Port St. Joe in Fall: A Rebuilt Gulf Town Worth Visiting

The Town That Died and Came Back

The original St. Joseph was a port city built on a bay that promised cotton and commerce. Territorial delegates met there from 3 December 1838 to 11 January 1839 to write Florida's first constitution, and the town's motto still claims that distinction: Birthplace of the Florida Constitution. But the settlement did not last. A yellow fever epidemic in 1841 emptied the streets, and a hurricane storm surge in 1844 destroyed what structures remained. The town was gone within six years of its founding. The modern town carries the saint's name of the settlement that died here—St. Joseph, with Port added. Everything here has been rebuilt at least once.

Fall is the season to sit with that fact. The summer crowds have thinned, the bay is quieter, and the light over the water turns amber in the late afternoon. The population of 3,499 people spreads out across 2,037 housing units, and 473 of those units sit vacant—many of them held for seasonal or recreational use, 270 by the census count. The median age is 52.9 years, which means a lot of the people you meet in line at a restaurant have lived through more than one version of this coast.

Where to Eat on Reid Avenue

The main street, Reid Avenue, holds most of the town's dining. Joe Mama's Wood Fired Kitchen sits at 406 Reid Ave with a 4.6 rating from 2,058 reviews, the most-reviewed restaurant in the supplied list. Two doors down, Pepper's Mexican Grill & Cantina at 309 Reid Ave carries a 4.4 from 1,996 reviews. Further along, Provisions Restaurant & Catering at 222 Reid Ave and Sisters' Bistro at 236 Reid Ave both draw steady business. The ratings are what they are; the menus are not something this guide has seen, and no dish names will appear here.

On Monument Avenue, The White Marlin and Oysterette at 602 Monument Ave holds a 4.6 from 1,281 reviews, while Sand Dollar Cafe at 301 Monument Ave posts a 4.7 from 978 reviews. Quatro Locos Tacos and Cantina shares that 301 Monument Ave address and a 4.7 rating from 729 reviews. Hungry Howie's Pizza & Subs at 418 Monument Ave and Burger King at 601 Monument Ave round out the options, with ratings of 4.1 and 2.6 respectively. McDonald's at 115 W Hwy 98 carries a 3.2 from 1,514 reviews. The chains are here, too, and the numbers do not lie about what locals prefer.

Beyond the Town Grid

West of town, T.H. Stone Memorial St. Joseph Peninsula State Park at 8899 Cape San Blas Rd holds a 4.8 rating from 1,872 reviews—the highest in the supplied list. The park covers the barrier peninsula that separates the bay from the Gulf, and fall is the right time to walk it before the cold fronts arrive. Cape San Blas Lighthouse at 200 Miss Zola's Dr carries a 4.7 from 479 reviews, a working light on a coast that has seen more than one of its structures erased. Salinas Park at 380 Cape San Blas Rd offers a 4.7 from 462 reviews, a quieter stop. LongBill’s on Cape San Blas at 7650 Cape San Blas Rd and Cone Heads 8020 at 8020 Cape San Blas Rd serve the peninsula crowd, with ratings of 4.3 and 4.0.

The Season's End

Labor Day weekend brings the Florida Scallop, Music & Arts Festival to Gulf County Veterans Memorial Park on Beacon Hill, run by the Gulf County Chamber of Commerce. It closes out the scallop season that the coast is named for. By October, the boats are done, the bay is calm, and the town settles into its off-season rhythm.

The census numbers sketch the economy: median household income of $60,347, median home value of $280,600, median gross rent of $1,342, an unemployment rate of 6 percent, and 33 percent of residents holding a bachelor's degree or higher. These are not boomtown figures. They are the numbers of a place that rebuilds deliberately.

Port St. Joe in fall is not a secret and not a paradise. It is a town that watched its first incarnation die of fever and storm, then took the same name and tried again. That is enough.