The Mom & Pops Of Mexico Beach
Donation protected
Help rebuild the "Mom & Pop" Business of Mexico Beach after Hurricane Michael.
If you have ever visited Mexico Beach Florida, you have noticed it is "Old Florida", and not commercial like so many start up beaches. There are twelve local businesses that I have been a customer of for many years. Anyone who is a fan of Mexico Beach will agree that they are a major part of the appeal for the area. Help those mom and pop businesses rebuild and keep the old Florida feel. Funds raised will be distributed to the companies in the attached photos as they break ground to rebuild. Once a substantial amount of funds are raised, we plan to split the proceeds by twelve and hand deliver by check the proceeds to each business as they re-open. For any business that decides to stay closed after a year, that allocation, along with any new prorated funds raised will be distributed to the businesses that did re-open. Please feel free to share this post with your friends or anyone else who has visited Mexico Beach. If you make a donation, please do not use the tip feature that GoFundMe adds in. All proceeds raised here are only for the benefit of the businesses. Sincerely, https://www.facebook.com/john.embleton.75
The text from the person’s Facebook post listed below explains it all.
Facebook post from Brent W. Bennett —- https://www.facebook.com/100000899041872/posts/2075230189183596/
I know people have a hard time grasping why folks are so devastated over Mexico Beach, Florida. Well, that's actually pretty easy to explain. It's much more than "another vacation spot".
All of my friends know that Patty and I try to split vacation time between Vegas and MB, attempting to spend at least 2-3 weeks at each every year. There's a valid reason for that. They are polar opposites. From it's inception, Vegas has been all about commercialization. The lights, the shows, the gambling, thrill rides, the party until you drop atmosphere, etc. It's meant to be a fast paced, hard partying town where anything goes. A town that embraces the moniker of "Sin City".
Mexico Beach is the literal antithesis of Las Vegas. You won't find a McDonalds, a Walmart, an Applebees or any other "chain" business. Nor will you find tall buildings. Long long ago the city decided that the planning commission would NOT approve such things. You would think their choice would be akin to shooting themselves in the foot, but you couldn't be more wrong. Their decisions turned their tiny piece of Gulf coastline into heaven on earth.
Who wants to wake up and go to McDonald's for breakfast when you can go to family owned businesses like Sharon's Cafe or Castaways Southern Cuisine? Applebees for dinner? Heck no, I'll take Toucan's on the Beach or Mango Marley's over ANY chain restaurant 10 times out of 10! Want to go shopping? There's one tiny grocery store, Gulf Foods. There are no big chain beach stores either. You get your t-shirts, keepsakes, etc from family owned places like The Shell Shack, Mexico Beach Marina, El Governor Motel's gift shop, Toucan's Gift Shop, etc. How about some ice cream? Forget DQ...Tommy T’s is where it’s at! Want to go deep sea fishing? You won't find any of those ridiculous 100 person party boats where you're (miserably) fishing elbow to elbow. Instead, you call someone like Chip Blackburn and spend a day on Charter Boat Miss Mary - Mexico Beach Florida with just a few of your friends/family members and the nicest, most helpful crew you could ever ask for.
There aren't a dozen mini-golf courses, boardwalks with a bunch of commercial stores, go kart tracks and all of that. MB is about two things and only two things..family and the beach. Folks fish, swim, surf, SUP, scuba dive, and simply lay out on the beach drinking a cold one with friends. In the evening maybe they'll have a drink on the poopdeck at the Lookout Lounge & Package or head over to Rustic Sands to sit around the campfire BS-ing with friends. It's not meant to be fast paced and that's what makes it so great.
After vacationing there for approximately 35 years, I can easily say that if you are vacationing with your family, there is not a better place in the US, imo. The beaches aren't overpopulated, the locals are extremely nice and the fishing is outstanding. You don't have to keep your kids on a lanyard because you're worried about someone taking them, nor do you have to worry about drunken 20-somethings ruining your family time on the beach. It's the most relaxing place I've ever visited and it's very hard to come back home when the trip is over. So when you're reading posts from people who seem extremely upset even though they simply vacation there, that's why. It's just a different world from other places. It wasn't a bunch of well-insured mini-golf courses and commercial beach stores that were lost on that beach. It was mostly homes. Homes people saved all of their lives to buy so they could retire in their happy place. And for those of us who don't own a home there, all we can do is hope that the city council sticks to their guns during rebuild and keeps MB on the track they've been following for decades.
