Downtown Fort Walton Beach: What’s Actually Changing

On a Saturday morning in August, the line at Beach Weekend Coffee's flagship on Miracle Strip Parkway spills onto the sidewalk before eight. Two blocks over, families are dropping quarters at The GAB Spot's arcade machines, a spot that's just over three months old. And across Highway 98, the same triangular lot that's been empty since before some of those customers were born sits behind a chain-link fence with a real estate sign on it.

That contrast is part of downtown Fort Walton Beach right now. Small businesses have opened while plans for the Landmark Center have continued to change. Downtown is changing on foot alongside a project discussed in city council chambers for two decades.

The Landmark Center Site and Its Plans

The lot at U.S. Highway 98 and Perry Avenue has a name, and if you've lived downtown for more than a few years, you've heard it: the Landmark Center. Since planning started in 2006, multiple developers have proposed versions with a Hilton hotel, loft condos, a parking garage, and ground-floor retail meant to anchor the redevelopment district.

A February 2026 WEAR-TV report said a large hotel chain was looking to put a hotel on the old Landmark property in Downtown Fort Walton Beach after earlier development efforts did not move forward. The report quoted the city's growth management director:

"Many years ago there was a landmark center proposed for there. It was going to be the combination of a hotel and an apartment complex."

That project's funding fell through. This time, city leaders sound more optimistic. City leaders say this proposal is looking promising, and if all goes well, construction on the hotel could begin this summer, according to that same report. With summer underway, residents can watch for updates on whether the project moves forward.

Downtown has continued to change while the Landmark Center site has remained vacant.

The Nabors Family's Downtown Businesses

Ask around about who's actually been building downtown, and one name keeps coming up: the Nabors family. Their broader downtown Fort Walton Beach redevelopment efforts began when their mother, Bonnie Nabors, purchased and remodeled a downtown building. Since then, brothers Jayme and Bobby Nabors have kept acquiring and renovating downtown properties, and their portfolio now includes The Boardroom restaurant (since sold), Cowhead restaurant, and Wood Foot Beer Company brewery.

What makes their approach worth noting isn't just the list of businesses. It's how they got there. Their strategy evolved from trying to lease spaces to other businesses to opening their own establishments when recruitment proved difficult. In their own words:

"We weren't as successful as we thought in bringing businesses here."

So they became the tenants themselves. Beach Weekend Coffee, their most visible bet, opened its flagship location at 170 Miracle Strip Pkwy SE on June 6, 2025, a 2,400-square-foot space built to recreate the "beach weekend feeling" the brand is known for. It's now been running for over a year, long enough to become a fixture rather than a novelty, and it followed the same family's earlier brewery, Wood Foot Beer Company, into that stretch of downtown. The coffee shop is one of the family's businesses in downtown Fort Walton Beach.

What Else Opened Nearby This Year

Other nearby openings have added to the options around downtown this year.

The GAB Spot opened in May as a family entertainment concept a few minutes from the historic core. Jason Nieves and his wife Melissa Caban opened the venue on May 4 at 913 North Beale Parkway, featuring bowling, arcade games, axe throwing, and dining under a name that stands for Gelato, Arcade, and Bowling. It's the kind of rainy-Tuesday-with-the-kids option that didn't exist here before this year.

Sea Oats Kitchen & Bar opened at The Island Resort on Okaloosa Island in June, replacing what had been Coastal Kitchen. The Island Resort announced the opening on June 10, describing the reimagined restaurant as a locals' gathering place open to resort guests, families, and neighbors alike. The seafood program leans local by design. The menu is anchored by a seasonal seafood program sourced through a partnership with Destin Ice Seafood Market, along with local fishermen and day boats when available. It's worth a drive over the bridge even if you're not staying at the resort.

The Weekly Rhythm, If You Haven't Kept Up

Between the new openings, the standing routines that make downtown feel like a neighborhood rather than a strip of shops are still running on schedule.

The Saturday Market runs rain or shine on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month, year round, from 8am to 1pm, at the Fort Walton Beach Landing. If you haven't walked the park itself lately, it's worth the trip on its own. The Landing's 700 feet of waterfront boardwalk runs along the water, and the park includes a playground, a small rock climbing wall, and a concert stage. Locals treat it as the default spot for Friday night concerts, movies in the park, the Saturday markets, and holiday fireworks, which is a lot of mileage out of one small waterfront green space.

AJ's on the Bayou kicked off back-to-school season this past week with a Teachers Back to School Happy Hour on Friday, August 7, thanking local teachers and administrators for their work, then followed it the next day with its Annual Tin Cup Classic at Emerald Bay, bringing golfers of all skill levels together for a day of friendly competition. If you missed both, there's still theater ahead: Stagecrafters Community Theatre presents Ken Ludwig's "Moriarty: A Sherlock Holmes Adventure" on August 14 through 16 and again August 21 through 23.

The Sign That Finally Explains the Mound

There's one more small addition that says something about how downtown thinks about itself right now. The city's Community Redevelopment Agency installed a new illuminated welcome sign along Highway 98 this year, and the design behind it is more interesting than the sign itself. Local mural artist Christina Donahoe was selected from a field of 46 entries and received $5,000 for the winning design. Her artwork depicts a paddleboard and wave, and pulls in visual elements unique to the area, including a reference to a prehistoric 1,200-year-old Indian Temple Mound nearby.

The sign joins the city's other downtown efforts, including murals and façade grants for small shops. The Landmark Center site remains unbuilt.

So What Does This Actually Mean

If you live downtown, this is a snapshot of recent openings and the ongoing plans for the Landmark Center site.

Downtown has added local options, including a coffee shop and brewery. The GAB Spot, a few minutes from the historic core, adds bowling, and the Downtown FWB Saturday Market runs on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays. Sea Oats Kitchen & Bar opened on Okaloosa Island, across the bridge. Together, these businesses and routines show the range of recent changes around downtown. If the Landmark Center site moves forward this summer, the hotel would offer another reason for out-of-town guests to stay downtown.

That's worth knowing whether you're a longtime resident deciding where to grab coffee this weekend, or someone thinking ahead to what a property near this stretch of downtown might be worth as the small-business wave keeps rolling. If you're curious what any of that means for a specific address, The Babe Group knows this stretch of Fort Walton Beach block by block. Start Your Move — Get a Free Home Valuation.