Before Seagrove had a beach access with restrooms, a paved multi-use path or a tram schedule, it had a market. Seagrove developer C.H. McGhee opened it in 1949, when Scenic 30A was "just a little piece of dirt road." He stocked it with basics for the handful of families who owned homes here, according to a SoWal history of the market. For years it was the only nearby place to buy gas or use a payphone. Homeowners kept spare keys in a box there, so a visiting relative or a repair person could stop by and pick one up.
That market served its last meal on Thursday, Oct. 22.
Two weeks after Isaias came ashore near Destin, a lot of Seagrove's public side was already working again. The storm's lasting marks here are on the two oldest things on this stretch of 30A: the market and the dunes. Cleanup is still going on and some amenities are still limited, but the public places came back within weeks.
What closed, and what didn't
30A-TV reported that Hartley Restaurant Group was closing two of its three restaurants, Seagrove Village MarketCafe and Watersound Village Market, effective immediately after Hurricane Isaias. Oct. 22 was the last day of service at both. Watersound Village Market in Inlet Beach opened in 2023, so it had about three years. The Seagrove location had run for more than seventy-five years.
George and Ann Hartley bought the market in 1999. AL.com carried their closing message:
"For more than 75 years, Seagrove Village Market has been so much more than a restaurant. It's been a gathering place for generations of families, familiar faces, and countless memories shared over good food."
In the earlier SoWal piece, Ann Hartley remembered that when they bought the place, the kitchen "cooked on a Bunsen burner in the back." By the 1980s you could get beer at the market and food at Ernie's Café in the back. The menu that most people here remember came later: fried shrimp baskets, po'boys, grouper sandwiches, burgers and tacos.
The market had a close call before. In 2015, SoWal reported that the original building was being torn down for new development. The Hartleys planned to reopen nearby in a new building designed to look like the old one, "to provide continuity." That move kept the market's name, menu and souvenir T-shirts going through a change of address. Isaias ended a business that had already survived the loss of its first building.
Surfing Deer, the third Hartley restaurant and also in Santa Rosa Beach, took storm damage but stayed open on normal hours. Gift cards from any Hartley Restaurant Group restaurant can be used at Surfing Deer for dining or merchandise. If you have a market gift card in a kitchen drawer, it still has a use. The family's statement said they will "take this time to plan for what comes next."
The public side came back within weeks
Compare that to how quickly the county-run places around the market came back.
Seagrove Regional Beach Access. In Walton County Tourism's Oct. 22 status, the restrooms were open, power and water were on and the dune walkover steps were open. The ADA ramp was still closed and the flagpole was not working. A missing flag on that pole does not mean the water is safe. The South Walton Fire District's text line, "SAFETY" to 31279, gives current flag and water conditions. Lifeguard season normally ends Oct. 31, so this applies to November swims anyway.
The other accesses on the county's list. In the same Oct. 22 status, every listed regional access had an open route to the beach, and amenities varied by site. Fort Panic was fully open, including its ADA ramp. Blue Mountain had restrooms, the walkover, power, water and a working flagpole. Dune Allen and Santa Clara were stairs-only. Walton County Tourism's hurricane update page, last updated Oct. 29, said cleanup was continuing and some amenities and services were still limited.
Eastern Lake. A wastewater release led DOH-Walton to post a health advisory for Eastern Lake near Lakewood Drive and 30A. On Oct. 26, the county announced the advisory was lifted after tests completed Oct. 21 showed an acceptable level of Enterococcus bacteria under state guidelines. Test results are posted at FloridaHealth.gov/HealthyBeaches.
The path. The multi-use paths along Scenic Highway 30A and County Roads 393, 83, 283 and 395 have been cleared and are safe to use. Crews were still doing a final sweep for sand and small debris.
The trams. The county said Beach Park & Ride service would resume Tuesday, Oct. 13. The off-season schedule started Oct. 1, and all trams run daily. From the 393 facility, the Ed Walline Express runs every 10 minutes, and the Dune Allen Local stops at Dune Allen, Fort Panic, Gulfview Heights, Blue Mountain and Grayton.
Grayton Beach State Park. The park reopened after emergency repairs to a storm-damaged bridge. The Florida Department of Transportation finished the work in about 16 hours.
Several of Seagrove's dinner spots are also running. Café Thirty-A's website lists dinner daily from 4:30 p.m., with reservations. Old Florida Fish House scheduled a Halloween dinner on Oct. 30 and 31 and takes reservations online. A 30A.com recovery roundup found that most restaurants, cafés and stores along 30A had reopened, though some had limited menus or services.
So most of the public places around the market were working again within about two weeks, some with limits. The business that predates all of them did not reopen.
The dunes are on a much longer timeline
The other place where Isaias did lasting damage is the sand. WJHG reported that storm surge damaged the Walton County coastline and eroded the dunes. County Beach Operations Director Josh Ervin said the county was considering emergency dune repairs with FEMA and planning federally funded beach renourishment. He told WJHG the renourishment design would likely be finished in "October of next year," and the county planned to take emergency repair eligibility back to commissioners.
On that timeline, the renourishment design alone runs to about October 2027, and the sand gets placed after that. The restrooms at the Seagrove access and the 30A path were back within days.
Isaias hit hardest on the oldest things on this stretch: the dunes, and a market that opened when 30A was a dirt road.
Two evenings nearby before the holidays
The storm didn't change the Santa Rosa Beach calendar much, and two of the next events are a short drive from Seagrove.
- Mountainfilm on Tour, Friday and Saturday, Nov. 6 and 7. The touring outdoor film festival comes to WaterColor Marina Park Amphitheater, 238 WaterColor Blvd. W. Gates open at 5:45 p.m., and films start at 7 p.m. 30A.com has details.
- Christmas Luminaries, Saturday, Dec. 5, 5 to 8 p.m. The evening begins at the Point Washington Medical Clinic's open house and moves to Eden Gardens State Park, 181 Eden Gardens Road, after sunset along luminary-lined paths. The historic Wesley House will be decorated room by room, with one room done by the clinic, and there will be live music, cookies and hot drinks. The 30A.com listing links to the clinic's RSVP form.
For years the market sold kitschy souvenirs and Seagrove Beach T-shirts. If you're missing that kind of old-30A evening this fall, the luminaries walk through the historic Wesley House is a good one to go to.
When a place like the market closes, people up and down 30A start asking what happens to the businesses and properties around it. I'm Chris Schultz, and I keep track of these changes in Seagrove and across Santa Rosa Beach. If you want to talk through what the post-Isaias recovery means for your own place on 30A, book a free consultation and we'll go over it together.
