Top 9+ Pensacola restaurants open in February, 4 close permanently

These nine new restaurants offer diners even more choices for fried chicken, California burritos, fresh fish sandwiches and much more. However, another four restaurants closed their doors permanently.

Let's take a look back at February's restaurant openings and closures in the Pensacola area.

Nine restaurants opened in February to check out

Waldo’s Chicken and Beer

7130 N. Davis Highway

Pensacola’s first Waldo’s Chicken and Beer is now open, specializing in Southern fried chicken and rotisserie dishes.

The fast-casual restaurant replaces longtime tenant Tu-Do Vietnamese Restaurant, and is Florida’s second location, following a restaurant at the Silver Sand Premium Outlets in Miramar Beach. Waldo’s features from-scratch food centered on its chicken, served on the bone, on a bun, in a basket, or in a bowl, and paired with a variety of homemade comfort sides, such as decadent mac and cheese, collard greens, coleslaw and more. Waldo's also has a following for its homemade cheddar biscuits.

Andy D’s on Pensacola Bay

905 E. Gregory St.

Downtown Pensacola got a new waterfront restaurant this month, now that South Market has relocated back to its former location at 232 E. Main St. 

Luckily, restaurateur Andrew DeMartin has big plans for the picturesque property, which opened its doors in mid-February. In addition to bringing over some of the best-selling seafood dishes from his Andy D's Navarre menu, such as the redfish plate, he will also add plenty of nice items for the land-lovers, such as premium steak filets, pork chops and ragu pasta. They’ll also be incorporating a “catch of the day”-inspired menu item that offers a variety of fresh seafood beyond the staples.

Pen-Taco-La

Mobile food dispensing vehicle

East Hill welcomed a new neighborhood taqueria this month with the arrival of the Pen-Taco-La food truck, which took the place of long-time tenant Tacos Mexicanos which closed in January.

Pen-Taco-La owner Pablo Hernandez has transformed the outdoor dining area with bright cherry-red tables, a revamped menu featuring a mix of traditional and modern favorites and bottled fresh fruit juices. Pen-Taco-La's manager and chef, Gabriel Luna, has taken the helm of crafting the menu with his recipes, including crowd-pleasing dishes such as carne asada fries, birria tacos, California burritos and traditional street tacos.

Chipotle

3240 W. Michigan Ave.

A new Chipotle made its debut in Pensacola on Feb. 17. In addition to its menu of fan-favorite bowls, burritos, tacos and other Mexican fare, it will offer a limited-time special: Chicken Al Pastor at the Bellview area location.

The project proposal was approved by Escambia County’s Development Review Committee (DRC) in April, and the restaurant has been in the works ever since. The new store offers dine-in seating and a signature Chipotlane drive-thru pickup lane, making it easy for guests to pick up their digital orders by pulling up to the lane.

Chef Eddy’s Thai Express

7700 W. Fairfield Drive 

West-siders can rejoice that Pensacola's popular choice for traditional Thai cuisine, Thai Street Food by Chef Eddy, now has a second location open, with a third restaurant on the way.

Chef Ratchakrit Wilertthada, known as “Chef Eddy,” and his wife, Lawan Claflin, opened their second location, Chef Eddy’s Thai Express on Feb. 19. It offers a slightly more condensed menu of fan-favorites and a few new additions that nod to Wilertthada’s early days in his food truck.

If you’re looking to try one of Chef Eddy’s tried-and-true classics, Thai Street Food Express carries over many of Wilertthada’s famed Thai dishes, such as the popular Pad Thai, Pad See Ew and crispy pork belly. His ramen hotpot with seafood is also a crowd-pleaser, prepared in creamy tom yum soup with mixed seafood, boiled egg, onion, carrot, white and green onion, mushroom, tomato and cilantro.

Fatboys

8651 Navarre Parkway

Fatboy's restaurant in Navarre opened its doors to the public Feb. 19. The casual burger and wing joint—with locations in Destin, Miramar, Niceville, Crestview, Panama City and Enterprise, Alabama—leans into the cheeky name, inspired by the iconic Fatboy motorcycle, wholeheartedly. Owners boast of "serving up creative burgers, wings, and sandwiches in a casual, family-friendly atmosphere."

The menu delivers on its promises for quality burger options, including The Hula Girl, glazed with teriyaki and topped with grilled pineapple slaw, The Sunrise topped with fried egg and bacon, and The Roadhouse slathered with barbecue sauce, pulled pork and fried onion straws.

South Market (relocation)

232 E. Main Street

South Market has gone back to its roots at its original 232 E. Main Street location in Pensacola, relocating from its waterfront restaurant at 905 E. Gregory St. after its last day of service on Feb. 1.

