As a self-proclaimed beach lover and grocery store enthusiast, I was over the moon excited to hear about a new shop that was opening on the beach that would be combining two of my favorite things — beach day essentials and specialty grocery items. The Local on Pensacola Beach is about to make our already beautiful beach days that much more enjoyable.
The Local is a convenient and family-friendly destination for your essential needs while on the island. The market offers a wide variety of snacks, sundries, and popular foods and crafts from nearby vendors in and around Pensacola. Their liquor selection showcases popular liquors and the widest wine selection on Pensacola Beach. The in-store café brings scrumptious food treats to the island, including the highest quality coffee and breakfast bagels, as well as fresh, made-to-order sandwiches using freshly sliced Boar’s Head provisions and the finest crafted pizzas for dinner.
I popped in just last week to do my own perusing and was delighted to meet the family behind the shop — The Vaughn Family. Mandy and Dustin Vaughn and their six children — Kolby, Kenzley, Ashton, Emma, Kaiden and Koa was inspired to open up their shop from their own beach day needs.
“As Pensacola natives & raising our family on the Island for the past eight years, we saw the need for something more — something local, convenient, and community-focused. On holiday weekends or even just a sunny day, it’s not always easy to get off the Island. If you didn’t grab what you needed ahead of time, you were out of luck. We wanted to change that. The Local was created to be a place where you can grab the things you forgot without ever crossing that bridge. But more than that, we wanted to build a space that brings people together — a spot that feels like home. We’ve been so blessed by this community and are truly grateful to be a part of it.” — Dustin & Mandy Vaughn
After meeting the family, I wanted to get the insider scoop on each family member’s favorite item in the store so I didn’t miss anything.
The Vaughn Family’s favorite picks:
Dustin — My wife and the local beer selection
Mandy — Coffee, all of the coffees!
Kolby — Frank’s Chicken Salad
Kenzley — Red Bull
Ashton — Cheez-its
Emma — The candy aisle
Kaiden — Fresh fruits and veggies
Baby Koa — The people! He loves meeting everyone who walks through the door.
After hearing their favorites I did my own shopping and here are my picks: The deli counter turkey club, a frozen coke from the slurpee machine, fresh produce, The Hummus Lady hummus, Big Jerk Soda selection, local honey, Sun Bum sunscreen collection and lastly Frank’s Daily Bread Catering Items including grab-n-go pasta salad (do NOT miss this one), frozen lasagnas, meatballs and pizzas.
I was in girl dinner heaven. If you’re not familiar a ‘Girl Dinner’ just refers to a meal consisting of a personal snack plate with little to no cooking involved.
As you might guess, all of the above are the perfect recipe for a picture perfect beach day, and as a beach community I feel like we really hit the jackpot. Apart from the food, beverage and beach item offerings, they built a beautiful outdoor area with picnic tables and kids activities where you can sit, relax and enjoy your recent purchases.
Have a look at the video above for a tour of shop or, even better, go check it out for yourself. A huge thank you to the Vaughn family for their hospitality and we look forward to watching your success — Congratulations to The Local!
