By Christopher Manson
Okaloosa Island’s locally owned FUBAR Pizza Bar is known for what the restaurant’s website calls “waterfront vibes and almost famous pizza.”
FUBAR opened its doors in 2018, with Operations and General Manager Greg White leading the team from day one. “We take care of our guests,” White says — a philosophy that helped the restaurant retain many longtime patrons from the previous establishment while also welcoming a wave of new ones. “The transition was interesting,” he adds.
An Army veteran and former drill sergeant, White brings nearly 40 years of restaurant experience to the role. His background includes owning a restaurant chain and working across every corner of the industry, embedding himself in “fine dining, casual dining, sports bars – I’ve done it all.” A local since 1974, White says his day-to-day responsibilities are simple to define: he “handles everything.” Outside of work, he enjoys unwinding with yard work and gardening.
FUBAR offers boat parking, pet-friendly outdoor dining, catering, and private parties, along with online ordering. You can also order pizza, wings and more through DoorDash, Grubhub and Uber Eats. And there’s even boat-friendly dining.
White says that what separates FUBAR from the numerous other pizza (among other things) spots around the Emerald Coast is the outstanding level of customer service. A look at the restaurant’s Google listing confirms this, as the FUBAR team responds to nearly every (for the most part favorable) customer review.
White proudly states that he has the best team around, some of whom have been with him for five years – “from management on down to dishwashers, every single one of them.”
Among the more popular non-pizza items at FUBAR: “Our wings,” says White. “We run 49-cent wing specials most of the week, and we’re testing things all the time. There’s always something new. We have soups created by our chefs seven days a week.” His menu go-to is “the FUBAR Favorite on cauliflower crust. We try to be versatile for gluten-free people, and it’s a really good crust.”
From 10 A.M. to 2 P.M. on Saturdays and Sundays, the FUBAR brunch menu serves items with hard-to-resist monikers like Hit the Silk French Toast, the Snake Pit Burrito, Ruck Up Waffles, Dynamite Chicken and Waffles, and the Hangover Pizza. The latter is topped with alfredo sauce, bacon, sausage, onions, green peppers, tomatoes and scrambled eggs; wash it down with a “boozy brunch drink” if you dare.
In the summer, FUBAR hosts live music, the lineup still to be determined. For now, guests can enjoy karaoke with KJ/DJ Corinne five nights a week and “singing bingo.” Every Monday, active duty military personnel and first responders are invited to wolf down free pizza by the slice from 6 to 9 P.M. “It’s our way of saying thank you,” says White.
On the community involvement side, FUBAR works closely with the Panhandle Animal Welfare Society (PAWS). “I’m a big supporter of fostering,” says White. When I ask how many pets he currently houses, he laughs and adds, “You don’t want to know!” (I suspect it’s in the double digits.) “We love and take care of our local schools, too. We help out any way we can.”
FUBAR Pizza Bar, located at 114 Amberjack Drive on Fort Walton Beach’s Okaloosa Island, is open from 11 A.M. to 2 A.M. Monday through Friday and 10 A.M. to 2 A.M. Saturday and Sunday; kitchen closes nightly at 1 A.M. “Family friendly until 10 P.M.” Call 850.226.7084 or visit fubarfwb.com to find out more.
