Mahuffer's declutters, a wee bit anyway
The prop-rich bar sheds undergarments, and a lot of other stuff, to satisfy fire inspectors. It's a work in progress.
By JADE JACKSON LLOYD
Published December 22, 2004
INDIAN SHORES - John Susor promised he would clean up his infamously cluttered beach bar, Mahuffer's, also known as Sloppy John's.
In April 2003, Pinellas Suncoast Fire & Rescue District called the collage of roadside treasures and colorful collection of mementos a fire hazard.
So, Susor swore the mishmash of fish nets and signed bras, crab trap markers and old ship parts would go. Well, some of it, anyway.
"We did some things," he said Tuesday, pointing out the progress he has made during a tour of the bar at 19201 Gulf Blvd. "It was very obvious in here."
Now, instead of burlap and fish nets covering the ceiling, there's no burlap - and fewer fish nets - covering the ceiling. The wall of bras and underwear - donated by patrons who wanted a little less support on some nights - boasts 180 pieces, instead of twice that many.
Small steps, grasshopper. There's history here.
In every remnant of every artifact, in every snapshot hung, and in each stroke of every scribbled name on a wall, stories abound. Susor keeps them stored behind his eyeglasses, underneath the head of snowy white hair and a full beard.
Take the dangling orange rope. Susor got the idea from bars in the South Pacific. It keeps the bugs at bay.
The wooden beam running the length of the bar is a keel, or frame, of a 67-foot boat. The life vest and underwater camera are leftovers from Susor's diving days.
And that snowmobile holding up a tabletop? Someone sent it to him brand-new from Toronto, paying $200 for the shipping. Those socks and towels hanging up, near the bar in back? They're from Scotland.
"Here's a pair of brand-new panties from a lady who was 88 years old," he says, fingering the sizable golden undergarments. Seeing the shock setting in, he smiles and adds, "She wanted to leave something so she sent them to me in a Christmas package, and I put 'em up."
For Susor, parting with any parts of his 30-year tribute to Old Florida pulls at a piece of his 86-year-old heart.
Everything from his sign out front - it declares, "Warm beer, lousy food" and calls itself "the wurst place on the beach" - to the myriad messages displayed throughout the bar, makes it evident Susor likes doing things his own way.
When the fire district cited him for life safety code violations in 2003, however, he welcomed the opportunity to clean up the display. He said it would let him weed out the excess so patrons could focus on the trinkets he really wanted to show.
Susor blames the negative attention his tavern received nearly two years ago on a long-running beef with fire commissioner and former Mayor Bob McEwen.
Susor, who lost in his 1998 bid for mayor to McEwen, says he has been an advocate for good government for more than three decades. He said McEwen came down on the bar "because I was on him when he was mayor."
"This whole thing is a pain in the a-, pardon my French," Susor said Tuesday.
McEwen, 75, said Tuesday that Susor's willingness to comply a few years ago shocked him because Susor "was pleasant, not that he had violations." He said the two men used to fight all the time, but the violations Mahuffer's had didn't have anything to do with him.
"He's so full of crap, he stinks," McEwen said. "The building officials cited him, he ignored the law as long as he could and blamed all his problems on us. Case of arrested development in a man over 80."
Change comes slowly, even when it's welcome. But it has resulted in a cleaner, safer haven for those seeking "warm beer and lousy food" on the beach. For instance, fire extinguishers are now up to date and visible on the walls near the patio doors.
Officials from the fire and rescue district would not comment on the Susor-McEwen feud. The reports from three follow-up visits, with the last one on Nov. 15, show all Susor's problems have not been remedied, but inroads have been made.
A construction/remodeling project on the patio has generated wood and debris, but fire officials recognized in the Nov. 15 report that "he has made considerable progress in cleaning up the outside deck area."
"They come here all the time," Susor said. "As far as I know, they don't have any problem."
A FEW RULESJohn Susor keeps a sign on prominent display in his bar. There are condensed versions of it at every table. It's a sort of mission statement:
"Welcome to Mahuffer's. As you look around, you will see the results of 3 decades of building and rebuilding trying to preserve Florida as it once was before you Yankees invaded this State to make it your Maple Street Home Town. So wander around and discover what we and life is all about. But PLEASE: don't move things (They are exactly where we want them to be, even if it annoys you.) Don't steal things (most of the treasures and trinkets you see have been brought to us from friends and patrons from around the world to share with you and it's against the law anyway.) Now here is an order: have fun because that's what we're all about."