Hey! Where are the good local hangouts? I have been out a few times since moving here a month ago from California and have yet to find any good local crowds since arriving. I used to live in Panama City Beach (a few years ago) and used to work here for Spring Break each year. I haven't been back in about 3 years and everything is so much different. I know all about the Bar Wars that they have in PCB but they are not as crowded as I remember. I keep checking the boards here because I have heard I can get some good info so I thought I would ask... Where is everyone?? I am getting lost in the tourist crowds and would love to meet some people who actually live here. I live in-between Destin and Panama City Beach so I would love some recommendations both locales.

I'm trying to get Randy from Club Hour to help with your questions... he's the expert on nightlife on the Emerald Coast.
(nice GNR reference in your title, btw)

Thursday is Ladies Night and Friday is Locals night @ Club La Vela.

Sunday is Bar Wars @ Spinnaker.

I think Wednesdays are still Bar Wars @ Ruthie T's.

Fridays were popular with locals last year upstairs @ Boatyard.

Schooners always has locals hanging out... especially on the weekends.

I hear Coyote Ugly has been popular lately with the 18-25 crowd.

Foghorn's gets a good local crowd, but I can't tell you which nights are best.

Key West gets a good local crowd and live music. They had a bar wars night a few years ago... not sure anymore.

Ms. Newby's is a local hotspot if you're looking for a diverse crowd. From bikers to doctors.

I've heard good things about Medusa Rouge, but never been.

De Bubba and Jojo's (bad name - good bar) gets some locals.

And I have a friend opening a new hangout in PCB - the last I heard it was going to be called Redwater Bar and Cafe. Owned by Bob and Minette from Beach Scene. It's near the intersection of Front Beach and Middle Beach, down by Katmandu and the Fiesta Motel. Should be open any day now...

Maybe we can get some more locals to help us out here...........

Thanks again, Swn5363!

I had some of the days mixed up on the bar wars schedule. Either they have changed the days around for some of the bars or I am losing it (too many episodes of Head Bangers Ball when I was little or too many Hunch Punches as I got older... who knows?).

Thanks for clarifying and all the great info.

I'm coming to PC May 14....any ideas on what clubs/bars to go to that week? I've always gone to La Vela on Saturday nights, but what about the rest of the week. I read above, but nothing caught my eye on exactly what goes on.

Ok...OK I am coming into this half way through the discussion...too much Jager during Spring Break...then there was Thunder Beach...well either way sobriety has caught up to me and I think I have some answers for the search of what to do and where to do it....

SWN has got some great info. Here are my two cents....

Bar Wars...Blah....what it once was and what it has become are two very different things, so trying to find locals based on it could prove to be a mission of frustration....

LaVela...Blah...particularly now with the indifference about their future, more locals have abandonded this one time favorite...don't get me wrong, still a good tourist crowd and if you loved LaVela in the 90s then you will still love it today...not much has changed.... :)

As for where to head to find people, it depends on what you are looking for on a particular evening. SWN is on the money with bars like Foghorn's, Newby's and DeBubba and JoJos...very local, very fun...not glitzy or glam but just REAL!

In PC for an evening of dress up and play...you have three decent choices, 2 casual bar atmospheres, one club.

For Martinis, Wine and Atmosphere, you cannot go wrong with the waterfront views of the Boatyard or the incredible floor to ceiling aquarium at Salt Water Grill. And for clubs, its endured for decades, and with its recent re-invention, its really the only place locals with go "clubbing" and that's good old Spinnaker! Best DJs and Best bands for PC.

BUT...you dont live in just PC...so let's talk 30A....

Now of course your discussion is about Locals...and thats tricky on 30A. Everyone has a local feel and many of them do technically live here on the weekends while they retreat to work in ATL during the week to sober up. Either way, I have met more of the most unique enjoyable entertaining people while eating and drinking my way down 30A...

Rosemary Beach:

Wine and Cheese bar...once Medusa Rouge, the old owner created something that is living on today...an upscale wine bar with a low scale pretense...not dress code, no snottiness...just great wine and lots of it...

Seasise:

Bud and Alleys....ok, its a bit touristy, what isn't out in Seaside, still fun young adult crowd.

Watercolor:

Fish Out of Water...incredible food...amazing martinis...and one of the best Mijitos on the coast

Grayton (my faovrite)

As SWN mentioned can't go wrong with a meal from Criollas...
Follow it with wine and conversation at Boragos (Italian food, very social bar crowd. I have made more good friends at that bar than any bar anywhere in Florida....great people, out to be social and enjoy life.)
and of course....RED BAR...can't go wrong there either. Live Jazz, simple but delicious menu...fun fun fun...lots of locals, lots of tourists...did i mention lots of FUN!

Ok, I have to get back to work now, but feel free to email me randy@tripsmarter.com or post any more questions...I promise quicker repsonse next time....

Randy Peterson
Host/Exec. Producer - Club Hour

Hey Randy....I looked up The Salt Water Grill at the Boatyard...I was trying to see how pricey their menu's were and/or the dress whether it was casual or real dressy. Any ideas....I always eat at Hammerhead Freds, Pineapple Willy's, and Montego Bay.....Is the Salt Water Grill any more expensive than these? Thanks!

