The Sandbar opens on Pensacola Beach, bringing fresh grouper, cold beer and killer sunsets

Before there was The Frisky Dolphin, there was Sabine Sandbar at 715 Pensacola Beach Blvd. Now, about seven months after the Frisky Dolphin closed its doors, building owner Greg Gordon has reopened the place as The Sandbar once again. Not only will they be reviving the live music that Sabine Sandbar was known for, but bringing a menu filled with fresh oysters, juicy burgers and grouper sandwiches to Pensacola Beach.

Everything that went into the new restaurant and bar was part of Gordon’s careful design, from the outdoor dining chairs, to the 15 televisions installed that will be the homebase of many future football watch parties.

Born a Bulldog, it’s no coincidence the University of Georgia flag flies closest to the American flag hanging on the patio. But he told his friends that if they buy their own flag, he’ll hang it, even if mere sight of the blue and gold in the University of Notre Dame flag might kill him.

Having owned the building and its neighboring Sabine Marina for 25 years, he has become a part of it. He knows exactly where the sun sets that will tell you how many months remain until summer based on its proximity to two towers across the water.

Many of the photographs of stunning Pensacola Beach sunsets that hang proudly inside, he took himself from that very patio. The logo of him painted on the backs of The Sandbar T-shirts are how the regulars know him best: ball cap on and an expensive cigar poking out of the corner of his mouth. His attire largely resembles his beach-lifestyle he’s spent decades of his life maintaining: board shorts, flip flops and T-shirts. Five of his homes have fallen victim to hurricanes, yet the Gulf is still the backyard of his Pensacola Beach home and his business. He wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I still won’t move away from the water,” Gordon said. “Everyone thought I was retired out in Key West, but Pensacola is hard to beat.”

Since opening on Monday, the restaurant has been more of his home than his actual home. He arrives early in the morning to restock hamburger buns and is still there late at night fixing beer taps. When he slips away to say hello to friends, his red chair at the outdoor bar is where they find him.

“This is the way I want it to be. The place is very personal to me,” Gordon added “When people come here, they feel welcome. The food is great; the view is unbelievable.”

The work ethic isn’t remotely new to Gordon, who spent his younger years booking big-name bands for Banana Bob’s, another Pensacola Beach bar he owned, thanks to his connections from years working in the radio industry.

“I keep an eye on everything, I can’t help myself,” Gordon said. “I started a long time ago… all this is in my blood.”

While seafood steals the show at many waterfront Pensacola Beach restaurants, you don’t have to be a “seafood addict” to find something that will entice you.

The half-pound beef hamburgers are alone worth the trip, so large he can’t finish one in a single sitting. The muffalettas are even bigger, based off the kind you would find at an old-school New Orleans sandwich counter.

But the grouper is what Gordon predicts The Sandbar will be known for, and it is served a variety of ways − fried, blackened and grilled – even in the form of a grouper Reuben.

The seafood doesn’t get any fresher, and the menu even holds a “you catch, we cook option” that will allow the kitchen to prepare the customer’s fresh catch and serve it with two sides for $13.95.

There are other regional dishes that have found a spot on the menu, like the red beans and rice, gumbo and shrimp and oyster po’boys.

The conch fritters were added as a nod to the years he spent living in Key West.

Right now, you’ll find lots of cold beer and seltzers to enjoy on the patio. Soon you’ll see frozen cocktails, margaritas and Bushwackers.

For the summer, The Sandbar will be open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

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This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: The Sandbar restaurant and bar now open on Pensacola Beach