Nonna’s Ristorante Opening in the Emerald Grande Hotel in Destin

DESTIN, FL — Chef Tim Crehan plans to open Nonna’s Ristorante in mid-December at the Emerald Grande hotel, targeting December 15 or December 16 for a soft launch, he told Business Debut.

The restaurant will open at 2 Harbor Blvd, Suite 200, Destin, FL 32541, marking a formal return to Destin for the chef who became known locally during his early fine dining career.

What to Expect

Nonna’s will serve lunch and dinner seven days a week with an Italian menu centered on scratch-made dishes. Inside, guests will find a coastal Italian aesthetic with light pink tones, Murano-style crystal, velvet seating, dark mahogany tabletops, and both granite and hand-painted tables. The restaurant seats about 85 guests indoors, plus 16 at the bar and about 35 in the bar dining area, with the ability to expand seating to roughly 110.

The outdoor deck features a crystalline stone bar and Parisian-style barstools overlooking the Destin Harbor, East Pass, and the Gulf. Automated screens allow guests to enjoy the view even in windy or rainy weather. Full dining service will be available both indoors and outdoors.

Menu and Vision

Crehan said the concept is rooted in his Italian family history. He grew up with homemade pasta, pizza, Italian doughnuts, and sausage, and although his professional background spans French, Cajun, and Creole cuisine, he said he had “always wanted to do” an Italian restaurant. The name honors the women in his family, including his mother, who is known as “Nona” to his sister and stepson.

Signature dishes include his family’s Sunday manicotti made with thin crepe-style shells, a spinach lasagna built to create crisp edges throughout, and linguine vongole prepared with fresh baby clams in the Portofino style. “Anyone who knows the dish, when they taste it, they’ll just go, ‘wow, that’s the real deal,’” he told Business Debut. The menu will also feature personal and family-style pizzas.

Nonna’s will serve complimentary still or sparkling water as part of the dining experience. Crehan described the approach as offering the touches of fine dining “without all the same pricing of it.”

The interior décor will showcase black-and-white and sepia family photographs from the 1930s and 1940s, along with vintage telephones and other 1950s-era pieces collected by his wife, Jennifer Crehan. Many images come from the families of Crehan and his partner, Bernard Porter.

Chef Background and Destin Comeback

Crehan first came to Destin in 1989 as a young chef after working in Baton Rouge. He described Destin then as a “sleepy little town” where restaurants operated only four strong months a year. Learning to run a resort restaurant in that environment shaped his career.

He said guests and longtime locals have reacted strongly to news of his return, noting that messages began pouring in as soon as he posted construction updates. He also said the broader Destin dining scene has suffered in recent years, with rising prices and declining quality. “Destin is charging the maximum prices and putting the minimum amount of effort into it,” he told Business Debut, adding that he wants to help elevate standards on the Emerald Grande property through Nonna’s and another future project nearby.

Crehan also maintains long-standing relationships in the culinary world, including serving as personal chef to Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones for 23 years and a decades-long friendship with chef Emeril Lagasse, who used three of Crehan’s recipes on his first television show.

Opening Timeline

Nonna’s is targeting a mid-December soft opening, followed by a full public opening once the team finalizes operations.

Hours

Open seven days a week from 11 a.m. — 9:30 p.m. for lunch and dinner.

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