Randy,
I sent an email to you but didn't get a response. Since we are in the days of spam, spam blockers, junk email boxes and combined with your busy schedule it is possible it slipped your email box. Just wanted to be sure that you did get my "thank you" for your lengthy response. I know how busy you must be meeting your schedule, so I really do appreciate the time you took to list all of the great choices of bars and restaurants. I have been visiting a few of the "new to me" bars and some of the old ones... mainly Ms Newby's... suspiciously I think I saw someone resembling you stumbling away from there on Saturday night??
My boyfriend said he enjoyed meeting you. He was the bartender who made the Tiffany martini for you at Cava Blue in Destin. He knows all about Tiffanys!! I have schooled him well:) Anyway... thanks!

hehehe, Randy "stumbling" away from Ms Newbys? that's unpossible?
/doesn't everyone stumble out of there?

Well... I have come to the conclusion that there are several variations to exiting Ms. Newby's. I thought stumbling was quite respectable and a hefty feat... considering he (the mysterious silhouette of someone resembling Randy) was some distance from the front door traveling eastward on Thomas Dr. He had made it some distance… and for that… “he” (whoever he is) earned major awards. I have never made it anywhere walking, stumbling or crawling out of Ms. Newby’s…. BARELY to the car and that’s pushing it. And we all know… that is some advertisement for Ms. Newby’s. You know you are in a good bar when you have people sleeping in the parking lot in their cars (just not in the front seat guys, you can still get a DUI sitting in the parking lot in the drivers side if you have the keys in your possession). Stumbling, crawling, and my favorite: being carried out of Ms. Newby’s are the norm… but I have been witness to the occasional, yet unremarkable alteration to those choices. There is the occasional open the door and toss out when guys get a little too rowdy, I have seen a guy look like he was sliding into first base headed out the front door (this was because he was trying to take off with a bottle of alcohol without paying and the trusty security, in one movement, stuck out his arm and leveled the guy causing him to slide right on out the door), and there is the occasional vanish into thin air. I have had friends be there one moment and “poof” gone the next with no word or explanation as to where the hell they went. Now, we all know the fun and favorite people that go in there and never come out. They are the bartenders that are there all the time year after year to give us those one of a kind delicious Hunch Punches. Can anyone else think of another way to exit Ms. Newby’s?? I will look again on Friday night... maybe there are are some that I am forgetting??

If it wasn't Randy you saw on that particular occasion, the link below will show what Ms. Newby's can do to Randy. btw - I was there when this was shot - it was even better in person.

Funny Stuff - (select broadband or dialup)

This link has more videos from clubhour in Panama City Beach.

Before watching the video posted below, we should note that "Objects at Newby's appear drunker than they are...."

Okay, okay, i was a bit plastered that night at newby's but the lurking shadow this past weekend must have been my twin brother...i took it easy this past weekend...lots of wine, lots of fun, but no Newby's....whew!

So Tyler is your bf? Very cool guy...helluva bar he is at, I would bet that other than Johnny O'Quigleys out there in Destin, Bianco will quickly become a fav for locals and visitors.

Is it trus he was almost a pro-hockey player? I bet he could tell some stories...so how are you two adapting to the east coast?

Share with us some of your adventures, you have been exploring the coast for a month or so now...so out with it, we want to the KissKiss top 5:

top 5 favorites
top 5 drunken panhandle moments
&
top 5 favortie party pics(that is if you carry a camera with you when out and about)

In fact, anyone reading this..out with it...let here the top 5....

randy

Randy's Top 5

favorite bars -
5. DuBubba and JoJo's Karaoke Cafe (it has its nights)
4. Courtyard Wine and Cheese Bar(formerly Medusa Rouge)
3. Blue Point in Destin Commons ties with Johnny O'quigleys
2. Newby's.....uh oh
1. Anywhere Jay(sp?) is working(Jaia from Boragos)

for drunken moments and drunken pics, i might need a little time...

rp

I am actually from the South so the adjustment was easy for me. Ty is still getting used to the fact that there are no ice rinks in the area. I lived here in PCB in 1996 for a few months and worked Spring Break for 7 weeks out of each year since until 2000 in PCB. I also covered Spring Break in Myrtle Beach and Cancun. I was part of the crew that threw the Beach Bash at Sharky’s and foam party at Hammer Head Freds. So I have lots of good memories… and tons of drunken moments. Don’t know if I can share most of them on this board… actually I don’t WANT the PCB area knowing most of them. Getting up on stage at Spinnaker and singing “I’m Just a Girl” with the band and some other memories I would much rather forget (I am just thankful I didn’t have a camera following me around filming every little thing I did) ha ha! VERY FUNNY video Randy, the ENGLISH language never sounded so blurred. I just hate that I can’t see the footage that hit the cutting room floor!


As for the pictures… I have a couple on the computer that are old PCB pics… haven’t had my camera with me lately. As for my favorite bars in the panhandle, I don’t totally feel qualified to give a preference because I have not been to MOST of the new ones like DuBubba and JoJo's Karaoke Café and Courtyard Wine and Cheese but after I get a chance to visit I will repost.


As of right now, my favorite bars:


5. Blue Point
4. Cava Blue (Yes, I had to say it… I do LOVE the bar… but the crowd needs to get better… It’s a killer bar just needs good people.
3. Red Bar
2. Anything in Grayton Beach
1. Ms. Newby’s

I'll need more time to think of some PG rated versions of the top 5 panhandle drunken moments and to round up some photos

In the meantime... I'd love to see some other people reading this board's top 5 drunken moments and pics.

kp