New restaurants to open doors in Gulf Breeze first quarter of '09
BY VICI PAPAJOHN Gulf Breeze News vici@gulfbreezenews.com

The McDonalds restaurant in Gulf Breeze Proper will close after Saturday, January 10. Employees will be working in the Tiger Point store and other area stores while the new building, above, is built.

At the December 15 Gulf Breeze City Council Meeting, City Manager Edwin "Buz" Eddy presented a summary of pending development and construction expected in first quarter 2009.

"Shane (Carmichael, Gulf Breeze Community Services and Code Inspector) has prepared a report for you," Eddy explained. "Councilman Fulford requested an update on current construction activity in the City, and several projects are moving forward."

The report detailed four eateries and a waterfront bar coming to the area:

Beef O'Brady's will be located in the Bruno's shopping center and the build-out of the restaurant should begin in January. Terry Sanders, franchise owner, says he and his wife, Cynthia, and their two sons Chad and Chase will manage the business.

"The county asked for a few things, and we are working those out. We have been trying to open for a little over a year now; the plans took awhile, revisions came into play five or six times, and then the economy had its affect, too. The holidays are behind us and life is finally back to normal. The city and county people are real nice, but there are loops you gotta jump through and we have to make sure everything is right with them."

"We could be open as soon as the Super Bowl but that is the million dollar question," he says with a laugh. "Realistically speaking it'll be the latter part of February. Make no mistake about it -- Beef O'Brady's will open. We have stayed the course, and we will open."

Fuji Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi Bar is still expected to open in February in the vacant Cancun's Mexican Grill building at 1385 Shoreline Dr.

Tony Wang, 37, paid $664,300 for the property in an online auction conducted for the U.S. Marshals Office after the property was seized by federal agents last December in a criminal case that landed the previous owner and several employees in prison. The deal was delayed three months by two deadline extensions to secure financing for the purchase.

Wang also owns the Fuji Japanese restaurant at 6235 North Davis Highway in Pensacola.

Shan Kishi Sushi Hibachi is a new restaurant scheduled to open in the Sea Shell Collections Shopping Center. According to Carmichael, they have paid portions of their impact fees. Buildout in the space rented by the restaurant began in early December. Smoothie King should be opening in the center as well during first quarter 2009.

Eddy also detailed business growth:

At a time when some real estate offices are closing their doors, RE/MAX on the Coast has relocated to new offices in Sea Shell Collections. Sherlyn Waghalter, Owner/Broker sees the move as offering both efficiency and visibility to clients listing homes for sale and walk-in traffic from tourists and visitors alike.

"A lot of people drop by our offices to just ask questions, see examples of what is available and at what pricing," she adds. The office has streamlined space for agents, and is more energy-efficient, too.

The purchase of the School Board property at 409 Gulf Breeze Parkway that has been home to the Gulf Breeze Chamber of Commerce may still go through. The purchaser has transferred a total of $225,000 as of Jan. 1, 2009. Tiger Point Land and Development, LLC from Winter Park, Fla. is the purchaser of record. The property was leased to the city for the past several years, and was put up for sale by the school district late last year.

The $1.6 million contract is scheduled to close by Jan. 15. The Gulf Breeze Chamber of Commerce has a sublease on the property and must vacate by March 1 if the sale goes through, according to Eddy. The sale was delayed again and again throughout 2008.

The city is still awaiting disbursement of FEMA funds for the alternative projects. Such projects as Rec Center expansion, walking paths and a splash pad are included in the proposed alternatives afforded by mitigating the city fishing pier on Hwy. 98.

"FEMA funds are limited by Federal Law in how they can be used," explains Steve Milford, Special Projects Manager. "An important restriction on FEMA is that all funded projects fully comply with all Federal environmental regulations and that no historic structures are threatened. At this time, FEMA is in what we hope is the final stages of its environmental review of our proposed projects and is awaiting word from the Florida State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) that deconstruction of the fishing bridge will not threaten to disturb archeologically important underwater sites. SHPO has told us they will send notice to FEMA of their approval of our deconstruction plan, but it hasn't hit FEMA's desk yet."