Firefly – At the Heart of Panama City Beach

Firefly Restaurant is anything but unassuming. It is being talked about, heard about, written about, and it has won prestigious reader’s choice awards like the Golden Spoon Award three years running and the Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence for six consecutive years. It is on the map for diners who are looking for quality and class. After all, the president has dined here and resident Executive Chef Paul Stellato was one of the few American chefs chosen to travel to last year’s Olympic Games in London to show off his honed skills and present Gulf Coast Seafood to Team USA. Firefly’s reputation is stoking our curiosity.

Only a stone’s throw away from the beach, Firefly opens its heavy oak doors for diners exclusively in the evenings. The doors themselves are somewhat of a prelude to the elegant atmosphere that is awaiting guests inside. A large bar dominates the length of the entrance area, with bar-size tables up front and the hostess’ desk tucked away to the side. From here, diners are presented with several choices. Join the young and hip crowd at the new Sushi bar, decorated with signed guitars and Peter Lik photography, or opt for the large and atmospheric formal dining room with its gigantic indoor tree. Stretching across most of the ceiling and lit up with tiny light bulbs, the tree branches reach over dining tables and provide a unique ambiance. Beautiful wall frescoes complete the picture and simulate an outdoor setting very similar to an Italian piazza.

Yet another option is to take a seat in the lounge with its overstuffed leather chairs and oak tables arranged around a large fi replace. This separate room looks like a reminiscent of the earlier part of the last century and invites guests to sit back and enjoy a cocktail or a glass of wine in style. It could well be the library in a countryside mansion –well, except for its 110” Hi-Def projection screen which is obviously top of the line high tech.

There is one more feature that immediately meets the eye and contributes to Firefly’s fl air and allure: Firefly’s staff members, in formal attire, buzzing about with utmost efficiency. From the hostesses and waiters to the bar staff and managers – they maintain an impressive level of attentiveness towards guests, attention to detail and seamless work flow. It becomes clear that nothing is left to chance at Firefly and a lot of thought has been put into its concept and execution. When we get a glimpse behind the scenes during our photo shoot, Chef Stellato is an imposing presence; quiet, humble and very much in charge.

The owner, Dave Trepanier, built Firefly Restaurant from the ground up and with confidence, humor and dedication, he shares some of his insights and we get to find out more about this exceptional place in the heart of Panama City Beach.

PCL: Why did you decide to move here from California?

DAVE TREPANIER: My wife was born and raised here in Panama City and this is a beautiful place to raise a family. I love my wife and family and I love the Southern lifestyle. One of our traditions is to meet once a week with the entire family here at Firefly for dinner. We love the water, and our beaches are some of the most beautiful in the world. What an incredible backyard we have!

PCL: Tell us a bit about your vision to bring fine dining to Panama City Beach. Firefly is now a staple for Panama City Beach but how did you get started?

DAVE TREPANIER: There are a bunch of good seafood restaurants here. Coming from southern California, my wife and I felt that there was a real need for something different. You won’t find dolphins, turtles, palm trees etc. at Firefly. We wanted to have a completely different atmosphere, more New York City than Panama City. My wife did all the interior design at Firefly. I bought into Canopies, which was at the time the only true fine dining restaurant in the area. I knew that Canopies was going to have to move because the land had been sold for condos. In essence, I was buying the staff and reputation. It was slow going at fi rst, with the name change, the move to the beach and I made a lot of mistakes, but Chef Paul got us straightened out.

PCL: According to Urbanspoon.com, Firefly Restaurant is among the 250 best high-end restaurants in the country. What does it take to become so successful?

DAVE TREPANIER: I guess it is the desire to be the best. I have one of the best chefs in the country, as most know. My hidden gem is my general manager, Rick Shockley, who started as a busboy and has worked every position in the restaurant. I’m fairly confident that at 26 he is the youngest GM of a successful fine dining restaurant in the country. The bottom line is they care about the restaurant as if it was their own. We preach pride in what you do, whether it’s working the grill or washing the dishes. Most get it, some don’t. Those who don’t won’t be around for long. Those who do, get to be a part of a wonderful team. My team is solution oriented. Sometimes I come in and only get to know half of the story when a problem was solved. They are the best team one can wish for and handle 95% of problems themselves and I almost feel sheltered. They don’t want to bother me with problems, especially small ones. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that!

PCL: Who puts the menu together at Firefl y and who is the most creative?

DAVE TREPANIER: Chef Paul Stellato as the executive chef has the final say. Chef Prince William Baker comes up with a lot of daily specials, but in all honesty we challenge all of our chefs to bring something to the table. As far as sushi goes, I have three great guys and they all have a different take on the craft.

PCL: Fresh fish is so important to seafood restaurants and especially sushi, who do you use?

DAVE TREPANIER: We buy from Waterstreet Seafood in Apalachicola. With the exception of salmon and some of the exotic fish for sushi, most of our fish comes from the gulf. The other key to fresh fish is a busy restaurant. Nobody wants their fish sitting around in a cooler. We are fortunate to stay busy year round, hence our fish is always moving.

PCL: You were a rock band manger in Los Angeles before moving here and you produced one of the biggest events this summer, Gulf Coast Jam. Will you be getting more involved with music events or have you stayed involved all this time?

DAVE TREPANIER:  Yes I did manage rock bands for 15 years. Some thought I was crazy to start a restaurant, but the restaurant business is much like the music business. The people you work with become your family and you strive to make them successful. It is just the same with a restaurant: You strive to make guests happy. With bands on the road, you also get to meet new people every night. Some are real cool, some not so much, but it is never dull. I recently got back in the music business as a partner in Gulf Coast Jam and will continue. With Toby Keith we brought one of America’s biggest country stars to Panama City Beach along with 45 other country acts. We sold tickets to 46 states and several countries. The impact the event made on our local economy is tremendous. All sorts of businesses profi ted from the infl ux of visitors: Gas stations, hotels, supermarkets, you name it. Via social media Gulf Coast Jam and our sponsors like Pepsi, Jim Beam, and Budweiser reached 30 million people who now know about Panama City Beach. The Tourist Development Council was also very instrumental in bringing the event to the beach, and I want to thank them. We are already planning next year’s event and hope it will be bigger and better!

PCL: We are impressed with the attentiveness and efficiency of your staff. Tell us how you achieve this level of quality service.

DAVE TREPANIER: Chef Stellato and Rick Shockley train our staff properly for a fine dining experience and we put extra effort into making sure that our team members will have any opportunity to continue their careers with the right set of skills – having worked at Firefly is almost a guarantee for staff members to find other employment easily if they should decide to move or go off to school. Apart from applied training here at the restaurant, some of our employees are being trained right here at Gulf Coast State College’s Culinary Institute.

PCL: I see you are getting ready for the holidays and have some of the rooms decorated. Is there anything special going on? Has anyone interesting already booked?

DAVE TREPANIER: Everyone is interesting! Our private rooms are one of our biggest assets. They are great for holiday parties, board meetings, rehearsal dinners etc. We have eight that can seat groups up to 55 people. There is no charge for the rooms as long as you meet certain food minimums and room occupation times. Getting back to interesting guests, we do get a lot of celebrities and I want their time to be private and enjoyable. I have a policy that we don’t talk about guests who may be coming or are currently dining with us. If any of my staff goes to Facebook or Twitter while they are in the restaurant they will be fired. After they leave they can tweet their little hearts out.

By Val Schoger, Photography by Mark Hendrick