Treasure Coast Culinary Tours - Part 3: Small Town Vibes & Big Flavor

Hungry for the real Treasure Coast? We sit down with Melisa from Treasure Coast Culinary Tours to trace the counties that define the region, swap stories about Vero Beach’s small-town heart, and spotlight the hidden kitchens that keep locals coming back. From a tiny husband-and-wife seafood market to a beloved legacy like Ocean Grill, we explore why some restaurants endure for decades while others fade after a season.

What stands out isn’t just the menu variety—vegan, Italian, Jamaican, classic American, and fresh-caught seafood—but the way hospitality shapes memory. Melisa makes a strong case that service is strategy: guests return to places that notice them, own mistakes, and make them feel welcome. We unpack the hard truths of running a restaurant here, from underestimating operations to the grind of training, margins, and consistency. And we celebrate the places that get it right, proving that a warm greeting can tip the scale more than a fancy garnish.

Between bites, we talk about what makes this coast easy to love: quiet neighborhoods, the McKee Botanical Garden’s seasonal beauty, and beaches that stay accessible without costly parking. If you’re visiting or newly local, Melisa shares how to start your food adventure with curated tours that connect you to owners, stories, and surprising flavors across Indian River, St. Lucie, and Martin counties. If you’re a restaurateur, there’s a clear invite to partner up and get your spot on the map.

Come for the flavor, stay for the community, and leave with a shortlist of places you’ll want to revisit. If you enjoyed this conversation, tap subscribe, share it with a friend who loves coastal eats, and leave us a quick review—it helps more neighbors find the show.

Presented by Killer Bee Marketing
Helping local businesses in Vero Beach connect with their neighbors.

Chapters

• 0:00 What Is The Treasure Coast?
• 1:35 Seafood In Vero Beach
• 2:37 What Do You Love Most About Vero Beach?
• 3:22 Big Turnaround for Restaurants
• 3:48 Why Do You Think Turnover Is So High?
• 5:13 The Oldest Restaurant in Vero Beach
• 7:16 What Places Do You Like To Visit?
• 8:13 Where Would You Tell New Visitors To Start Their Food Adventure?
• 8:39 Looking Ahead: What's Next?

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:23

All right, but welcome back to the Vero Beach Podcast. This is part three of our interview here with Melissa from the Treasure Coast Culinary Toys. And during this episode, we're going to talk about Vero Beach and the Treasure Coast. Now, this is a little bit different for me, Melissa, because usually I'm like, we're going to talk about Vero Beach, but I'm like, I got to talk about the Treasure Coast. So I'm going to ask you right off the bat, what is considered? Because again, we're we're newish here. Is that what we said we're going to call it newish? Uh, what is considered the treasure coast?

SPEAKER_01: 0:53

So there's three counties: Indian River, Martin County, and St. Lucie County.

SPEAKER_00: 1:00

Okay. Well, that's going to change my next question then. But now I'm going to ask you to describe a flavor for each of the counties.

SPEAKER_01: 1:07

Wow. So that is a really difficult one because we go to so many different types of restaurants on the tours. You know, we have a vegan restaurant, we have Italian, we have Jamaican, we have American, um, all kinds. So it's just very eclectic.

SPEAKER_00: 1:32

So if I said Vero Beach, what flavor would you say? Just like right off the bat.

SPEAKER_01: 1:35

You can't because it's too many, too many options. Yeah. Which is seafood. Seafood is always a hit around here.

SPEAKER_00: 1:44

I I've not, okay, so this is me personally. I haven't I have not found a like a seafood place in Vero Beach yet. Like we've gone to Fort Pierce, right?

SPEAKER_02: 1:54

Yeah, we love a couple of places in Fort Pierce.

SPEAKER_00: 1:57

So if I was gonna go try to find a seafood place.

SPEAKER_02: 2:00

She's not gonna tell you a place. Please stop prying.

SPEAKER_00: 2:03

Tell me one seafood place in Vero.

SPEAKER_01: 2:06

I didn't ever like uh Joey and Kimmy's.

SPEAKER_00: 2:09

I've never heard of Joey and Kimmy's.

SPEAKER_01: 2:11

Yeah, it's a little, it's a little tiny, it's a market slash restaurant. It's a husband and wife. They own it, they've been there for a long time. Very high quality, good, fresh seafood.

SPEAKER_00: 2:25

Okay, all right. Wow, that's interesting. Okay, we're gonna have to check that out. You you are welcome, Vro Beach Podcast listeners. That took a while to get the buttons I got a secret out for you, so go try it. I wanted to throw that out there to you because again, I know you like flavors and stuff, and I was just curious if each of if the areas, the treasure coast had their own flavors. Well, you're saying that all these different areas have so many different flavors, you really can't just choose one.

SPEAKER_02: 2:49

What do you love most about Vero Beach and the Treasure Coast in general?

SPEAKER_01: 2:54

Vero Beach is my most favorite place I've ever lived, and it's the longest I've ever lived in one place. I've been here for 10 years, and I've never been in one place for more than five years. So this is pretty epic for me to stay here and not want to like go somewhere else. Yeah, I love it here because it's quiet. There's no madness of the big cities. There's a really great community spirit. It's a we have cities here, but they feel like towns because they're so small, but we have all the conveniences of a city. So it's like everything in one. One thing I've noticed here is there's a big turnaround for restaurants. It's really difficult for them to stay in business. And that breaks my heart. That was one of the reasons why I really gravitated towards this business was to help the local restaurants like get more exposure, more business and stuff. So I love that. They could keep they could stay open. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, I love that.

