An early morning fire destroyed The Red Bar and Piccolo’s Restaurant, the beloved Grayton Beach landmark. One of the oldest buildings in South Walton, the state Fire Marshall’s office and the South Walton Fire Department will jointly investigate the cause of this devastating loss to our community. Fire crews arrived around 5:30 AM and the building was empty when the fire began. No injuries were reported.

Fans on social media are showing an outpouring of love, expressing their memories and thoughts on the loss of this iconic establishment. “A sad day for 30A. My family had many great nights of food and music here.”  “24 years of Family Vacation Dinners… heartbreaking!” “So very sorry, my family loved this place!” “So many memories, and stories and so much history inside this building.”

South Walton Fire Marshal Sammy Sanchez was on the scene and commented in a live Walton Co. Sheriff Facebook video, “I spoke with the owners, they are heartbroken. They have employees they are concerned with, but I’ve been in this community for 21 years, and I know the community will rally. I have confidence they will come back bigger and better than before.”

He added that once the scene is secured, the joint investigation will take place.

UPDATE: Red Bar co-owner Oli Petit made a statement, “I want to tell our patrons and my staff that we will be back, and we will rebuild to the exact previous specifications – maybe with a better bathroom. Life goes on.”

2-19-19 UPDATE: The official GoFund Me to benefit Red Bar employee fund. gofundme.com/official-redbar-go-fund-me

Check out our recent interview with owner Oli Petit:

10-07-10 UPDATE: The Red Bar will be officially breaking ground on Tuesday, October 8th at 10 a.m. 

Editor’s Note: Check back with us as we will be posting updates on the rebuild!