Clearwater Beach's newest dining doors opened in September, and they open onto the promenade. Three counters now sit at street level at Opal Sol along Beach Walk. On the harbor side, a roughly $46 million marina rebuild is adding Marina Walk, an extension of Beach Walk with shaded seating. October's biggest mainland event is reached by ferry from those same docks.
Put those together and the south end of the island has a new shape for the evening walk, the coffee run and the night out. It runs along a pedestrian line that is almost finished, and it ends at a marina that is taking on new jobs.
Three counters at the base of Opal Sol
Opal Sol at 400 Coronado Drive opened on Valentine's Day 2025 as the sister building to Opal Sands. A glass-enclosed skyway connects the two. On Sept. 8, 2026, Business Observer reported that three new concepts at Opal Sol's street level are open to the public, not only to resort guests.
The three places cover very different hours of the day:
- Beach Market opens at 6:30 a.m. and closes at 9 p.m. It serves breakfast and lunch sandwiches, salads, specialty coffee and smoothies, including a house drink called the Dragonberry Crunch.
- Float Malt Shop & Creamery runs from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. with shakes, malts, floats, scooped ice cream and sundaes like the Tropical Explosion and the Beach Brownie Mudslide.
- Lolita's Coastal Cocina serves from 11 a.m. to midnight. It pairs Mexican cooking with Florida seafood, including Grouper a la Veracruzana and Lolita's Carne Platter, and its bar pours tequila, mezcal and cocktails.
Lolita's is modeled on the original Lolitas at Opal Key West Resort & Marina. With the three new spots, the two Opal buildings now have 10 dining options between them, including the Mediterranean-inspired Drift. Opal Collection runs the resorts, and Ocean Properties Hotels Resorts & Affiliates of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, manages the portfolio.
Together the three counters stay open for 17 and a half hours a day, from the first coffee at 6:30 a.m. to Lolita's last call at midnight. That makes this stretch of Coronado Drive a place to stop on foot at nearly any hour. The new Marina Walk was designed to carry that foot traffic over to the boats.
Marina Walk is the last piece of the promenade
The City of Clearwater describes Marina Walk as an extension of Beach Walk with shade and seating. The city's mid-September description adds landscaping and pedestrian amenities linking the marina, its businesses and the beach's attractions. At the dock entrances, the project put in kiosks for the commercial fleet. The 2024 City Council approval called for 24 of them, for operators to lease for sales, and the city's project page now lists the kiosks as complete.
The walk also has its first public artwork. "Ketch" is a mosaic sculpture by Nevada artist Eileen Gay, and the city scheduled its unveiling for 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 24, at 25 Causeway Blvd. Gay said she wanted the piece to show Clearwater's dolphins "as you might see them either from the deck of a boat or as a diver with them underwater." The city calls it a landmark for the walk.
The schedule has slipped a little. When the City Council approved Kokolakis Contracting's construction proposal in July 2024, the plan called for finishing in spring 2026. By April 2026, Bay News 9 was reporting August 2026. The city's latest target was substantial completion and turnover by the end of September, once testing, inspections and closeout were done. At the Sept. 9 Marine Advisory Board meeting, staff said a ribbon-cutting was planned for late October or early November. As of early October, the city had not announced an exact date.
Here is where the marina stands, based on the city's most recent public updates:
- Done. Phase 1 rebuilt the west side of the marina, and the tour and sightseeing boats are working from new slips along Coronado Drive.
- Still finishing in September. Crews were completing a fuel line and electrical conduit on Dock A and two catwalk extensions for the Queen Fleet and Double Eagle boats.
- Not yet confirmed. The city's marina page still says the new fuel dock "is not operational." It also says the fishing fleet and dinner boats are in temporary spots, though they are fully operational and easy to reach along the floating docks.
The rebuild kept about 165 slips. It added more than 1,300 linear feet of new and raised seawall, new fixed and floating docks, upgraded utilities and accessibility improvements. According to the city's project page, grants cover part of the roughly $46 million cost: $7.85 million in Pinellas County tourist-tax dollars for the commercial area, $4 million from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for resiliency and $1.7 million from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. That adds up to $13.55 million, a little under a third of the total.
