrant part of Coastal life. At the time, I wished Katrina had wiped it away so my heart wouldn't break at the sight of it all. I left Huck's on the verge of tears that day.

As time went on, my mind came back to Huck's. I wondered how, or even if, the recovery was progressing. When I would drive into Pascagoula, I'd slow down and look as I passed the restaurant, hoping for signs of life. But I never stopped. Last Saturday, however, I did. And that has made all the difference.

Huck's Cove is back with a vengeance. Owners Don and Joann Worner, and the entire Huck's Cove family, have spent the last six months working tirelessly to bring back the casual, Caribbean island feel that made it so special. The neat part about it is, they did it all with no federal or state assistance.

"It was a labor of love," Joann said. "If we can recover, anybody can. We rebuilt out of our own pocket. We stayed, we got it done. Everything's fresh now. We're 100 percent up and always expanding."

That's one of the things that makes Huck's so unique. They're original, and completely locally owned. You won't find any establishment on the Coast quite like Huck's. The Parrot-head ambience, the enormous outdoor seating area complete with bandstand and Tiki torches, the covered patios.

And, of course, the Katrina burger. Take my word for it. If you want to sink your teeth into eight ounces of juicy storm recovery, tell them I sent you.

I believe it can no longer be said that there's nothing to do and nowhere to go anymore. Family get-together? Huck's Cove. First date? Huck's Cove. Winding down from a night of dancing and partying at the casinos? Huck's Cove.

The Huck's family has been through a lot in the last six months, like all families have, but the infectious atmosphere of fun that made the place a Coastal staple remains. Storms come and go, but the spirit of good times and good friends remains. I know I'll be back to Huck's Cove very soon.

If you've not had the pleasure of good friends and good food under the stars for a while, you owe it to yourself to come out here. Congratulations on a job well done, Don and Joann.

Thanks for the closure.