This Mississippi Speakeasy Was Elvis Presley’s Favorite Watering Hole

Most folks know that Elvis Presley—the King of Rock and Roll—was born in a shotgun shack in Tupelo, Mississippi, and died in his over-the-top mansion of Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee. But did you know that Elvis spent a wholesome, idyllic summer on the Mississippi Gulf Coast—where he met and fell in love with a local girl who eventually cut him loose?

In 1956, long before those flashy rhinestone jumpsuits, the infamous Jungle Room, and all the Vegas excess, Elvis was just a handsome, super-talented guy playing high schools and military bases along the Gulf coast. During the summer of ‘56 he stayed at Gulf Hills Resort and Dude Ranch, cruised his immaculate cars along the coast, waterskied with friends, and met a local girl that he ended up proposing to.

He and Biloxi native June Juanico were the talk of the coast, from Bay St. Louis in the west to Pascagoula in the east. Mobs of teenage fans followed them everywhere they went, which led the young couple to seek out hidden spots to enjoy some rare privacy.

The Julep Room

One of those spots you can still visit today—The Julep Room in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Located in the brick-walled basement of Aunt Jenny’s Catfish Restaurant, the Julep Room is everything a speakeasy should be. Dark and secluded, it feels like a place where secrets thrive. Locals even claim it’s haunted.

“Over the years, all sorts of inexplicable things have taken place,” says Chelsea Prince, Outreach Coordinator for the Mississippi Gulf Coast National Heritage Area. “Everything from faucets mysteriously turning on to an unplugged juke box starting up on its own and playing songs from records that weren’t even in the juke box.”

Haunted or not, the Julep Room was a refuge for Elvis and June. He would park his pink Cadillac under the oak trees that were huge in 1957, and are even bigger today, having survived Hurricane Katrina. “Elvis didn’t drink or smoke back then,” Prince says. “His favorite drink was a virgin Mint Julep.” 

A year later, as fame consumed Elvis, June decided she deserved something better than the “hound dog” that Elvis had become, and got engaged to another man. They reportedly broke up in Elvis’s private train car in New Orleans, and never saw each other again.

Plan A Visit

Unlike the ballad of Elvis and June, the tunes at the Julep Room are still humming along. Park under those same oak trees, grab some catfish at Aunt Jenny’s, and then meander down to the lounge for a cocktail. Who knows…maybe you’ll spot the ghost of Elvis himself…

Check out the Mississippi Gulf Coast National Heritage Area’s summer newsletter and their website to learn more about the Summer of Elvis and June.