Tallahassee Democrat from Tallahassee, Florida • Page 55

Tallahassee Democrat Cover Story Beating a path to Posey's Posey's is steeped in history Nothing level or square in lopsided building The Beckhams bought the restaurant in 1989. Fix-up projects kept them busy for the first five years, Walter Beckham said. i 1 "We just kind of lived there (on Posey's second-floor), drew a small salary and put everything we made back into the business," he said. Most repair jobs are an adven nrrn ture, said Nancy Beckham's broth er, Donn Stoffer, who became Po sey's manager in January. "There's nothing level and nothing square in this building," he 1 1' said.

"Nothing." In the past three years, the Beckhams have seen their hard work and investment pay off. Sev eral factors have helped Posey's Special to the Democrat The building that houses Posey's Oyster Bar was built in 1929 as the "City Cafe: Home of the Hushpuppy." Marks mayor, in a 1983 interview. They called it "City Cafe: Home of Thanks to the completion of the St. Marks trail, exposure in travel-guide books and an expanded menu, seafood fans flock to Posey's. By Michael Higgins DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER ST.

MARKS When Walter and Donnie Beckham bought Posey's Oyster Bar in 1989, many St Marks locals didn't like what they saw: The new owners went to work on the 60-year-old oyster house. They measured and hammered. They carted away loads of junk. "People were really afraid," recalled manager Nancy Beckham, Walter's wife. They said, "Don't change it.

That's Posey's!" Ambience is rustic: A reftige for people It's eight years later now. And the restaurant has changed: The menu is bigger, new doors comply with the fire code; and stainless-steel counters keep health inspectors happy. But to most people, it has the same old feel. It's still Posey's the twostory, wood-frame house that sits six inches off kilter at the end of Route 363. It's the place where seafood fans sit on wooden picnic benches to feast on fresh oysters and smoked mullet, drink beer and listen to country music.

In an area known for its wildlife refuge, Posey's is a refuge for people. All species. Fishermen and college professors; tourists and politicians; bird watchers and bikers. That was always the plan, said Walter Beckham, 63, a lifelong oys-terman in Cedar Key, who has owned three other restaurants at various times. "We realized it was a historic landmark," he said.

"What we de- success. For one, the same government that Beckham believed thwarted his oyster business gave his restaurant a boost The state has gradually extended the St Marks Trail, which currently leads Tallahassee's joggers, bike-riders and rol-lerbladers from Four Points on South Monroe Street on a straight, flat path almost to Posey's front door. At the same time, the Beckhams added a fry kitchen, which let them expand their menu beyond smoked and steamed fish. That's a break with tradition. But it keeps the restaurant from losing a dinner party of, say, five, just because one guest will eat only fried seafood.

Put the two together, and the result has been a 30-percent rise in sales, Beckham said. It's been a "big shot in the arm" Posey's also has gotten help from guide books, such as "Insider's Guide to Northwest Florida" and "Florida: Off The Beaten Path." They've brought in tourists looking for local flavor. Meanwhile, the Beckhams Please see POSEY'S, 5D cided to do is introduce Tallahassee folks to Cedar Key seafood, and let them get it at Posey's. And that's exactly what happened." Travel books, bigger menu, bike path draw crowds But that's not all that has happened. In the past three years, Posey's has become a hot spot Sales are up about 30 percent over three years ago, Walter Beckham estimates, thanks to an expanded menu and completion of the St Marks nature trail.

North Florida locals are packing the place for live music on Sunday afternoons and evenings. And travel-guide books are bringing in tourists from as far away as France and Italy. One couple "showed me a picture of Posey's Oyster Bar in a German tour book," Walter Beckham laughed. "I couldn't believe that" Posey's rounded in 1929 and called City Cafe TJ. Posey and partner Steve Coggins opened the restaurant in 1929, said Posey, a onetime St the Hushpuppy." They ran it for more than three decades.

In the early 1970s, Posey and his wife, Birdie, sold the restaurant to Bill Helson. Helson ran the restaurant in the 1970s and '80s, under the name "Posey's: Home of Posey's Topless Oysters." A carnival-game operator, Helson would close the restaurant in the summer when he went on the road with the carnival, Nancy Beckham said. Walter Beckham became interested in Posey's in the late '80s. He had run three restaurants at different times in Cedar Key, but none of them panned out, and each time he went back to oystering. But in 1989, the oyster business was bad, and Beckham was growing more and more frustrated with new state laws that limited where he could oyster.

"I realized then that maybe (Posey's) was a place to get a fresh start, rather than staying down (in Cedar Key), dreaming about the oyster business getting better." By Michael Higgins DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER ST. MARKS When Walter Beckham bought Posey's Oyster Bar in 1989, he became the new owner of more than just a cozy restaurant on the river. He also acquired pieces of the 67-year-old restaurant's history: Founder TJ. Posey's old adding machine; an early cash register; a mechanical beer-can opener. There were personal items, too: A stately wooden gavel, perhaps from Posey's eight years as St.

Marks town commissioner, which included three as mayor; the pink gown he believes Posey's wife, Birdie, wore to Jimmy Carter's governor's ball. "We've got enough stuff from Mr. Posey and Mrs. Posey to start a museum," Beckham said. If there is a Posey's museum, Nancy Beckham will be the curator.

Nancy, Walter's wife, has made it her project to find out what she can about the oyster house's colorful history. There's plenty to learn. In addition to the restaurant the two-story building has also housed a barber shop and a general store. The upstairs was originally an eight-room boarding house, where visitors from Georgia would stay during fishing trips to the area. Nancy Beckham now lives there three or four days a week, before returning to the Beckham's permanent home in Cedar Key.

They have turned the eight, tiny rooms into three of normal size. They've furnished the upstairs dining room with only old tables, dressers and desks. "We've tried to keep it as it was," Nancy Beckham said. "Somebody could come in here put a franchise in here. But it would take everything away from it" Relatives of TJ.

Posey remain in North Florida, but the owners of Posey's Crabhouse in Panacea are not among them, according to its owner, John Posey. Thomas Jefferson "TJ." Posey died in 1984, at the age of 76, after a long battle with cancer. In an interview with the Democrat a year earlier, he was modest about the Posey's legacy. But he took satisfaction from it too. "I can't tell you nothing special," Posey said.

"I feel like I accomplished something. I don't want to brag, but I do feel a little proud of myself." This sign is part of the history of Posey's Oyster Bar, which under different names, has been In operation since 1929. MARK WALLHEISERDemccrat.