Business

Recently released bed tax revenues for June 2012 reflect a 24% increase over 2011, which was the previous record high. Revenues are 55% higher than June, 2010 and the most collected in one month in South Walton thus far.

June marks the 16th straight month of double-digit increases in revenues. These record revenues are a reflection of carefully planned, concentrated marketing efforts combined with the warm Southern hospitality our partners shower on visitors to South Walton.

Or maybe it's the 1,059,310 visitors to SoWal.com since Jan 1st this year - 101,608,091 hits!

Gina Shiflett made the transition from Atlanta to SoWal and has been providing clients with a cutting-edge experience at Salon Twist for the last eight years. Commitment to service and talent in a serene setting is her winning formula.

Wild Olives in Rosemary Beach opened in May of 2006 as a convenient local market, deli, and bakery providing the perfect place for guests to enjoy breakfast and lunch.

As the town grew and more visitors discovered the eatery, Owner Chris Trovas expanded with longer hours to include dinner and indoor dining. When others businesses began baking breakfast items, Trovas cut back on those, but his popular scones, muffins and biscuits are still available. The latest evolution is a revamped menu and a redesigned dining room.

There seems to be a common spirit that unites people who choose to make SoWal their home, including a creative outlook on business opportunities, an enduring personality, and of course a love for the water.

As a cozy coastal community, South Walton may not seem like the easiest place to make a living, yet our small community is home to an arsenal of entrepreneurs in a variety of business endeavors from fashion design to coffee roasting.

Many South Walton restaurants are lauded as exceptional -- for their food, ambiance, service, architecture -- any number of things can make a restaurant famous. Café Tango incorporates all those things and more.

Almost hidden from view on Scenic 30A, Café Tango is nestled about 100 feet off the main drag on Vicki Street, just about a half mile east of Gulf Place. Small and unpresuming, Café Tango occupies an old wooden beach house, with more charm and character than Katherine Hepburn.

Entrepreneur, local restaurateur and “chef to the stars” Tim Creehan says he didn’t set out to become famous. 

“I didn’t go looking for success. I was looking for a career in culinary arts. I wanted to be a chef from the time I was 14 years old.

“When I wanted to become a chef, being a chef wasn’t cool. We were no different than plumbers or mechanics. When I left work to go to the store to buy something for the restaurant, I’d bring a T-shirt and take off my chef jacket because I didn’t want anyone to think I was a cook or butcher or whatever.”

If you want to know what's going on in SoWal, all you have to do is sit on the porch at Grayt Coffee House with owner Cheri Peebles for a half hour. And If she doesn't know what you want to know, then one of the many locals walking in and out likely will.

If you have a wet suit and sandy feet on a warm and sunny beach day, there's nothing like walking up to Pickle's and ordering a juicy burger, fries, and a shake. The Seaside eatery is the scene of so many special SoWal beach memories. Now it's much, much better.

Oysters. You may love to eat them but hate to see them on the bottom of your boat. Regardless of your personal feelings about these rock-like crustaceans, The Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance believes they are important enough to collect the discarded shells from local restaurants and recycle them into reefs along area shorelines.

The reefs serve as neighborhoods where live oysters can establish themselves and thrive, rather on the bottom of someone’s boat or dock.

At Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast, the focus has always been on patient care. “Patient satisfaction is tops for us. We want to make sure every patient has a good experience,” says Marketing Coordinator Sarah Bailey.