Good Clean Wine

October 23, 2022

Grace Pizza and Shakes opens second location on 30A

Oct. 23, 2022
Special to 30A Food & Wine

GRAYTON BEACH – Grace Pizza and Shakes will host a grand opening celebration on Saturday, Oct. 29 at their newest restaurant, located in the old Pickle Factory at 38 Clayton Lane in Grayton Beach.

Grace Pizza

Founded in 2021 by Adrian Hembree and Vincent Nandlal in Alvin, Texas, Grace is the story of their mission and values expressed through the art of food, leadership, and serving others. The name “Grace” comes from a time when both Hembree and Nandlal faced hardships in their personal lives, and turned to their faith for grace, leadership, and love.

Nandlal and his father long knew that they wanted to open a pizza restaurant but didn’t have the knowledge or expertise of the business. They turned to their friend Adrian Hembree, who they had become close with through community service work including Hurricane Harvey relief, the Pearland Police Officer Benefit, and volunteering after the Santa Fe School Shooting. Due to their close bond, Hembree decided not only to advise on the business but partner with Nandlal to bring the concept to life. They both share the same passion and idea that food, a love for people, and serving others brings people together. Today, their goal is to extend Grace to the community, one slice of pizza, or one fun shake, at a time.

“Adrian had an idea for a pizza concept but wanted to shake it up with something different,” Nandlal said. “I love the milkshake idea, so I was able to help Adrian put together an over-the-top menu, and with his many years of restaurant experience and my passion for creativity, we were able to create this cool, unique concept.”

After vacationing to 30A for decades, both Hembree and Nandlal knew they wanted to open a business in the area to have a more concrete connection to the community and be in the area full-time. The decision became clearer when a friend let them know a restaurant space would soon become available and that they should take the opportunity to expand.

“We prayed and God told us to go for it, so we made an offer and the rest is history,” said Nandlal. “The Grace concept is perfect for locals and visitors because it brings a family friendly, cool environment that everyone will love, no matter what age you are. We are so beyond blessed and grateful to be here.”

Grace Pizza and Shakes 30A offers a wide variety of hand-crafted pizzas, salads, local craft beers, and over-the-top ice cream shakes, including their signature 30A Cake Explosion, made with locally sourced baked items. Their founding principles are based off the old proverb, “To each, his own,” meaning that none of their pizzas are the same and each is unique in flavor.

Community members, guests, and children are invited to the locally owned and operated restaurant from 6 to 9 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 29 to commemorate the official grand opening and taste some of the restaurant’s most popular fare. The Halloween-themed event will offer samples of various pizza pies and shakes, along with craft cocktails from Distillery 98, craft brews from Grayton Beer Company and the Lewis Bear Company, along with sips of Good Clean Wine. Attendees are encouraged to wear costumes and the best costume will be awarded a special prize. There will also be live music from Nashville-based recording artist, Cole Degges, along with kids face painting and a DJ later in the evening.

Proceeds from the event will benefit the Ohana Institute, a non-profit, private, exploratory, and innovative school serving middle and high school students. The school operates year-round on a flexible calendar that emphasizes project-based learning and combines both theoretical and real-world experiences for students through an engaging and broad array of subjects.

The new Grace Pizza and Shakes 30a is 1,000 square feet with an intimate dining area along with a plethora of outdoor seating options. The new restaurant has created 30 to 40 jobs in the community and since their soft opening in May 2022, they have partnered with several local businesses and organizations to give back to the community.

To learn more about Grace Pizza and Shakes 30A, visit www.gracepizzaandshakes.com and follow their social media accounts on Instagram and Facebook.

October 18, 2022

Harvest Wine & Food Festival: Sauvignon in the sun

Blog, Home Page Blog, Uncategorized

Sixth annual wine fest delights sold-out crowd

By Michelle Farnham
Oct. 17, 2022

WATERCOLOR – Tickets to the Harvest Wine & Food Festival were a hot commodity, as entrance to all four of the weekend’s events – a pair of wine dinners, Saturday’s grand tasting and Sunday’s brunch – were all sold out.

Chef Nick Brothers represented Swiftly Catered at the sixth annual grand tasting, serving tuna poke cups and tuna wonton chips, as well as Chef Kyle Swift’s famous gluten-free puddle cookies. This was Brothers’ first time at the Harvest Festival, and he was impressed with everything he saw.

“We’ve got a great spot right here at the end, it’s the first place people stop by, and they keep coming back! They love our food,” Brothers said.

Atlanta-based Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q returned to the anchor spot, delighting ticket-holders with entire plates full of saucy meats. Also available for nibbles was cheese from Sweet Grass Dairy, chocolate truffles from The Perfect Pig, humus and baba ghanoush from Mano’s Authentic Healthy Foods, and a trio of cookies from Jonesing 4 Cookies, to name a few.

Of course no wine festival would be complete with out the wine, with bottles ranging from rose to riesling and everything in between.

The Frenzy Sauvignon Blanc 2021 was available for tasting.

Ashli and Doug Cohen of Salt Wine Company had their product at two tables, as they are also the supplier for the 30A Wine label. At her table, Ashli had bottles of their 2021 Greetings Pinot Gris, as well as five Pinot Noirs.

“They’re like our children, you know, you love them all,” Ashli said with a laugh. “We produce these wines off of vineyards that we control from bud break to bottle, so everything is estate. It has been a very successful day for us, and we’re happy to be one of the few winemakers represented here today.

Among those bottles was the Carter’s Lot Pinot Noir, which is made in partnership with Wine World owner and local wine festival legend Chan Cox.

“This is named after Chan’s grandson Carter, so it’s a private label for Chan,” explained Doug, also pointing to the Chef’s Table Pinot Noir. “This wine has a special connection to this festival. Twenty-four dollars per case sold of this wine goes to Northwest Florida children’s charities, and this is the only place you can buy this wine retail around the country. Otherwise it’s just a restaurant wine, but because of the donation to charity, we allow Chan to sell it here.”

To add a little variety to the mix, Harvest Wine Festival also hosts a beer garden – including Beach Camp Brewery, Third Planet Brewery, and Oyster City Brewing Company – as well as a selection of spirits, like Dune Laker Vodka, Cathead Distillery, and industry newcomer Mom Water, a carbonation-free flavored vodka water.

The VIP tent offered tastes of the 2020 El Diablo Chardonnay from Senses Wines.

VIPs were treated to samples from Booker Vineyard, Tarpon Cellars, Reynolds Family Winery and Penta Tequila, among others, as well as premium bites from Henderson Beach Resort, Blue Mabel Restaurant, Soleil and The Citizen.

Local residents Rex and Julie Barrentine were back for their second Harvest Fest, and were specifically seeking out Italian wines.

“We absolutely love this event. It’s very well laid out, and today my favorite has been the Good Clean Wine,” Julie said, pointing to Table 27 which was pouring Toscano Bianco, Cabernet Sauvignon and Synchronized Swimming Rose, which touted its organic grapes, low sugar and no added sulfites.

Grand tasting — The sold-out Grand Tasting was held Oct. 15.

Harvest Wine Festival is put on by the Destin Charity Wine Auction Foundation, raising money for Northwest Florida children’s charities. The foundation’s next major event is the wine auction weekend, slated for April 28 to 30, 2023, in conjunction with the South Walton Beaches Wine & Food Festival.