Flora-Bama in Perdido Key, financially troubled landmark lounge, gets a new partner

PERDIDO KEY, Florida
The world famous Flora-Bama has a new co-owner.
Don't start throwing fish. The legendary bar on the beach where the Alabama and Florida state lines meet will keep its ambiance of beer-loving bikers, wine-soaked yuppies and generation Xers.
In fact, the 49-year-old roadside landmark will get much needed renovations, thanks to John McInnis III of Orange Beach.
"We made it official, I am a new partner," he said of his deal with his longtime friends and now co-owners, Joe Gilchrist and Pat McClellan.

Flora-Bama

"Joe and Pat have dreamed about rebuilding the old bar, and I'm going to help them accomplish that," he said. "We're going to keep the Flora-Bama the way it's been, and we hope to make it even better."
The McInnis Company and partners built and owned the Foley Beach Express toll road and the Mobile Bay Ferry, which runs from Fort Morgan to Dauphin Island. The company has built, demolished and repaired more than 1,000 bridges, as well as worked on disaster projects and marine construction.
Talks about joining the partnership began in 2009, when Gilchrist, then-majority owner of the bar, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the Northern District of Florida. Gilchrist, who lives in Perdido Key area, listed more than $34 million in liabilities against assets of more than $11 million, records show.
Gilchrist at the time emphasized that the Flora-Bama was not to be auctioned as part of that process, but his home and the Silver Moon Café were set for sale.
McInnis said he purchased the mortgage on the Silver Moon, a bar and package store across from the Flora-Bama in Florida, to keep it from going on the auction block.
Calls to Gilchrist for comment were not returned. He has said that his bankruptcy resulted from large real estate investments in Florida and Alabama that took a hit in the economic downturn.
Gilchrist bought Flora-Bama from the Tampary family in 1978, and McClellan joined as partner in 1984.
McInnis' backing has enabled work to rebuild the original Flora-Bama bar that was destroyed in Hurricane Ivan, and other additions, according to McClellan.
"We've rebuilt the Bamadome part and have plans, using the new building codes, to raise everything up and put it back to what is used to be like," he said. "We have John to thank for that."
The owners were looking for someone to help carry the Flora-Bama into the future, McInnis said. "I was honored and touched that they asked me to be their partner -- to help them not only with rebuilding of the old bar, but in moving the business forward."
Construction on the original bar will be finished later this fall, McInnis said. "It was a special place where people from all walks of life could comfortably spend time, day and night."
The Flora-Bama bar and lounge has a national reputation, according to Mike Foster, vice president of marketing for Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism.
"If you say you're from this area there are two things people always mention: the Flora-Bama and the Robert Trent Jones golf trail,'' Foster said. "The Flora-Bama is one of the biggest kings for putting things on the wall, like dollar bills all over, for playing music all day long, and having parachutists drop in on Saturday and Sunday. They do a lot of schitck like the Mullet Toss where you fold a fish in half and see how far you can throw it."
Even Realtors have garnered sales at the Phoenix 10 condominiums, developed by Brett-Robinson, because it is Flora-Bama's neighbor .
Michael Broussard of Exit Realty Gulf Shores said an investor client specifically asked to buy a unit in Phoenix 10, citing its location next to the popular bar. He added, "You can crawl home instead of driving."