Business

We're so happy our friends in Nashville love SoWal Beaches and love SoWal Style. Thanks to SoWal Partner Nashville Lifestyles Magazine for cranking up beach season with the first installment of our SoWal Insider column.

Who made it inside this issue? Sunshine Shuttle, Walco Ecotours, Amavida Coffee, Hibiscus Coffee & Guesthouse, Central Square Records, Crush, For The Health Of It, and more friends! Get your copy at Sundog Books in Seaside.

While it may be too early to make a reservation at Hotel Viridian, on March 11 patrons can enjoy dinner at V, the restaurant destined to be a springboard for rest of the Downtown Seagrove hotel project.

“This project has been in the making for over five years,” says co-owner and veteran restaurateur George Hartley.

“My partners and I consider it a beacon of hope for the community – and a true blessing that we’re able to see our vision realized.”

Every time a rumor swirls about the opening of a new Mexican restaurant that will give diners the opportunity to devour “real” tamales and enchiladas, current Mexican restaurants are compared and dissected for authenticity.

One of those is Don Pedros Café and Bakery, which has managed to attract a loyal following with good food, reasonable prices and generous portions.

Even before the Red Bay Grocery opened just shy of two years ago, it was an unusual operation because area residents were permitted to buy shares in the store.

Principal owner Charles Morgan offered 49 people an opportunity to be shareholders at $1,000 each with the guarantee they could get a full refund after a year.

At the one-year anniversary meeting of shareholders, even though there were no profits to share, only one person decided to pull out of the fledgling operation.

School drop-off and pick-up times are a hectic blur of kids stumbling out of cars in the morning and hours later dashing back in to head home. At South Walton Montessori Academy these are also times to make crucial connections.

On a crisp fall afternoon teachers Catherine Beall, Natalie Jobling and David Hopkins carefully manage the pick-up line. They chat with moms and dads, pet family dogs and share tidbits about the day, just like family members.

 “With a name like Stinky’s…it better be good,” reads the server’s t-shirt. And it is good - oh-my-God, stay-out-of-my-plate, best-fried-shrimp-I’ve-ever-tasted good.

Stinky’s Fish Camp & Wine Bar on Scenic 30A in Santa Rosa Beach is what it is and ain’t what it ain’t.

It is the restaurant of choice for locals and the inside joke of tourists who leave with “Peace. Love. Stinky’s.” t-shirts. It ain’t like anything you’ve ever had before.

Oct. 18, 1994 was the “birth” date of WSBZ, The Seabreeze smooth jazz radio station. Looking forward to a continued bright future, owners Mark and Renee Carter delight in providing music not only to local listeners, but with the help of Internet streaming, to fans of smooth jazz around the world.

But it wasn’t always a breeze; in fact it wasn’t always Seabreeze. The first radio station they owned was WWAV 102. It was 1985 and they played soft vocals with a few jazz songs.

Sundog Books, at the heart of Seaside’s charm, definitely has its own story. Stepping up to the porch, you start to get the feeling this isn’t your average bookstore – and you’re right!

You may be greeted by a local author on the porch, signing her latest dream. As you pass over the threshold onto the worn hardwood floor you'll spot Patty, the owners' 14-year-old dog. She's part of the welcoming committee and an easy reminder to slow it on down. Yes, right away, the experience is a step back in time.

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill drove home the point that counties along the Panhandle would need to diversify in order to secure economic development for their residents that were not dependent upon the tourist industry.

Two south Walton businessmen have a hot idea to encourage growth in the renewable energy market,

Drumroll please! This Friday Night, October 8, Central Square Records (located above Sundog Books in the Seaside square) has a reason to celebrate – and YOU are invited!

Come join Jenny and Tom King as they share a very exciting event…new ownership! They have a great line up of things going on from 5:00 – 8:00, that you won’t want to miss!

For those of you who love Central Square Records just the way it is, don’t worry. The new owners are familiar faces and have been a governing force in Central Square Records since it opened originally in 2003.