Felix's Restaurant and Oyster Bar in New Orleans plans to open a new Pensacola Beach branch before the end of November-this is the first branch in Florida.

The sawdust is still fresh at 400 Quietwater Beach Road, Suite 16.

Robbie Orgeron, president of Felix's Restaurant Group, said that the initial intention was to carry out a small-scale renovation or "facelift", but the scope of work was actually much larger, leading the company to invest millions of dollars to take over the scenic waterfront location.

"You don't get this opportunity often," Orgeron said.

Orgeron said that the restaurant will provide one or two unique oyster varieties every month, allowing customers to experience an interesting experience, with a total of about 30 oysters to choose from.

For those who are not satisfied with saltwater molluscs, there are other options on the menu, such as a bowl of shrimp and shrimp for $19.45, a plate of black red fish for $23.95, or a piece of market-priced wagyu beef.

The Pensacola Beach space will be the largest space in the restaurant group, optimizing the dining space on three floors, with a bar on each floor. The new dining floor will be able to accommodate a little more than 450 people, while the previous largest restaurant on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter in New Orleans can accommodate approximately 375 people. The restaurant group also has a second branch in New Orleans and a restaurant in Mandeville, Louisiana and Gulfport, Mississippi.

Orgeron said that the Pensacola Beach site needed construction to free up the space in the floor plan and integrate the external and internal spaces. In some places, guests can even feel the sea breeze while dining on the outdoor terrace or on the observation deck on the third floor.

Opening hours will be based on personnel needs and needs, but first of all, Orgeron hopes to be open 7 days a week. Typical business hours for other locations are 11 am to 10 pm on weekdays and 11 am to 11 pm on weekends. He expects Pensacola Beach to have similar business hours.

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Since deciding to lease the space earlier this year, Orgeron has been building his management team, but there are 100 additional support staff positions to fill. The nationwide shortage of employees is no exception for the restaurant group, even in the bustling New Orleans original site.

Workers in other cities may be required to temporarily relocate to Pensacola. Orgeron said that if necessary, he feels that he now has enough staff to open the business, but expects that once the beach enters the full season, he will need more staff, possibly 300 people.

Felix's will continue to conduct public interviews in the restaurant from 9 am to 4 pm every day until all required positions are filled.

Although the restaurant is still trying to find employees, Orgeron said he is not worried about not finding customers to fill seats. Many people have a story related to the original location, and people are looking forward to the opening of Pensacola.

"We have been hearing stories like this in the French Quarter, telling the history that people have," he said. "One of us reached out to help. He was a retired soldier. In 1953, when our warship entered the port, I ate my first oyster at Felix's. They let us disembark, and I have come every year since then. '"

Location Manger Rich Sowers said that oysters are also prepared in an entertaining way, customers can watch and smell, because oysters are grilled on-site.

Customers will walk in and see the kitchen staff peeling oysters behind the bar and putting them on the barbecue, where they are soaked in a special herb butter. He said that the butter then lit a flame, and the guests could not look away.

Entertainment activities will also vary, from rock bands to traditional jazz or cajun bands while preparing for the carnival season.

Sowers said that this new restaurant will attract different types of people and call it a "flip-flop high-end restaurant."

Orgeron said that when designing the space, he wanted to ensure that the restaurant could directly cater to guests off the beach. The renovation project will include the addition of six standard-size dressing rooms and a large dressing room for disabled persons in the center.

Customers can also use the toilet on the first floor, which he said is not common in coastal areas.

He said that guests can rinse off, change clothes and come in for a bite after a day in the sun. The bottom layer that extends to the beach will focus on more casual food.

Felix's contractor and former property manager of Hemingway's Island Grill, John Prendergast, said the new business has undergone major changes, but the old beach meeting place still exists.

For him, some of the most iconic features are the half walls lined with cypress wood, which the restaurant still honors.

Hemingway opened in 2002, suffered severe damage during Hurricane Sally on September 16, and never reopened.

While preparing for the grand opening of Felix's, the carpenters have been helping to solve all the necessary repair work that has been worn out over the past 20 years. After the completion of the construction, Prendergast said that the business will be carried out for a long time in the future.

More updates on the official opening date can be found on the Felix's Restaurant and Oyster Bar Pensacola Beach Facebook page.