Destin Ice Seafood Market & Deli

Destin Ice Seafood Market & Deli has sold fresh Gulf seafood on Destin Harbor since 1984, which makes it one of the longer running businesses on a waterfront that has turned over many times since the 1980s. It operates as both a retail market and a deli, so the same counter that sells a whole snapper to take home also plates prepared food for anyone who wants lunch on the spot.

The seafood case covers the range of what comes off Gulf boats: fresh fish, crab meat, whole crabs, shrimp, scallops, oysters, and crawfish, along with seafood dips and soups made in house. Three items get called out as specialties: a smoked tuna dip that regulars buy by the tub, Royal Red Shrimp, a deep water shrimp prized for its sweetness, and steamed blue crab sold by the dozen or the bushel. Staff will steam or boil seafood to order for anyone who wants dinner ready to eat rather than ready to cook.

The deli side of the business goes well beyond seafood. The market carries fresh beef and chicken, including Buckhead brand meats, along with stuffed meat options and turducken for anyone planning a bigger meal. Shelves and coolers around the market fill in the rest of a meal: wine, fresh bread, desserts, cakes and pastries, plus seasonings, spices, and crackers to season whatever gets cooked at the condo or the beach house.

Because so many customers are tourists rather than locals, the market packages seafood specifically for travel, in containers built to survive a trip home in a suitcase or a cooler rather than a short drive across town. For visitors who would rather not deal with luggage at all, Destin Ice ships seafood directly to other states, a service the business has documented fulfilling for customers as far away as Illinois and Colorado. Staff also field phone orders directly and offer cooking advice and recipes for anyone unsure what to do with a pound of Royal Red Shrimp once it gets home, and the company’s website runs a virtual tour of the facility for anyone curious about where the seafood comes from before they buy it.

That combination, a working seafood market that also feeds tourists on the spot and ships product nationwide, is unusual for a business of its size, and it explains why Destin Ice has held its footprint on the harbor for four decades while so much else nearby has changed. It is a practical stop for anyone renting a condo kitchen for the week and wanting real Gulf seafood without cooking a full trip’s worth of meals, and an equally practical stop for someone who just wants a quick prepared lunch by the water.

Destin Ice Seafood Market & Deli is located at 663 Harbor Blvd in Destin, right in the Destin Harbor district, and can be reached at 850-837-8333. It is open daily from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., with no separate weekday or weekend schedule to remember. More information, including shipping options and recipes, is available at destinice.com. Visitors walking the harbor after a fishing charter or a dolphin cruise can stop in on the way back to a rental to pick up dinner, and anyone flying home can call ahead to arrange a shipment rather than trying to pack fresh seafood in checked luggage.