Parking in the marina lot is still tighter than it was before construction. The city points marina visitors to the other beach lots and garages. It also added a temporary lot on Memorial Causeway for construction crews and marina employees. For anyone already on the island, that makes walking the easiest way in.
The food and drink names on the docks are the same ones listed before: Bar Tiki, Cool Cookie, Crabby's Dockside, Marina Cantina, Roundabout Pizza and Salt Cracker Fish.
The marina is also the beach's ferry dock
The Clearwater Ferry docks at the marina, and the city's 2026 marina map marks its drop-off point. The ferry runs Thursday through Sunday and stops at Downtown Clearwater, Clearwater Beach Marina near Pier 60 and Dunedin Marina.
Fares went up by $1 on Sept. 17, 2026. According to PSTA, a regular adult fare is now $6 on the Red Line and $9 on the Blue Line. Reduced fares are $3 and $4.50, and children 8 and under ride free. PSTA's list of October 2026 service changes also includes a ferry item labeled "New Stop Added," but the agency has not said which stop.
The ferry matters most in mid-October. The 47th Clearwater Jazz Holiday runs Oct. 15 through 18 at Coachman Park, 300 Cleveland Street, across the causeway. The festival lists the Clearwater Ferry as a way to get between Coachman Park and Clearwater Beach. From the beach, that trip starts at the docks behind Marina Walk.
A new name at the Pavilion, with the same morning hours
The south end's changes are new construction. On Bay Esplanade, the change is the name on the sign. The Palm Pavilion is now Crabby's Beachside Pavilion at 10 Bay Esplanade, with Beachside Hospitality Group in charge.
The sale was announced in January. Ken Hamilton told WFLA that the family began thinking seriously about selling during the four and a half months the restaurant was closed for repairs after Hurricanes Helene and Milton. The Hamilton family had owned the business for more than 60 years. The pavilion was built in 1926 and is recognized as Florida's oldest operating beach pavilion, which puts its 100th year this year. When the sale was announced, the buyer said it planned to keep both the restaurant and the Palm Pavilion Inn running.
The new operator's site says the change "is not about replacing history." The posted hours are 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Breakfast is served daily from 8 to 11 a.m., and reservations are on OpenTable.
October and early November on the island
Most of the season's events can be reached on foot from Pier 60, and the one that can't has a boat leaving from the marina.
| Date | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Oct. 15–18 | Clearwater Jazz Holiday, 47th year | Coachman Park, 300 Cleveland St., by ferry from the marina |
| Thu., Oct. 22, 6–7:30 p.m. | Trunk-or-Treat | Clearwater Beach Recreation Center, 69 Bay Esplanade |
| Fri.–Sat., Oct. 23–24, noon–10 p.m. | Frenchy's 42nd Stone Crab Weekend block party | 41 Baymont St. |
| Sat., Nov. 7, 8 a.m.–1 p.m. | Make a Difference adult fishing tournament | Pier 60, 370 Mandalay Ave. |
Stone Crab Weekend dates back to 1984, when Michael "Frenchy" Preston began selling his stone crab claws to the public at just above cost. Stone crab season opens Oct. 15, and the block party follows about a week later. The Friday music lineup includes Paisley Howell at noon, the Brian Caudill Band at 2:30 p.m., the Andy Heath Trio at 5 p.m. and Cross Fire Creek at 8 p.m.
The Pier 60 fishing tournament comes with one caveat. Bay News 9 reported that the bait house and the fishing section of the pier reopened on Sept. 1, 2025, after hurricane repairs. However, one of the city's undated beach-information pages still describes the fishing pier as closed. Check before carrying a rod down. Pier 60 Park itself is open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
If you live near Coronado Drive or the marina and want to know how Marina Walk and the new Opal Sol foot traffic are affecting waterfront and condo values on the south end, Chenault Group can walk the route with you. Request a Private Market Consultation, and we'll go over what the finished promenade means for your property.
