[fvcrew22]

Here's a big new restaurant/marina/souvenir store/etc. opening on the beach soon.

Grand Marlin lands on Pensacola Beach
New restaurant to employ 100
Kimberly Blair • kblair@pnj.com • February 15, 2010

The newest restaurant on Pensacola Beach won't open for another month, but it's already making an impact on the beach.

"People judge you from their first impressions. And what a first impression it makes on the beach. The building is beautiful," Jeff Elbert, president of the Pensacola Beach Chamber of Commerce, said about the The Grand Marlin.

The Santa Rosa Sound-front restaurant with its Caribbean-American-style architecture, turquoise shutters, lush landscaping and decorative lampposts has vastly improved the eye-appeal of the gateway to the beach.

The $8-million building was designed by Phillip Partington of Pensacola-based Spencer Maxwell Bullock Architects. It's built at the foot of Bob Sikes Bridge on the former site of Boy on the Dolphin restaurant. Hurricane Ivan destroyed that restaurant in 2004; one year after Coconuts by the Sea took it over.
The property sat in a sad state until builder Philip Napier and five partners decided in 2008 to build the restaurant.

On March 22, The Grand Marlin will host a grand opening celebration.
Bryan Housley, president and general manger of the restaurant, said the event will showcase, "The Grand Marlin experience with live music, top-quality service, fresh-from-the-docks seafood and other innovative cuisine from sandwiches to chef-driven entrees."

Housley was brought in from Atlanta to create a destination restaurant for birthdays and other celebrations.

"It will be a comfortable place to retreat and enjoy high-quality food along with a spectacular view of the Santa Rosa Sound," he said.
Elbert, who was given a private tour of the restaurant and peek at the menu, says he's impressed with he fact the beach is getting a restaurant of this caliber in these tough economic times.

"I have to commend them," he said of the owners. "They're brave. And they've done everything first-rate. They're a great addition to the beach."
The restaurant has created 100 new jobs at a time when other restaurants are closing or scaling back.

Beach resident Suzanne Young said she's been encouraging her 20-year-old son to apply.

"I'm really anxious for it to open," she said. "It's bringing lots of jobs. It's neat, clean and modern looking. It was money well spent on the beach
Santa Rosa Island Authority Executive Director W. A. "Buck" Lee said adding to the curb-appeal, The Grand Marlin purchased for $600,000 a swath of vacant land from the Island Authority to expand its parking lot. The land was nothing more than sand and scrubby vegetation. Now it's cleaned and landscaped.

Under the purchase agreement, Lee said some of the parking spaces are reserved for employees working at the nearby Bob Sikes Bridge tollbooth, a move that helps alleviate employee-parking problems on the beach.
Once it opens, The Grand Marlin will seat 300 customers with an inside dining room and an outside deck.

Other features: an oyster bar, the North Drop Bar; private meeting rooms; and a Ship's Store stocked with special-label sauces, one-of-a-kind apparel and art by renowned marine artist Steve Goione and Maui Jim sunglasses.
Executive Chef Gregg McCarthy, an award-winning chef recruited from Murphy's Restaurant in Atlanta's Virginia Highlands, has created a menu with a range of options including sandwiches, local oysters, hand-cut steaks and chef specialties such as Bahamian conch chowder, blackened and lightly fried seafood, and ribs with Guava barbecue sauce.

The Grand Marlin, Housely said, will cater to everyone. "We want everyone to feel welcome here," he said. "Whether you're in flip-flops or out celebrating a special occasion."

Article: http://www.pnj.com/article/20100215/...ensacola-Beach