Billabong, located in Grand Boulevard at Sandestin®, raised $500 for Food for Thought Outreach during their recent Local Launch party held on Saturday, April 12 honoring the store’s new look and new owner.
New owner, Tony Crisafi, invited the community to Billabong to meet his staff, shop the latest Spring arrivals, enjoy complimentary food and beverages provided by his Grand Boulevard neighbors, including Black Bear Bread Company, Cantina Laredo, Emeril’s Coastal, Kilwins, and Vin’tij Food + Wine, and enter for a chance to win an over-the-top Grand Giveaway valued over $2,500 including a surfboard, Krewe sunglasses, Stallworth gift card, Kendra Scott necklace, tickets to South Walton Beach Wine & Food Festival, gift card to La Luna Children’s Boutique, Maui Jim Sunglasses, Nixon Watch, and much more. All proceeds raised from the giveaway entries benefited Food for Thought Outreach, a local 501(c)3 organization that works to bridge the meal gap in the lives of food insecure children in Walton and Okaloosa counties and empower them to get the most out of their education.
“The programs provided by Food For Thought Outreach serve the food-insecure children of Walton and Okaloosa Counties,” said Tiffanie Nelson, founder and CEO of Food For Thought. “Local partnerships such as this play a critical role in our capacity to meet the needs of the 3,600 enrolled in our services. We are thankful for this opportunity.”
Billabong also hosted an official ribbon cutting ceremony with the Walton Area Chamber of Commerce to commemorate the store’s new look. Crisafi and his team have worked throughout the past few months to redesign the store layout and add in new merchandise, brands, and sizes to target a wider variety of customers who live or visit the Emerald Coast throughout the year.
“We’ve added an entire children’s section to the store and reworked the layout, so each section flows into another,” Crisafi said. “It just makes sense. We have a lot more planned for the Fall when we enter our second phase of renovations, but I think customers will be pleased with the modifications we’ve made to provide a more enjoyable shopping experience.