Magical Places & Interesting Places To Explore
By Joni Williams, Condo Owner Magazine, February 23, 2015
Frequenting the same places over and over and looking for a change? Sometimes veering off the beaten path is all it takes to find a great new hot spot. To get you started on your adventure, we’re featuring three great places that are slightly off the beaten path, but, we think, worth every extra mile.
Dan-D’s Donuts & Deli, Panama City, Florida
It’s been almost half a century since the Pons family opened Dan-D-Donuts on Harrison Avenue. Despite the passage of about 50 years, the place hasn’t changed much.
“My parents and grandparents worked really hard to get Dan-D’s where it is now without changing anything,” explained Manager Michael Pons. “And we’ve been afraid to change anything because people are used to it just the way it is. So, the donuts are made the same exact way now as when they were first made in 1965.”
And the way they are made is big. While chain donuts measure about three and half inches in diameter, Dan-D’s can be as big as 10 inches. Plus they are still made by hand, from scratch, using equipment that is nearly as old as the business.
“No two are alike — there’s no exact science to it,” said Pons, describing the production process that includes a bevy of filled, iced, glazed and cake donuts. One thing they do all have in common, though, is their exceptional taste.
Unlike his chain competitors, Pons said, the donuts are made from scratch and are never brought in frozen. One of his favorites is the gigantic fritter oozing with warm glaze and sweet, chopped apples.
Besides delicious donuts, Dan-D’s also offers good value. Despite their girth, donut prices are incredibly reasonable, ranging from 99 cents to just under two dollars each.
Although best known for their donuts and fritters, Dan-D’s offers a full menu of breakfast, lunch and snack items such as biscuits, hot dogs, sandwiches, burgers and kolache. Though they’re about 20 minutes from the east end of the beach, given the price and quality of their offerings, Pons assure condo owners that Dan-D Donuts is definitely worth the trip.
Grayt Grounds, Grayton Beach, Florida
If you’ve been breezing through Grayton Beach without stopping at Grayt Grounds, you’ve been missing out on great coffee, great food and great music. And it’s all served up with great affection.
“The food is going to be awesome and everyone’s going to feel loved,” promised proprietor Cheri Peebles of the 20-year-old family owned business. Though the menu offers an array of carefully prepared temptations like pulled pork sliders, breakfast biscuits and “gayt big” muffins, it’s their Gouda grits that keeps folks coming back for more, year after year.
“We’re really big on the Gouda cheese grit bowls. Everyone just loves them,” said Peebles, noting they can be served with bacon, sausage or grilled veggies. Still, the place may be best known as a coffee house, with the “grounds” in the title serving as a double entendre, a nod to the picturesque property as well as their beverage of choice.
Using locally roasted organic, fair trade coffee, beverages include freshly brewed as well as smoothies or frappuccinos or “chills,” with names like “Whole Latte Love,” and “Larry, Curly and Mo-cha.”
Grayt Grounds includes “The Listening Room” where live music is regularly featured along with a two-hour set of Bluegrass Gospel on Sunday mornings.
As if the thriving business renowned for its heartfelt hospitality didn’t keep Peebles busy enough, she and her family also own Beach to Bay Realty and Grayton Beach Catering. “We are the shrimp boil and bonfire people,” Peebles said with a good-natured laugh. “We do tons of shrimp boils and bonfires on the beach.”
They’re also wedding people, with Grayt Grounds at Monet Monet, catering to wedding ceremonies at the exquisite gardens.
Grayt Grounds is open 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with two additional hours from 7 to 9 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday and featuring live music in The Listening Room. Saturday and Sunday hours are 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 10 a.m. to noon, respectively. Whether you stop for the food, coffee or music, Grayt Grounds is worth checking out.
Silverhill Market, Silverhill Alabama
Wedged in between Gulf Shores and Fairhope is the town of Silverrhill, home to the Silverhill Market on Co. Rd. 104. An eclectic mix of vintage, whimsical and downright practical, the Silverhill Market offers one-stop-shopping for the unique and vintage in a collection of buildings brimming with furniture, handmade jewelry, artwork and plants.
“People who come here are in awe of our angel artwork and our things made from tin and wood,” owner Starr Shackelford said proudly. She also pointed out the jewelry for sale, explaining it’s handmade by local artisans, and is a popular interest.
There is a laid-back but interesting vibe here at Silverhill Market that can’t be duplicated in sprawling metro areas rife with modern architecture. “This is such a different shop,” Shackleford summed. “It has a vintage feel yet it’s very eclectic — the old is mixed with the new.”
The market is housed in a 1920’s home featuring breezy clothing and treasured antiques — many of them handpicked by Shackleford herself, who frequents estate sales. A nearby barn is filled with refinished furniture, much of it done in a cottage styled decor or distressed paint in traditional cream or muted blues and greens.
There’s even a coffee shop where locally roasted beans are brewed. Here you’ll find one of Shackleford’s spots, a zen-like bamboo garden, a rarity in this part of Alabama. “People really like to come here to sip their coffee and relax,” Shackleford said. “Just looking at the garden is relaxing.”
Keep in mind, you don’t have to venture far to find these businesses. And a few miles is a small price to pay to find what just might be one of your new f
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