El Governor Motel
If you have ever visited Mexico Beach Florida, you have noticed it is "Old Florida", and not commercial like so many start up beaches. There are twelve local businesses that I have been a customer of for many years. Anyone who is a fan of Mexico Beach will agree that they are a major part of the appeal for the area. Help those mom and pop businesses rebuild and keep the old Florida feel. Funds raised will be distributed to the companies in the attached photos as they break ground to rebuild. Once a substantial amount of funds are raised, we plan to split the proceeds by twelve and hand deliver by check the proceeds to each business as they re-open. For any business that decides to stay closed after a year, that allocation, along with any new prorated funds raised will be distributed to the businesses that did re-open. Please feel free to share this post with your friends or anyone else who has visited Mexico Beach. If you make a donation, please do not use the tip feature that GoFundMe adds in. All proceeds raised here are only for the benefit of the businesses. Sincerely, https://www.facebook.com/john.embleton.75
The text from the person’s Facebook post listed below explains it all.
Facebook post from Brent W. Bennett —- https://www.facebook.com/100000899041872/posts/2075230189183596/
I know people have a hard time grasping why folks are so devastated over Mexico Beach, Florida. Well, that's actually pretty easy to explain. It's much more than "another vacation spot".
All of my friends know that Patty and I try to split vacation time between Vegas and MB, attempting to spend at least 2-3 weeks at each every year. There's a valid reason for that. They are polar opposites. From it's inception, Vegas has been all about commercialization. The lights, the shows, the gambling, thrill rides, the party until you drop atmosphere, etc. It's meant to be a fast paced, hard partying town where anything goes. A town that embraces the moniker of "Sin City".
Mexico Beach is the literal antithesis of Las Vegas. You won't find a McDonalds, a Walmart, an Applebees or any other "chain" business. Nor will you find tall buildings. Long long ago the city decided that the planning commission would NOT approve such things. You would think their choice would be akin to shooting themselves in the foot, but you couldn't be more wrong. Their decisions turned their tiny piece of Gulf coastline into heaven on earth.
Who wants to wake up and go to McDonald's for breakfast when you can go to family owned businesses like Sharon's Cafe or Castaways Southern Cuisine? Applebees for dinner? Heck no, I'll take Toucan's on the Beach or Mango Marley's over ANY chain restaurant 10 times out of 10! Want to go shopping? There's one tiny grocery store, Gulf Foods. There are no big chain beach stores either. You get your t-shirts, keepsakes, etc from family owned places like The Shell Shack, Mexico Beach Marina, El Governor Motel's gift shop, Toucan's Gift Shop, etc. How about some ice cream? Forget DQ...Tommy T’s is where it’s at! Want to go deep sea fishing? You won't find any of those ridiculous 100 person party boats where you're (miserably) fishing elbow to elbow. Instead, you call someone like Chip Blackburn and spend a day on Charter Boat Miss Mary - Mexico Beach Florida with just a few of your friends/family members and the nicest, most helpful crew you could ever ask for.
There aren't a dozen mini-golf courses, boardwalks with a bunch of commercial stores, go kart tracks and all of that. MB is about two things and only two things..family and the beach. Folks fish, swim, surf, SUP, scuba dive, and simply lay out on the beach drinking a cold one with friends. In the evening maybe they'll have a drink on the poopdeck at the Lookout Lounge & Package or head over to Rustic Sands to sit around the campfire BS-ing with friends. It's not meant to be fast paced and that's what makes it so great.
After vacationing there for approximately 35 years, I can easily say that if you are vacationing with your family, there is not a better place in the US, imo. The beaches aren't overpopulated, the locals are extremely nice and the fishing is outstanding. You don't have to keep your kids on a lanyard because you're worried about someone taking them, nor do you have to worry about drunken 20-somethings ruining your family time on the beach. It's the most relaxing place I've ever visited and it's very hard to come back home when the trip is over. So when you're reading posts from people who seem extremely upset even though they simply vacation there, that's why. It's just a different world from other places. It wasn't a bunch of well-insured mini-golf courses and commercial beach stores that were lost on that beach. It was mostly homes. Homes people saved all of their lives to buy so they could retire in their happy place. And for those of us who don't own a home there, all we can do is hope that the city council sticks to their guns during rebuild and keeps MB on the track they've been following for decades.
El Governor Motel
Organizer
John Embleton
Organizer
Mexico Beach, FL