01/08/2026
Some folks are asking for the link to the cover story about The Moon Under Water.
So here is the story in it's entirety.
I hope you like it!
Leigh Clifton
THE MOON UNDER WATER
BY Leigh Clifton
The British are Coming!!
The British Are Coming!!
By Leigh Clifton
The British Are Coming!
It’s not the sound of horse hooves clacking on cobblestone streets, but the sound of something very special coming to Gulfport.
By now most of Gulfport is probably aware that there’s some new construction and revamping going on with the property that was the Drunken Taco. Gulfport is incredibly fortunate to have a wonderful restaurant coming into that space, The Moon Under Water, a British -style Public House, with traditional British and ethno-Indian dishes.
The Moon Under Water spent 23 years as an anchor restaurant on Beach Drive in downtown St. Pete, established well-before there were the many businesses and eateries on the large block.
Says current The Moon Under Water Owner and Head Chef Mike Crippin, who spent the larger amount of his storied chef career as the Head Chef at the original establishment, “we were basically one of the first businesses on Beach Drive, back when it was just getting popular.”
Mike’s wife Ali is also part of the partnership and will handle the day-to-day HR, much as she did at the original venue downtown. After selling the downtown location in 2019, Mike and Ali bought and piloted the Studio Public House from 2021-2025, until the building, an old recording studio, was sold. The Studio Public House had been well-known for fabulous food, including the traditional Fish and Chips, Shepherd’s Pie and Spicy Curries. Mike had also started serving vegan dishes, something he plans to continue in the Gulfport restaurant.
Mike’s partner in the newest iteration of The Moon Under Water venture is Kevin Milkey and his wife Jeanne, who own Grand Central Brew House on Central Avenue. The new ‘Moon” will feature 5 craft brews from Central Brew House on tap as well as British/Irish/European beers with 20 taps flowing, just like an authentic British pub. Grand Central Brew House will also be creating a specialty “Moon Under Water” ale.
I asked them how they found Gulfport.
“Once we agreed to do this (venture) we just started looking around for a spot, We looked downtown and thought we’d found a place there, but it just didn’t work out,” Kevin said. “At the same time, we were open to looking at Gulfport and the more we saw of it, the more we liked it!”
The guys saw great potential in the Drunken Taco building. It already had been a working restaurant and Mike found that it would be easier for the buildout for the new place.
“We saw that the Taco was on the market and they took our offer.”
The Gulfport property is almost twice the size of the original downtown one. The new place on Beach has quite a bit more room than the original restaurant on the Beach Drive downtown.
It has two bars, so it’s almost 5000 square ft; the old venue was about 3200 square feet. At the old Moon, they had a commissary just up the street to hold supplies and their offices. With this new venue, everything will be on-site and a lot more convenient. The new kitchen will be able to accommodate a brigade of 16…for those of you who don’t know how a restaurant kitchen works, a brigade is a set of chefs with a hierarchical staffing system, who each have a specific area they are responsible for, with the Executive Chef leading the various stations. In such a large place, it’s imperative that the kitchen be super organized and it’s often described as a military -style environment. Mike has a culinary degree and a background working in large hotels as well as restaurants.
“With the new extra space, we can designate an area just for sports; All the Premier League Soccer (of course!) NFL, Hockey, Rugby World Cup and other sports,” Mike said. “And we’ll have at least 20 TVs with sound. The place is big enough that people will be able to hear what they’re watching. Of all the British pubs around, we will have the most TVs.”
“We will be an authentic Great British Public House, which is what our pubs are called. They have a certain feel when you walk in the door.. comfortable, friendly. We want you to feel like you’re walking into the original The Moon Under Water when you step through those doors,” Mike explained.
“The front entrance to the restaurant will offer that British Pub experience the minute you walk in. For the back bar, we want a different type of vibe, and it will give us some versatility.” Kevin said.
I asked about live music and Mike is a bit secretive about some of their plans but did say they will have two stages for entertainment.
The menu will be 80-90% of the old menu; British staples like Bangers and Mashed, Fish and Chips, Pasties and Pies with India- influenced Curries and the aforementioned healthy, very popular Vegan dishes that Mike used to serve at the Studio Public House. Besides beer, the Moon will also serve wine and specialty cocktails.
Mike and Kevin are keenly observant about their social media and have been listening to menu suggestions that people have been sending. They say it helps them tweak the menu a bit. It’s great that they actually listen to their clientele.
Mike and Kevin have been doing “pop-ups” often at Grand Central Brew House’ venue, with food, beer, contests and giveaways. Mike is quite the spokesman and his social media bits on their Instagram and pages are not to be missed.
“We have a great following on social media and when we announced we were moving to Gulfport, we got a ton of positive reactions. People really like to follow along with us and it’s a great way to get our messages across to a large group of people!” Mike said. “When we were downtown, we were one the first businesses on Beach Drive and then everyone built up around us and were very successful.. We have that same type of feeling here on this Beach (Blvd) where we hope to be an anchor for a solid group of successful businesses here as well. We feel like we’re getting into Gulfport at the right time… if we waited three years from now, I don’t think we would be able to get into the town or be as successful as I know we can be. It just feels like the right time for us and we’re very happy to be here!”
Mike’s wife Ali is originally from Watford England and Mike is from Manchester, England. Kevin is from Connecticut.
Everyone keeps asking when they will open. The guys are noncommittal but say:” soon”.
Possibly March? They are still working on the build -out, customizing the finishes to their concept, overseeing the layout, electrical/kitchen/plumbing and fixture.
There’s also the Red Telephone Booth by the back bar…which Mike will NOT expound upon….” It’s not ready yet,” he says…
Gulfport is very excited for this new /old restaurant to open. I personally loved the downtown location and am really looking forward to them honoring the design, food and atmosphere that made the original so successful.
With Grand Central Brew House owner and Moon partners Kevin Milkey and his wife Jeanne, Mike and Ali Crippin have found kindred spirits.. a successful couple whose own enterprise has become a successful staple on Central. Owner and Chef Mike Crippin is bringing his wonderful vision, amazing food and expertise to Gulfport. We wish the four of them great success!
