A Front Porch for The Back Porch: Local Seafood Restaurant sees improvements

We Are Open, reads the sign in front of The Back Porch Seafood and Oyster Bar on Scenic Hwy. in Destin. Resembling an active construction zone, the sign is a welcome sight for those wanting to dine at the famous eatery. The iconic 40-year-old restaurant is currently undergoing a series of renovations with hopes on finishing the improvements before the busy spring break season.

What we are doing basically is, we have expanded the gift shop and added all new bathrooms and we are opening up the front and expanding the main bar area, said General Manager Trey Horton.

Horton explained that some of the most exciting features of the renovations will be the front deck for customers waiting to be seated and a new open-air feature on the front side of the restaurant.

We have put in three garage doors that open to the front so that if you are driving by you can look through the restaurant and see all the way to the Gulf, he said. One of the largest problems about the way the building was built originally was that we only got the breeze from the back, but nothing anywhere in the dining room to let the breeze go through.

With the new design, three glass garage doors will be rolled open in fair weather to allow for ample natural lighting and pleasant breezes to diners.

In addition to the front of the restaurant, the main bar will also see construction with an elongated bar top to add 12 to 16 seats.

The bar area was way too small and the way the restaurant was built, it got really congested at the point near the bar, said Horton. It just wasnt working with the volume of people we have coming in.

As for the restrooms and gift shop located on the east side of the building, both are being completely remodeled.

Well have much bigger, nicer bathrooms and a much larger and expanded gift shop, said Horton.

When asked why the renovations were taking place now, Horton simply replied, It was time.

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A Front Porch for The Back Porch: Local Seafood Restaurant sees improvements