Panama City Beach looks at allowing Gulf-front restaurants to deliver directly to beachgoers
PANAMA CITY BEACH — It soon could become a lot more convenient to eat on the sandy beaches throughout the city.
In a City Council meeting Thursday, officials discussed allowing beachfront restaurants to deliver food directly to beachgoers who order through websites or food delivery apps.
While such deliveries might already occur, they are illegal through Panama City Beach's existing rules which allow only select businesses to sell their products on the sand from huts.
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"We know it's happening at this point ... but what we want to do is put some rules and regulations around it," Mayor Mark Sheldon said. "It's just the start of a conversation to see ... how we can have something (to) benefit the people who are enjoying the white, sandy beach."
While nothing was approved Thursday, Sheldon and other council members said they were in favor of allowing only beachfront restaurants to make such deliveries. They also did not like the idea of alcohol being delivered or servers taking orders on the sand.
"There's not going to be servers down on the beach taking orders, going chair to chair or bothering people," Sheldon said. "That's really important to us. We want people to enjoy the beach for what it is. ... This is a good service for us to give to people who come and visit our beaches."
The reason only beachfront restaurants are being considered is because officials plan to require that participating businesses rake the beach behind their properties each night. This will help prevent an uptick in trash left along the coast.
If the ruling is approved, all restaurants still would be able to deliver to the rooms of customers staying at local condos and hotels. They just would not be able to take the food directly to customers on the sandy beach.
The City Council also discussed imposing permit fees for restaurants that want to deliver to beachgoers, as well as fines if any agreements with the city aren't met. This would hold businesses accountable, and help the city pay for any additional operating costs.
"(They) should cover the cost of having someone down there policing those beaches on a daily basis to make sure they're maintaining them to the standards we set," said Councilwoman Mary Coburn.
This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Panama City Beach weighs allowing food delivery on the sandy beach
