Harry P. Johnson, A Man of Many Talents

The restaurant business can be a fickle enterprise, with lots of ups and some downs along the way. We have, in the Scenic 98 Coastal area, a fellow named Harry P. Johnson, who is an institution in the restaurant business, and one of the nicest guys you will ever meet. 

An understated legend may be a better description of him. Harry’s story is that of a restaurant and bar entrepreneur, Gulf Coast restaurant broker, and commercial real estate property owner and manager. He grew up in Mobile and attended McGill Toolen High School. In 1971, with a draft number of 10, he decided to surrender to the Army. Stationed in San Antonio, he took a couple of journalism courses at the local junior college, now the University of Texas San Antonio.

When his stint in the Army was over, Harry moved back to Mobile and enrolled at South Alabama. He walked into the office of the student newspaper, The Vanguard, and announced to the editor, “I want to be a reporter. I want to write stories.”  The editor replied, “What I need is a business manager. Someone to sell ads for $100 a month.” He took the job immediately.

At the time, there was a well-known college bar, Thirsties Tavern, adjacent to campus. Harry thought they should buy an ad and went seeking the owners. “They were never there when I showed up,” he says. “I heard they were always out hunting, fishing, or on vacation. That sounded pretty good to me, so I decided to open my own bar.”

Harry wrote for the Vanguard and interviewed the late Bill Sellars, a legendary political columnist for the Mobile Press-Register. “The last question I asked, after talking about his political career, was when was the state going to drop the legal drinking age to 18?” He said, “In the upcoming spring legislative session, but NOT 18, it will be 19.” That green-lighted his soon-to-be college bar. 

In 1975, with business partner Pete Harrison, Harry opened the Fandango Saloon on Forest Hill Drive close to Mobile’s Municipal Park which was not too far from Bronco Bill’s bar. “What I soon found out was that the Thirsties’ owners were not out hunting and fishing. They were at the bar late at night trying to keep order, stop fights, and break up domestic quarrels.”

Fandango Saloon catered more to the College Frat crowd. “It was a huge success, but I wasn’t cut out for late-night refereeing. I sold my interest in 1976 right after I had moved to Baldwin County.” A few months later, Harry needed a job. He knew  Jack West, famous around these parts as the creative mind behind Judge Roy Bean’s Saloon in Daphne.

“I was the first guy behind the bar when Judges opened. I learned so much in the ten years of being around Jack as he grew his business. He progressively added volleyball courts, a life-sized chess board, kitchens and bars out back, and frozen drinks,” says Harry.

“By then, Jack had built a stage at the back of the property called The Judge Roy Bean Amphitheater. People drove from all over… Mobile, Gulf Shores, and Orange Beach, to come to the Bean. Around 1987, big acts from the late 70s and early 80s would come to play and draw huge crowds, especially on Sundays. It was legendary.”

There weren't many restaurants or nightlife along the Eastern Shore, except for Judges in those days. In 1980, Harry opened Winslow’s Cafe in Fairhope. This was his vision of a “Fern Bar,” like TGIF or Ruby Tuesdays. “I would never have made it if not for Mama Rosie, our cook,” he says. “She was a hard-working immigrant who knew her way around a kitchen.”

“We had a good lunch with sandwiches, but not much happened at night.” Mama Rosie convinced Harry to let her introduce some fresh Mexican food: tacos, fajitas, salsa, pico de gallo, as well as fried seafood to the menu and business exploded. “We were the hottest thing around for a while.” He decided to relocate Winslows to downtown Fairhope and built a building on 14 South Church Street. “It just wasn’t the same,” he says, and it closed in 1997.  

In 1991, Harry opened a restaurant called Pelican Pointe Grill at the end of County Road 1 where Weeks Bay enters Mobile Bay. Formerly, the Viewpoint Social Club, Pelican Pointe was known for its BBQ ribs marinated in Coke-Cola after being steamed and slathered with BBQ sauce on the grill. He kept adding new features and had music on the deck. Sunday afternoons were a big music scene. 

Then Lucy Buffet opened the original LuLu’s under the Fish River Bridge on Weeks Bay, and “her crowds got bigger than ours.” He sold the restaurant in 2001, three years before Hurricane Ivan wiped it off the map in 2004.

Next Harry saw that the Bluegill on the Causeway had closed. He got in touch with the owners through the late Barbara Thompson from Traders and did a lease/purchase for the little cinder block building with the legacy reputation. Little by little he added the Delta Room with live music, then a small deck, then a bigger deck. 

