Business phone system for limited-service restaurants in Gulfport, MS

Limited-service restaurants in Gulfport, MS by the numbers

There were 328 limited-service restaurants in the Gulfport-Biloxi, MS metro area in 2023, according to Census County Business Patterns (NAICS 722513, Limited-Service Restaurants). Together they reported 7,169 mid-March employees and $114.7 million of payroll for the year. That ranks 135th of the 925 metro and micropolitan areas where Census published a count for this industry.

With 427,000 residents in the Census 2024 estimate, that is 76.9 limited-service restaurants per 100,000 people, 3.2% below the national rate of 79.4. Establishments average 21.9 employees, 18.9% above the U.S. average of 18.4. Payroll per employee comes to $15,996, 23.3% below the national $20,857.

Team sizes at limited-service restaurants in Gulfport, MS

Of the limited-service restaurants in Gulfport, MS that had employees in March 2023, 15.2% had fewer than five (the U.S. share is 24.3%). 30.2% had fewer than ten. When a business has only a few people, whoever is free answers the phone, and calls that arrive while everyone is busy go to voicemail unless they are routed somewhere else.

Why the phone matters for limited-service restaurants in Gulfport, MS

Counter-service restaurants take phone orders and catering requests while serving a line of customers. Calls need to be answered quickly or captured for a callback. That holds for limited-service restaurants in Gulfport, MS as much as anywhere.

A few of the calls that come in to limited-service restaurants in Gulfport, MS:

• An office calls about catering for a meeting.
• A delivery driver calls for directions.
• The restaurant calls a customer about an order delay.

After-hours calls

After-hours callers usually want hours or catering information.

Callata transcribes voicemail and triages it for urgency, so the first callback in the morning can go to the caller who needs it most.

Phone system pricing for a 22-person limited-service restaurant

The average limited-service restaurant in Gulfport, MS has 21.9 employees, so a 22-person team is a reasonable benchmark. Per-seat business phone plans bill every one of those people. At month-to-month list prices checked September 28, 2026, 22 users on RingCentral RingEX Core cost $660.00 a month and 22 on Ooma Office Pro cost $548.90. On Callata the same 22 people cost $439.00 a month, less than either per-seat plan.

The annual difference against RingCentral's monthly list price comes to $2,652. Some vendors discount annual contracts; the table shows month-to-month prices.

Getting a local number in Gulfport, MS

NANPA records place the exchanges of the area's named cities and towns in 2 area codes. 228 has the most, with 247 of 260 exchanges (95%). Callata's plan includes up to 3 local numbers; you can pick them in the area codes your customers recognize, subject to carrier inventory, or port the number you already have for free.

Setting up Callata for a limited-service restaurant in Gulfport, MS

For $99 a month, Callata puts a team of up to 5 on one plan ($20 for each person after that): up to 3 local numbers, unlimited inbound calls, a pooled allowance of 1,500 outbound US and Canada minutes per user, browser and cell calling, voicemail transcription with urgency triage, recorded calls with AI summaries and business-hours routing, with E911 on every number.

If you already have a number in Gulfport, MS, porting it to Callata is free. Texting from a local number requires a one-time carrier registration (10DLC, $49), and the numbers available in any area code depend on carrier inventory when you choose them.

Optional AI agents (receptionist, sales, support or scheduler) can answer calls after hours or when nobody picks up, take messages, text, email and transfer to your team. They are billed from prepaid AI minutes at $0.25 per minute, identify themselves as AI, and may only place outbound calls to people who consented, between 8am and 9pm.