PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) – A historic Downtown Panama City building, recognized by its old cascading sign, is entering into a new era.
Built in the 1940s, The Mashburn Building was home to Chavers-Fowhand Furniture Store and Holland’s Dress Shop before a local photographer purchased it, real estate developer Stephen Counts said.
“Twenty-two-foot ceilings on the first floor and I was like man this is like one of the coolest buildings in Bay County maybe in Northwest Florida,” Counts recalled from his first tour of The Mashburn Building.
Now 15 units later, Counts told NewsChannel7 they won’t just be welcoming tenants but some Louisiana flavor.
“They {Dat Cajun Place} put that under contract and plan to open up a fine dining kind of New Orleans style Cajun restaurant that it will be in Downtown Panama City but it would feel like something you would go to in the French corridor,” Counts said of Dat Cajun Place owner Trudy White opening up Dat Cajun Pearl.
With the pace of downtown picking up, White said that was a major draw for her second Cajun restaurant.
“With all the new streets and so forth that they have down there and they’re building the Martin Theatre which will be right across the street from our new location, I mean that areas just booming,” White told NewsChannel7.
Dat Cajun Pearl is expected to open in spring of 2027, White said. Counts said they are also looking to add a bar to the rooftop of The Mashburn Building so people can enjoy views overlooking the downtown.
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Dining and Cooking