The music on Sunday afternoons was a hit, and very “Bean-like.”  He thought “Maybe we can do music on the Causeway.” He received a permit from the Corp of Engineers to extend the deck over the water and partnered with 92 ZEW to host concerts. “If you build it on the water, the people will come.” Acts like Leon Russell, Colbie Caillat, Wet Willie, Need to Breathe, and Brandi Carlisle were just some of the musical acts that performed there. 

In 2005. He also opened the Beach House Grill on the Causeway (Now the El Kamino Bay Mexican Restaurant). In 2008, the recession began and he sold the Beach House property. In 2010, he sold the Bluegill to Cooper Restaurants. 

After Harry sold the property on South Church Street in Fairhope in 2000, he purchased three buildings in the strip shopping/office building property on U.S. 98 in Daphne. With hopes of resurrecting the Winslow’s Cafe concept, in 2010, after selling the Bluegill, he opened Rosie’s Grill in the Daphne property in honor of Mama Rosie and opened the Record Bar next door. 

After 7 years of Rosie's, it was time to make a move. Jeremiah Matthews was the chef at Jesse’s in Magnolia Springs and Harry convinced Jeremiah to come to Rosie’s Grill and rebrand the restaurant to his concept, and Southwood Kitchen was born.  “Jeremiah hit a home run,” says Harry.

In Battles Wharf, Harry and partners opened the Sante Fe Grill in the former Jehovoh’s Witness Hall on Scenic 98 (Now the Fish River Grill). “It struggled,” he says. “Most restaurants have a lifespan. If it’s making money, you keep them open. The ones I’ve sold or leased were not working out.”

In 2015, Harry got wind that Manci’s Antique Club in Daphne was for sale. “The Manci family called me and wanted me to find a buyer.” It wasn’t yet listed for sale and had been closed for about six months when they talked. “I knew that Callahan’s Irish Social Club in Mobile was just about the hottest thing around, so I called John Thompson, who owns Callahan’s, and asked him if he’d be interested in partnering together.” He said, “Yeah, but I’ve never done a rehab before.”

They went to take a look at Manci’s and found it dirty, and boarded up with stuff everywhere. “We did a lease/purchase and started cleaning and remodeling the place. We held an auction to sell some of the collectibles and antiques because we needed the space.” The auction received great publicity for the reopening, and Harry says they are having constant sales growth.

That was nine years ago. Manci’s originally opened in 1936 and will celebrate its 87th anniversary with a party on August 19 this year. Miranda Green has been the cook and kitchen manager since year two. “With all the space at Manci’s, we found it difficult to service the area on the other side of the main dining and live music area, so we decided to open Buster’s Brick Oven Pizza. It’s really two restaurants under one roof, and both are doing well.”

When Robin LeJune (Daphne’s current Mayor) decided to close Market By The Bay in Fairhope two years ago, and then the Daphne location last year, Harry’s partners approached LeJune to purchase the business. Harry joined in to lead the renovation and permitting. Known for its gumbo, with the best fried shrimp and oysters in the area, he hopes to expand back into Fairhope one day. They no longer offer the seafood market, but they have made the dining area and service more enjoyable.

In the meantime, Harry puts on his restaurant broker hat. “We just signed an agreement for one of Fairhope’s fine dining restaurants. A new owner/restaurant operator from Texas is going to open with a new concept.” He also brokered the sale of the Yardarm on the Fairhope Pier among others.

Harry says he’s had some great employees along the way. Mama Rosie helped put him on the map. Miranda Greene has done a terrific job at Manci’s. “Garrett deLuca, who came to work for JT and me before we opened Manci’s during the renovation, is now the managing partner and instrumental in the development of Buster’s Brick Oven.”

Another was Zach Smith, a young kid of 16 when he started working for Harry, first at Pelican Point, and then at The Bluegill. “Zach literally grew up in the restaurant business, and now runs Kraver’s Seafood in Daphne. He’s doing a great job and I’m really proud of him.”

Asked about what changes he’s seen over the years, Harry says, “I moved here in the 1970s and like everyone, thought, “Can we close the doors and keep everyone else out?” He goes on to say the growth has been good for business and certainly offers more amenities than we had when he first arrived.  

“We need quality growth and consistency. What can our infrastructure handle? The service people need affordable housing and a reasonable commute to earn a living. What’s life going to be like down the road for my two daughters who are in their 20s now? These are the things I think about.”

We are with you, Harry. Thanks for all the great memories and we wish you continued success as you make many more!