In late 1999, Bonefish Grill co-founders Chris Parker and Tim Curci hired Hardwood Specialists of St. Petersburg to install a handsome oak floor in their first restaurant, on 4th Street N.
Much would change for the pair. A 50/50 partnership formed with Outback Steakhouse in 2001 would turn Bonefish into a 40-store chain and its founders into rich young men.
Last week, Parker was killed in a high-speed boating accident in Tampa Bay.
Hardwood Specialists owner Terry Reeb says the 37-year-old St. Petersburg native enjoyed his new-found success but never lost his attention to detail.
A week before the accident, Parker visited Reeb's flooring store on 22nd Avenue N to look at alternatives to oak, which not only is growing costlier but has to be restained every time it is sanded, a major problem for a restaurant open seven nights a week.
With Reeb's help, Parker decided to switch to Brazilian cherry wood. Each of the 38 restaurants slated for 2004 will have it.
"He was a stickler for clean and neat," says Reeb, who developed a friendship with Parker. "They clean the floors of those restaurants every day with a buffer."
Parker's greatest legacy may have been his likable personality, however.
"He was very loyal to his friends and the people who worked with him," Reeb says. "He was one of the good guys."
