The Salty Realtor

Before becoming a premier Walton County realtor and founder of the South Walton Artificial Reef Association, Andy McAlexander spent his formative years landlocked.

Though Arkansas has rocky trails and lush forests in abundance, few waves are to be found in the lakes and rivers.

McAlexander later moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where he attended high school before another move to New Orleans where he met his wife and earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from Tulane University.

After graduation, McAlexander received an offer to become a stockbroker for Merrill Lynch in Jacksonville, Florida. His life’s trajectory was set, and he was on the path to finding his fortune. There was only one problem.

“I was very unhappy with being a stockbroker,” McAlexander recalled.

But his mother, who was living in San Francisco at the time, was building a house in Destin. “I came over periodically to check on progress and whatnot,” he said. He soon fell in love with the area, quit his lucrative job and moved to the Emerald Coast.

He worked as a salesman for a decade before turning his hobbies into profit.

Being raised in Forest City, Arkansas, he was familiar with growing crops. He began growing tomatoes in his backyard for personal use, until a fortuitous encounter gave him an idea.

“I’ve always been into cooking and gravitated toward restaurateurs as friends,” McAlexander said, adding that he considers himself a foodie. For fun, he and his wife would often host dinner parties.

On one such evening, a friend and restaurateur offered to purchase McAlexander’s home-grown tomatoes.

McAlexander realized, “There is a market for this product on 30A.”

His backyard garden became Mac Farms. He expanded the growth of his crops, introducing hydroponics and going so far as to buy a nearby empty lot.

“We were overseeing about 1½ tons of tomatoes a year,” he said.

He also grew lettuce, spinach and other crops. Eventually, McAlexander sold the business to Mona McGhee, who still continues the vision as a supplier to chefs and restaurants within the 30A corridor and Santa Rosa Beach area.

Photography by Mike Fender

Now, McAlexander primarily works as a broker and realtor. But he sees his profession as more than a paycheck. Many of his clients become long-term relationships. Rather than, “be a sales monkey” and simply move houses, McAlexander puts in the effort to make sure he knows the wants and needs of his clients.

“If you do your job right the first time, you get repeat business,” he noted. 

Beyond business, McAlexander is invested in his community.

“If you want to learn a town, find a salty realtor and have them drive you around and buy you coffee. You are going to get educated on what’s happening in each and every community.”

McAlexander can give a rundown of the best restaurants and happenings in Walton County, and he can offer insider info on one of the Emerald Coast’s top excursions.

Following concerns spawned by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, McAlexander said, “I got to thinking; of all the things that you can do, which would be the best thing for the community?”

Founded in 2013 by McAlexander, the South Walton Artificial Reef Association (SWARA) has deployed approximately 700 artificial reef structures at 16 evenly distributed sites along the coast of Walton County.

Reef installations are helping to revive species by creating a habitat for ocean life that frequent our Gulf of Mexico waters. Too, artificial reefs attract tourists and locals eager to visit subaquatic attractions including the Underwater Museum of Art (UMA).

A project of the Cultural Arts Alliance, the UMA was created in partnership with SWARA and features sculptures crafted by jury-selected artists. New works are added to the museum each year.

McAlexander also became involved in the January 2024 deployment of the R/V Deep STIM III, a 1990s offshore oil vessel, as an addition to the area’s reef systems. SWARA, along with the Emerald Coast Reef Association, helped fund reef modules for an addition to the deck of the vessel.

Once a diver himself, McAlexander has retired his own scuba suit due to the inherent risks. Still, he’ll always have a passion for diving and reef life. But now, he just runs the boat and takes pictures out on the water with his drone.

“There’s nothing more peaceful in the world than being down there,” he said but also acknowledged, “It’s an unnecessary risk for me.”

In his downtime, McAlexander enjoys spending time with his wife and two kids and trying new foods with friends and family.

Only time will tell what the next McAlexander dinner party might conjure up.