"As a young New Orleans native, I made several summer trips to the once little and unknown town of Destin for rest and relaxation and always dreamed of one day living here.  Well, thanks to my wife, Leta, my dream has finally been realized and we've brought a little bit of New Orleans with us for everyone to enjoy!"

Our Business

In our business, we know you have many choices, but once you've tried it, you'll see that KennyD's is the place where you keep comin' back.  A lot of people have vacation homes here and we see those people every year.  Some people have said "This is the first place we come when we get into town."  We believe them because we see them so much.  We are a family restaurant that loves your relatives more than our own!  Not really, but we make you feel that way.  Come sit down and relax with us, tell us your stories and we'll tell you ours!

EVERYBODY LOVES KENNYD!

Or maybe KennyD loves Everybody!!! at least the Georgia Peaches anyway!

Reagan can climb anything - they call him BatCat!

Who We Are

KennyD and his wife, Leta, own and operate a bar in New Orleans since 1997 called KennyD's Corner Pub, which is located at 500 St. Charles Avenue in the Parc St. Charles Hotel. For the past 9 years they have been living in Destin and now have two sons, Reagan, 6 years old, and Zachary, 2 1/2 years old.  As soon as they got to Destin, they bought Wahoo's Oyster Palace and made it the home of Kenny D's Beach Bar & Grill. 

They immediately hired Ms. Gracie Esser to be the chef.  Ms. Gracie is from the Island of St. Vincent and adds her own flair to cajun cooking but she keeps all her recipes a secret so don't ask!  She recently won the Critic's Choice award for her awesome Gumbo. She has been developing her recipe for a long time and in her research, she found evidence to and believes "Gumbo" started with a Bantu Tribe in Africa. She'll be happy to share the story - just ask!

Ms. Gracie has been cooking "a long time" and she will tell you her secret ingredient is always LOVE!  It just doesn't get any better than that.  Ms. Gracie and Kenny have done two television cooking shows for the Okaloosa Gas Company called "On the Menu" where they "reluctantly" gave out "most of the secrets" to Ms. Gracie's cajun fried Turkey and all the trimmings and her Shrimp Etouffe'.  Don't expect to get those recipes again though - she'll lie to you!

Leta & Ms. Gracie - Christmas Party 2007

HERE'S SOME MORE LOVE FOR YOU:

Billy Bowlegs Pirate Party - WATCH OUT FOR THESE SCURVY PIRATES!

KennyD, Leta, Reagan & Zachary

Zachary dancin' to his own beat!