Cafe Thirty-A

Local Favorite Cafe Thirty-A

WHERE EVERYONE IS FAMILY

BY ZANDRA WOLFGRAM

For Harriet Crommelin, running a restaurant is a family affair. Though she doesn’t have kids, this slim, blueeyed 70-something-year-old counts her 67-member staff as her “foodie family.”

“People want to work here because I’m their mama,” she quips. “They are my children.”

Unlike the menu, the friendly staff at Cafe Thirty-A in Seagrove

Beach, Florida, rarely changes. General manager David Kessler joined in 1996 and many of his original staff are still on the books.

Chef Timothy Williams, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, relocated to Panama City Beach in 2018 to join Cafe Thirty-A as executive chef after amassing 25 years of experience working for Hilton Hotels in Miami and high-end restaurants in Atlanta.

Loyal patrons have made Cafe Thirty-A an award-winning local favorite for nearly three decades because the dining experience remains consistent.

“It’s excellent food, a welcoming atmosphere and we treat everyone as friends and family, which they are,” Crommelin said.

A daughter of the South, Crommelin is no stranger to the food and beverage industry or hard work. In 1982, she began channeling her passion for food and cooking by opening her first restaurant, Kat and Harri’s, in her hometown of Montgomery, Alabama. In 1994, she began building Cafe Thirty-A. She sold Kat and Harri’s in 1995, headed to the Gulf Coast and opened the doors to her second successful restaurant in June of the same year. She had no idea she was the female pioneer of 30A’s culinary scene.

“I didn’t think about what it meant, I just worked hard and did it,” she said.

Like its proprietor, Cafe Thirty-A is welcoming with an understated sophistication. Crommelin describes it as “casual fine dining with a neighborhood feel.”

The eclectic dinner menu is seafood centric with a coastal Mediterranean twist. Ingredients are fresh and locally sourced. Some of this owner’s favorites are the Roasted Beet Salad; Pan Roasted Snapper served with a warm tomato-corn-and-poblano salad, heirloom tomato salsa, and crispy kale in pink grapefruit butter; and for dessert, Warm Rum Raisin Apple Bread Pudding

Cafe Thirty-A boasts fresh, locally sourced offerings from their coastal Mediterranean and seafood-centric menu.

served with cinnamon ice cream and topped with Kentucky bourbon sauce.

In addition to an extensive wine list, there is a hearty bourbon and spirits menu. The cocktail menu features 20 thirst-quenching creative concoctions such as, The French Kiss, The James Bond and the Seagrove Beach Breeze. Head to the bar on Tuesdays and Thursdays to toast ‘Tini Night with $6 martinis.

Cafe Thirty-A is a chic venue for special occasions. The Fishbone Room is an elegant private room for 30 to 80 guests or reserve the entire restaurant for a special event for up to 350 people.

Crommelin’s nurturing nature extends well beyond those she employs. Every December, Cafe Thirty-A hosts an annual Christmas Charity Ball to support Caring and Sharing of South Walton and in the spring, it caters Soiree on the Bay hosted at the Dugas Family Estate to benefit the Children’s Volunteer Health Network.

“It’s important to give back to the community that supports us. So many people can’t do it, so those of us who can, should,” she said.

Like any family, Cafe Thirty-A has endured tough times. Just three months after the doors opened in 1995, this chic cottage-style 30A staple weathered Hurricane Ivan. About 10 years later the Great Recession hit, followed by the BP oil spill disaster in 2010. Then, 10 years after that, the global Pandemic.

Still, after 27 years, Cafe Thirty-A stands tall in an enduring spirit.

As for its plucky proprietor, you can find her sitting at the bar taking the day in stride while enjoying the Tuna Tartare — and always surrounded by “family.” 

3899 E. County Highway 30A, Seagrove Beach | Open daily at 4:30 p.m. Reservations required 850.231.2166 | CafeThirtyA.com

Watermelon and Basil ‘Tini

2 ounces watermelon vodka ¾ ounce elderflower liqueur 1¼ ounces fresh squeezed grapefruit juice Splash of soda water Basil leaf for garnish