SPEAKER_00: 4:00

Do you think that's because of like the slow seasons and the more busy seasons, like with the I don't necessarily think it's that.

SPEAKER_01: 4:08

I think um I've noticed as I've been, you know, in the restaurants, talking to the owners, the managers, kind of seeing how it all works out. I think a lot of people open a restaurant because they like have a passion for food and it's been a dream of theirs, but they don't necessarily realize all the elements of it to make it successful and what it takes. And for me, like personally, I think customer service is at the top. And if you're going to a restaurant and they don't even notice you're there, you don't want to go back. You want to go back to somewhere where they appreciate you and they're like, hey, how are you? And you know, tell you about their place if you've never been there before and welcome you instead of just ignoring you.

SPEAKER_02: 4:54

That's a really good insight because just as you were saying that, I was kind of replaying things in my mind of places we've been to. The food might have been excellent, but I didn't feel comfortable there. So we won't go there again. Or places where maybe they made a mistake, but they were so nice that I thought I can get over that. I love how they make me feel. Yes. So that's a really good thing for people to think about when they're getting into the restaurant business, or if they're already, you know, that customer service piece is so big.

SPEAKER_00: 5:25

So I would love to ask you a follow-up question on that. Then with you kind of experiencing this and seeing this, what what isn't like one of the oldest places, restaurants here that you've done a tour of? They're like, you guys should probably interview them because maybe that person they they have wisdom that they could give to people that's thinking about, I want to launch a business, I want to launch a restaurant. But like, hey, here's some things that you should be aware of before you make that step.

SPEAKER_01: 6:28

So the Ocean Grill stands out to me because they are the original restaurant of Vero Beach. And I was talking to the chef a few months ago, and he's been there for around 50 years. Wow. Yes, 50 years. Yes, that's amazing. Yeah, he was like, I think it's time for me to retire. That's a long time to be a chef, too. It is in one place.

SPEAKER_00: 6:55

All right. Well, we're gonna have to we're gonna have to reach out to the ocean girl for sure. Yeah, I'll write it down for you. But I love sitting down with business owners like this because we get to learn from you and and and learn not just about behind the scenes, but why you love doing what you do and the people that might be interested in it. So I think the same thing. Like if they're if you're seeing a a history of restaurants opening and closing because they're not really knowing what they get into, I think that would be a great thing to sit down and have.

SPEAKER_02: 7:20

So okay. So when you're not cooking or giving a tour, what places do you like to go visit? Like what places are especially relaxing to you, or where do you go to unwind?

SPEAKER_01: 7:30

One of my favorite places around here is the McKee Botanical Gardens. Yes. I love it there. Yeah, and it changes throughout the season with all the different flowers blooming and the beach, of course. Of course.

SPEAKER_00: 7:43

But do you have a favorite beach that you like to go to?

SPEAKER_01: 7:46

No, I go to I go to so many.

SPEAKER_00: 7:48

Yeah, I don't think we've ever paid for parking at beaches here.

SPEAKER_01: 7:51

Isn't that amazing? That's it makes me so happy.

SPEAKER_00: 7:54

Oh man, a lot of places you go, it's like you're paying at least 20, at least$20 a pay for parking.

SPEAKER_02: 7:59

Yeah, the beach, I think the water should be accessible to everyone. And there were a lot of times in our life where$25 in parking excluded us from going to the beach. You know, we just couldn't afford it. Yeah. And so I think that's a shame because it is the ocean should be for everyone, you know.

SPEAKER_01: 8:15

Yeah, that's another thing I love about this area.

SPEAKER_00: 8:18

So, okay, a couple more questions. But if someone was visiting for the first time, where would you tell them to start their food adventure?

SPEAKER_01: 8:25

On her website.

SPEAKER_02: 8:28

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01: 8:31

I would tell them to start their food adventure at treasure coast culinary tours.com.

SPEAKER_00: 8:36

See, guys, I'm sorry, I tried one more time. I tried, but Shauna is like, she is trying to protect her. All right. As we get ready to close, looking ahead, what do you hope to see next for the Treasure Coast Culinary Tours?

SPEAKER_01: 8:49

I would really love more partnerships with the local businesses. Um, when when the business started, we only had three tours, I believe, and now I have about eight. I would love to expand that into different areas, um, or have restaurants reach out to me if they're interested in being part of the tour.

SPEAKER_00: 9:10

And they can do that on your website?

SPEAKER_01: 9:12

Yes.

SPEAKER_00: 9:12

Are you on social media?

SPEAKER_01: 9:14

Yes. Facebook, Instagram, Treasure Coast Culinary Tours.

SPEAKER_00: 9:19

Well, thank you again, Melissa, so much for joining us on the podcast. This has been awesome. I'm looking forward to our sushi class now. So we're gonna wrap this up so we can uh get ready ready and enjoy the class tonight. So thank you again for joining us.

SPEAKER_01: 9:33

My pleasure. Thank you guys.

SPEAKER_00: 9:35

If you guys have enjoyed this episode, make sure you click subscribe and leave us a review.

SPEAKER_01: 9:40

And with that, thanks for listening, neighbor.