Stop in at Robin’s Nest in the Pass and be sure to receive a warm welcome and a big thank you from its staff. Located not far from the beach in Pass Christian, Miss., the gallery-gift shop is full of nautical and Mississippi-themed merchandise and art meant to uplift, inspire, and motivate its patrons. With the subtle incense, open, uncluttered aisles, and music, the business provides a peaceful atmosphere and solace from a busy day for many guests. Robin’s Nest in the Pass is the place to find distinctive items from home goods to pottery, as it has a wide price point and gifts for all occasions, making it the perfect “one-stop shop for your gifting,” whether it’s for yourself or a loved one.
    According to Dorothy Roberts, owner of Robin’s Nest in the Pass, her goal is to “celebrate the creative spirit,” which her business aims to fulfill by having unique gifts that, she says, “you don’t find in other gift shops and especially at Walmart.”
    Along with Robin’s Nest in the Pass, Roberts owns Roberts Place Café, which resides within walking distance of the gallery-gift shop. Roberts said her intentions were to increase the sense of connection and community between residents of Pass Christian by having it so people could “come and shop here and then go next door and have a little meal and vice versa.”
    Roberts defines the “good life” as living a life filled with purpose where she is able to take care of the needs of herself, her family, and others like the employees, artists, and organizations her shop assists. She hopes her business helps Mississippi residents and visitors alike live the “good life” by “uplifting and inspiring them” with the gifts, artwork, and home décor that Robin’s Nest in the Pass provides to the community.

    As a military family, the Roberts moved around a lot before eventually settling in Mississippi the year of 1969 after Lawrence E. Roberts Sr., a Tuskegee Airman, retired from the United States Air Force. The family moved to Pass Christian, specifically in 1975, and have stayed since.
    Robin’s Nest in the Pass opened in 2015 – eight and a half years ago – six weeks after Dorothy Roberts retired from working 25 years of state service with the Department of Mental Health. She named the shop after Robin Roberts, her younger sister, in honor of her childhood in Pass Christian and her love for the area.
    In 2022, independent of her gallery-gift shop, Dorothy Roberts opened her restaurant Roberts Place Café, named in tribute of her parents who loved living in Pass Christian. The café serves “good old comfort food” in American Southern cuisine-style for breakfast and lunch. The two dining rooms – Daddy’s Room and Mama’s Room – seat 12 patrons, providing a casual but intimate atmosphere, and are adorned with memorabilia of Roberts’ parents’ lives and accomplishments as well-respected members of the community.

     Robin’s Nest in the Pass has both a physical location and online store with a large variety of artistic and home goods merchandise available to peruse. The gallery-gift shop receives its merchandise from either artisan-based vendors, national chains, or markets, with 90 percent of the items within the store being artisan made at the local, regional, and international levels. In addition to Roberts’ own jewelry collection, the store currently has 10 to 12 local artists on consignment who specialize in acrylic and/or watercolor paintings, with prints available, as well as photography and jewelry.
    Staple lines of the shop encompass Raku Pottery, Maurice Milleur Jewelry, and the Power Collection. The top-selling category in the shop is the Power Collection, which contains a variety of items with messages on them meant to “uplift, inspire, and motivate,” Roberts says. Other popular merchandise includes hats, scarves, and one-size-fits-all kimonos year round as well as portable fans in the spring and summer. Roberts says the collections the gallery-gift shop offers that have her heart strings are the body lines Lucimarian and The Colonel in commemoration of her parents.

    Besides the routine collections, Robin’s Nest in the Pass continuously searches for items at market to “create a nice freshness for the store,” Roberts says, meaning that during each visit, there will always be something new to discover. A recent acquisition that has proven to be quite popular for the shop is their high-end line of Roman Glass jewelry, which are shards of glass from an archaeological dig in Israel that have been crafted into beautiful blue pieces set in sterling silver.
    Most products within the physical shop are listed at robinsnestinthepass.com and can be purchased directly from there and shipped. And the more fragile items require in-store pickup.  Upon entering, guests will note the spacious layout of the gallery-gift shop, as Roberts believes “accessibility is very important,” and says she wants Robin’s Nest in the Pass to be “a store where anybody can be comfortable coming in.”

    Roberts is a part of the Consumer Education Advisory Board of Pass Christian High School. While she has had students work part time at Roberts Place Café, she says she has “yet to have a student come here [Robin’s Nest in the Pass] and work” but “would welcome that if that opportunity came.”
    Roberts says her core values are “quality, community, and customer service” and that she “believes in being part of those organizations that benefit businesses” such as Rotary and the Chamber of Commerce, of which she is a dedicated member. Robin’s Nest in the Pass is active within the Pass Christian community, as the store often participates in silent auctions by donating gift certificates and merchandise to organizations that are service related and beneficial for children. The shop is also involved in other parts of the Gulf Coast, like Long Beach, Miss., and has even been asked to donate to a school in New Orleans who wants a “Gulf Coast Package” as one of their donations.

    A couple of years ago, Roberts Place Café helped the Main Street Association with their Farm to Table Dinner, as it took place right outside, and this past year assisted with washing dishes because it had an alternate location. Roberts has yet to employ any special events within the café but envisions eventually hosting an Artist Night, amongst other things, to be on the lookout for. Roberts says what she wants people to know most is that she loves being a part of the community. “I love that the Roberts family has business ventures in this town that my parents loved so much, and that gives me a lot of satisfaction.”  

    Celebrate and explore your creative spirit at Robin’s Nest in the Pass, located at 255 Davis Ave., Pass Christian, MS 39571, and open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The shop is also open Sundays from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. only in the last quarter of the year. Stationed at 233 Davis Ave., Pass Christian, MS 39571, Roberts Place Café is the perfect spot to eat for breakfast and lunch after stopping in at Robin’s Nest in the Pass right next door. The café is open Tuesday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and closed Sunday and Monday.

    To learn more about the gallery-gift shop, call (228) 222-4863 or visit their online store at robinsnestinthepass.com. Check out Robin’s Nest in the Pass Facebook, Instagram, and Google pages under the same name and join the VIP Facebook page, and upcoming shop, for specialty deals and sneak peeks at approaching merchandise. 

Maya Wood

Southern Miss Gulf Scholar! Maya Wood is a native Mississippi resident currently working on obtaining her bachelor’s degree in English at the University of Southern Mississippi ‘s Gulf Coast campus. She plans to continue on to a master’s degree with an emphasis in literature or creative writing and is currently a member of the inaugural class of the nationally recognized Gulf Scholars Program, which is a program that focuses on supporting states and communities along the coast. This article is one of several stories for her Gulf Scholars project whose purpose is to highlight local businesses and their contributions to providing “the good life” for Mississippi residents and visitors. Maya’s long-term goal is to do what she loves full time: work as a writer and eventually become an author, as she finds great joy in reading and wants to spread that feeling to others.