Through the transition, South Market will be simplifying their brand, reclaiming some of the elements that made it a local favorite, with more meals shared out in their courtyard, live music, board games and more, while still continuing to serve “homemade food and fresh cocktails.”

Pattiwagon food truck

524 S. B St.

Pattiwagon food truck is now open outside of Joe Patti’s Seafood at 524 S. B St.

The world-famous Joe Patti's Seafood Market is now making it easier than ever to try its coveted fresh seafood with a new food truck stationed outside the market. While the truck was purchased by the Patti family, it will be run by chef Amber Halverson, who formerly owned Alcaniz Kitchen & Tap. The food truck quietly opened to the public in early February, but the secret is beginning to get out as customers line up for fresh fish, miso-breaded chicken sandwiches and powder-sugar sprinkled beignet desserts.

The menu is in its early stages, but will soon feature a variety of dishes showcasing seafood sourced directly from the market, such as blackened shrimp tacos and oyster po'boys. Halverson is also willing to fry customers' fish that they have purchased at the market. In addition to the seafood staples, you can also find plenty of meat options to dive into, including a hearty miso fried chicken sandwich, which is one of Halverson's most-prized menu options, loaded up with romaine lettuce, sliced green apple, cabbage, cucumber, white miso aioli, and garlic chili crunch sauce. 

Boom Chick

8710 Pensacola Blvd.

Honey garlic, mango habanero and Nashville Hot are only a few of the sauces available to smother your chicken with at Pensacola’s new restaurant, Boom Chick.

Chicken is the name of the game and offered in a variety of ways at Boom Chick— whether it be through a tray of wings, a crispy chicken sandwich or in a combo—all of which are marinated and hand-breaded in-house. But the real wow factor comes from the vast selection of sauces that elevate any entrée, according to Boom Chick manager Lillian Ni.

Their specialty chicken is then tossed with the sauce of their choice. While chicken is in the name, the menu doesn’t stop there, offering Philly cheesesteaks, burgers and sandwiches. Affordability is at the heart of the restaurant’s concept, which is why you can opt out of the meal and go for à la carte items such as a single chicken breast ($2.49), a wing ($1.99), a thigh ($1.99), and more.

Four restaurants close in Pensacola area

Water Pig BBQ

 5-K Via De Luna Drive

Pensacola Beach's popular barbecue restaurant, Water Pig BBQ, has permanently closed its doors at 5-K Via De Luna Drive as part of a transition to a new waterfront event venue, The Landing, through parent company Innisfree Hotels.

Dana Pittman, Innisfree’s director of marketing, said the move will help them share the picturesque space with the broader community for everything from birthdays and family reunions to weddings. While they are now accepting bookings, they will continue to open the space to the public regularly, likely monthly, for community events such as shrimp boils and luaus.

The Landing will be ready by March 6, when they will host a community expo to introduce the space. The event will include tours and opportunities to meet industry professionals, including planners, entertainment experts and more.

Wendy’s

20 Daniel St.

Gulf Breeze’s Wendy’s location at 20 Daniel St. has closed its doors to the public, but a popular chicken chain is set to replace it soon. The city of Gulf Breeze confirmed in a statement released on Jan. 17 to the public that Foosackly’s plans to move in.

The city stated that the Wendy’s was identified as “underperforming and included in a national closure plan discussed during Wendy’s November earnings call, which outlined the planned closure of approximately 300 restaurants nationwide.” The property is in the process of changing ownership, and following permitting and build-out, Foosackly's plans to open later this year.

Pensacola Smokehouse

232 E. Main Street

When South Market moved back to its original Pensacola location this month, it replaced its sister restaurant, Pensacola Smokehouse. Owner Holly Hays plans to continue catering and hosting pop-ups at South Market, using Smokehouse recipes, including barbecue events in the courtyard. See more information on plans for the new South Market in the opening section above.

Gather, A Culinary Collective

 41 S. Navy Blvd.

Not only did Gather provide commissary kitchen space and food truck plug-in stations for local restaurateurs, but it also provided a shared dining room for chefs to host rotating pop-up breakfast, lunch, and dinner services throughout the week. Now, Gather will be closed as of Feb. 28.

“Our attempt to offer a food business accelerator, in the form of a shared restaurant space, to small businesses found many successes but could not overcome several obstacles,” Gather shared in a social media statement. “We want to thank those who supported each individual business that operated inside our walls, as well as the owner-operators themselves. It was nothing short of a blessing to witness.”

Some of Gather's past vendors include Luther’s Touch of Heaven, Ethiopian Cuisine By Friends, Sweet Love, Pipasnacks and Steel Pony Diner. Part of Gather's purpose is to serve as an incubator for chefs hoping to open their own place one day while eliminating the overhead costs that can be stressful for new businesses.

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