Open-air beach club on Panama City Beach serving grilled grouper and Gulf seafood daily from 11 a.m., with a cannon fired at every sunset.
Stops within about 40 miles of Schooners. Collect a Lavender Passport stamp at each one.
Schooners sits right on the sand at 5121 Gulf Drive and calls itself the last local beach club, one of the last of the old open-air hangouts on this stretch of the Gulf. It began in the late 1960s as The Beach Party, took the name Schooners in 1985 (a schooner being a glass of beer), and was rebuilt after Hurricane Opal, reopening Memorial Day weekend 1996.
The best-known ritual happens every evening: the crowd counts down as the sun slips below the horizon and an old cannon fires, rain or shine.
The kitchen buys local seafood from boat captains each morning. Grilled grouper is the dish people ask for, alongside hushpuppies, grilled shrimp, gumbo and blackened plates. It opens at 11 a.m. daily for lunch and dinner and does not take reservations. Through the year Schooners hosts community fundraiser events, including a Lobster Festival, a Mother's Day party, a Locals' Christmas Party and New Year's Eve.
Southern Grace Lavender Farm in Southport is about 35 minutes north. On a Friday or Sunday, visit the farm in its morning hours, then come back to the beach for grouper and the sunset cannon.
Southern Grace Lavender Farm · about 35 minutes away
Spend a Friday or Sunday morning at Southern Grace Lavender Farm in Southport, then drive about 35 minutes back to the beach for seafood and the sunset cannon.
No, seating is first come, first served.
At sunset every night, when the sun drops below the horizon.
Daily at 11 a.m. for lunch and dinner.
Checked in October 2026 against the business’s own website and local tourism pages. Hours and seasons change, so check with them before you go. How we check listings · Is this your business? Claim it free
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