Poppy's Dancin' Iguana shuts down; second HarborWalk restaurant to close this week

DESTIN — It’s been a tough week for restaurants at HarborWalk Village.

Poppy’s Dancin’ Iguana closed earlier this week after being open for about a year and a half.

“It simply wasn’t hitting the numbers I needed to hit,” said A.J. Tusa, owner of Poppy’s Dancin’ Iguana and other local restaurants. “I operate businesses. I own nine restaurants and they all have to be profitable, and this one wasn’t hitting the numbers.

“If I had it to do it over again, I wouldn’t have done it,” Tusa said.

The Dancin’ Iguana opened in April 2010, just prior to the BP oil spill. It replaced Pat O’Brien’s, which had closed about six months earlier because of the weak economy.

About 50 people worked at the Dancin’ Iguana at the time it closed, but Tusa said all the employees were given an opportunity to work at one of his other restaurants, Poppy’s Crazy Lobster at HarborWalk Village, Poppy’s Time Out Sports Bar & Grill at Destin Commons, Poppy’s Seafood Factory, Hammerheads Bar & Grille and Roberto’s Pizzeria, all at the Village of Baytowne Wharf.

“We take care of our people in the community,” Tusa said.

The Lucky Snapper at HarborWalk Village also closed this week. While the closure of the Lucky Snapper was expected because its lease was to expire, Dancin’ Iguana’s closure came as a surprise to Peter Bos, CEO of Legendary Inc. and developer of HarborWalk Village.

“We’re surprised that he decided to cut that one back,” Bos said. “We had a record year. If anyone tried to go anywhere near HarborWalk, you could tell it was packed all the time. It’s not a case of not having the business. We have the business.

“Every store is up, everything is doing well,” Bos added. “Even Lucky Snapper was up 25 percent over last year.”

Bos said he wants to find a new Mexican restaurant with affordable prices to replace Dancin’ Iguana. He said he already has been approached by six possible candidates.

“We have to find the right one,” Bos said. “What we want to do is find one that has a reputation for great Mexican food. We don’t want to teach someone the Mexican food business. It’s a restaurant with an outside bar and outside seating. Who’s got a better location than that place?”

“It’s a great opportunity because it’s a great spot,” Bos said.

However, Tusa said the large size of the Poppy’s building, next to the Marler Bridge at the west end of HarborWalk Village, will make it difficult for any affordable Mexican restaurant to be successful.

“My price point with the Mexican restaurant was much lower than my price point with the seafood house, which means you have to have many more guests to reach the dollar level for the same chair being used,” Tusa said.

“The building is just too big for a Mexican concept,” he added.