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T

he end of a dock with a harbor front view isn’t the fi rst place 
you’d think to fi nd a beer garden, but for Destin native Joseph 
Campbell the end of a dock was the ideal location to break out 
the beer taps and set up shop. It was also the perfect jumping 

point for the name of his new business venture, a quirky little hole in 
the wall (or dock) called The Other End Restaurant and Beer Garden. 
Admittedly, breaking into the restaurant industry may have been quite 
the departure from anything he’d ever done before as the managing 
owner of a small pontoon boat rental company, but Campbell took on 
the new challenge with gusto, going all-in to bring something to Destin 
that it could fi nd nowhere else along its sandy shores. “The name has 
a few meanings, but the initial idea behind it was really the fact that 
we’re at the other end of the Harbor, away from all the craziness of the 
Harborwalk area,” Campbell explains. “I wanted to offer a different 

experience than you have over there, at their end.”

And it is different. The eatery is a full-service restaurant, but one 

of the things that most sets it apart is not simply the fantastic menu 
of juicy burgers, snappy hotdogs, and decadent sandwiches, but the 
way this little joint has a handle on the handles. And by that, we mean 
beer handles. With 16 on-tap beers on constant rotation, Campbell 
keeps his dedicated following of hopheads satisfi ed and does more 
than his share to tempt new tasters, winning over even the biggest 
skeptics with his fl avorful pours. He’s made it his mission to showcase 
the amazing fl avors of ale and highlight the beauty of a well-blended 
blonde, tapping into each keg to release malted magic and pour on the 
charm. “We try to have a good variety of different beer styles on tap,” 
Campbell says. “Usually that’ll be a stout, a porter, a few IPA’s, a wit, a 
couple of lagers and a Meade.”

In addition to those 16 taps, The Other End stocks the fi nest 

selection of locally brewed bottled beers and craft labels from all over 
the country, eschewing the typical go-to listing of big-box brands that 
generally monopolize the menus of most restaurants and bars. He does 
keep a few, just to keep the die-hards satisfi ed, but they seem to pale 
in comparison to the independent labels; the ones who bring more to 
the table with their creative blends and smooth fl avors. These are the 
products that truly whet his thirst and judging by the success that The 
Other End has seen since opening in 2014, Campbell’s tastes are spot-
on. 

The list is a long one ranging between 30 and 50 different imported, 

local and domestic craft bottles; but the favorites by far are the locals. 

Getting to the End

story by

 

Liesel Schmidt 

| 

photos provided by

 

The Other End

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2/23/17   3:44 PM