One of Clearwater’s oldest establishments has been sold after being owned by the same family for more than 60 years.
The Palm Pavilion Beachside Grill & Bar, which will be celebrating its 100th anniversary in May, was acquired by St. Petersburg-based Beachside Hospitality Group this week.
Brothers Ken, Hoyt, Wade and Dale Hamilton announced the sale of the business Jan. 16 via social media.
“We’re all of the retirement age. We all have different medical maladies and things of that nature,” explained Hoyt. “It’s just time.”
The property experienced noticeable damage after Hurricanes Helene and Milton in 2024, he added. Reopening the restaurant was a challenging process – which led the siblings to seriously consider the Palm Pavilion’s future.
“This has been an evolving and thoughtful decision, and not one that we came to lightly,” said Ken in a prepared statement. “We recognize this sale is a historic one for the destination, and that weighed heavily upon us.”
The brothers grew up working at the pavilion. Their parents Howard and Jean purchased it in 1964. At the time, the property had a snack bar and bathhouse.
“One of my first jobs was to take men back into the locker area and unlock their lockers for them. You didn’t give them the individual keys because they tended to get lost out in the water,” Hoyt reminisced. “In my day, I went home with a pocket full of dimes and quarters and thought I made a killing.”
Eventually once the siblings grew up, they had a conversation with their father about taking over the business. They began to run operations in the late 1980s and expanded it into a full-scale restaurant and bar over time.
“There’s only a handful of these properties that exist,” said Beachside Hospitality Group CEO Greg Powers. “We’re going to make some changes, but we’re not going to augment history.”
He added that it will most likely be renamed Crabby’s Beachside Pavilion.
Powers and his team plan to update some of the furniture, equipment and repaint the building. They are also considering adding an ice cream parlor to the gift shop.
Additionally, he hopes to turn the property into a wedding venue. Some of the company’s other restaurants, in Manatee County, have hosted waterfront services and receptions.
Beachside plans to retain the Palm Pavilion’s current staff. Powers expects that it will be an “really easy transition.”
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