FORT WALTON BEACH IS BEST PLACE TO OPEN RESTAURANT

With thousands of new military personnel being assigned and all their supporting cast, which comes with them; it is only natural we are going to need to find them a place to eat, drink, and be merry. Also, keep in mind, the Air Force is building a new Resort on Okaloosa Island, which will draw thousands of visitors, a year.

Trade magazine ranks the Fort Walton Beach area as the best place to open a restaurant
By DUSTY RICKETTS
Northwest Florida Daily News 315-4448
dricketts@nwfdailynews.com  

A national trade magazine for the restaurant industry has named Fort Walton Beach and its surrounding communities as the best area in the country to open a new restaurant. Restaurant Business magazine compiles a list each year of the top 150 cities in the country to open a restaurant. For the past several years, Fort Walton Beach has ranked second to Myrtle Beach, S.C. Fort Walton Beach claimed the top spot for the first time in the magazine’s April edition. “We as a community have to be monumentally proud of that that fact,” said Ted Corcoran, president and CEO of the Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce. “That is a great, great reflection on the perception of Fort Walton Beach, as we’re now getting up there with the big boys. Fort Walton Beach is on the map again in a category of fun and quality of life.”
Corcoran said he believed the diversity of customers available to Fort Walton Beach restaurants is the reason the city scored so well in Restaurant Business’ list.
“Certainly military, local residents and tourists is a nice variety to choose from,” Corcoran said. “I think the quality of life in our area lends itself to people dining out and relaxing, having a good time. “There is a very relaxed environment in our area for a lot of folks who enjoy dining out as part of that relaxation,” he added. “Many, many people go out for lunch for their job or part of their social scene.” Nielsen Claritas, the company that also tracks television ratings, compiles a list of the top U.S. markets for restaurants each year. Nielsen uses a formula that looks at restaurant sales per capita in a given market versus per capita sales nationwide, along with other figures, to determine a city’s restaurant growth index. The Fort Walton Beach area has seen an influx of new restaurants in recent months. Among them is Cajun Kitchen on Mary Esther Cut-Off next to the Sprint store. The Cajun restaurant opened in September. Although it got off to a slow start, owner Brad Miller said business has picked up. “It does kind of surprise me a little,” Miller said of Fort Walton Beach’s restaurant ranking. “I would think that if it was rated the best, then my business would have exploded from the beginning, but it didn’t. It took a little while for me to grow up my clientele. “The military has a huge, huge influence on the restaurants surviving,” he added. “If it wasn’t for the military base, I don’t think my business would be doing as well as it is right now. They’re definitely a motivation for me to keep doing specials for the military because they’re so loyal in coming back.” Tom Rice, who opened the Magnolia Grill in downtown Fort Walton Beach in 1996, does not put much faith in lists such as the one in Restaurant Business, but he said it still was nice to see. “Certainly for those of us that have a restaurant here, we thought it was a good thing,” Rice said. “I’m proud of the mom and pops that open up and tend to give back to the community in a greater percentage than the chain places … We’re proud our area was selected.”