Anna Maria Oyster Bar marks 25 years of growth through good times and bad
There have been plenty of good times and fun in John Horne’s 25 years of building the Anna Maria Oyster Bar brand in the Bradenton area.
The owner and chief executive officer of AMOB is quick with a joke and a smile. That rubs off on his staff, many of whom have worked for him more than a decade.
Take Jose Carmela. In his 19 years with the company, he has shucked an estimated two million oysters, as well as doing prep work in the kitchen, and washing dishes.
Or Cherise Sherwin, who signed on in 1997. Her badge reads “mixologist from day one.”
Not that she set out to tend bar for more than two decades, and build a huge following.
“I was only going to work here for three months. I don’t know what happened,” she said.” John has been great to me. He is a great boss to work for. I really like what I do.”
Horne, 59, believes that a pleasant — even joyful — workplace, translates to a more upbeat dining experience for customers.
“It has to be fun and different. I want my staff to have fun and absolutely enjoy their day. We are in the hospitality business,” he said. “If I walk in the front door laughing and in a good mood, everybody will be in a good mood. Guests will sense that right away. Good food will not overcome bad service. Let’s make the best experience and let them have fun.”
So, while he strives to run a fun, upbeat operation, he may best be defined by his actions during the bad times, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
When Gov. Ron DeSantis closed restaurant dining rooms across the state to curb the spread of the virus, Horne continued to pay his staff for seven weeks, wanting them to stay home and stay safe.
During the quarantine, he was able to stay in touch with staff from all four restaurants using mass texting on WhatsApp, communicating the latest news and information.
Once dining rooms were allowed to reopen at 25 percent capacity, and then at 50 percent capacity, Horne had retrofitted them to keep customers and staff as safe as possible from COVID-19.
In June, he confirmed staff members at AMOB locations at 6696 Cortez Road W., Bradenton, and 1525 51st Ave. E., Ellenton, had tested positive for COVID-19.
“It wasn’t question of if, but when,” Horne said.
Horne elected to keep his restaurants open, citing social distancing, stringent deep-cleaning sanitation practices and employee health checks.
The Anna Maria Oyster Bar restaurant at 525 51st Ave. E., Ellenton, subsequently became the first restaurant in the state to achieve the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association’s Seal of Commitment.
The award recognized dedication to enhanced safety and sanitation practices during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The pandemic has forced AMOB to evolve its practices, including fine tuning its to-go order process to near surgical precision.
Diners call in their orders, park in a designated location and are met by a restaurant staff member who loads the food into their car.
With the governor recently allowing bars to reopen, Horne is gradually reopening the bars at AMOB, making sure practices are in place to keep customers and staff safe.
“You have to make sure the customer is confident,” Horne said of his operation.
Sales have rebounded to about 80 percent of what they were before the pandemic and have been gradually building. Once the country finally has the pandemic under control, he believes business will be stronger than ever.
How it started
A native of Bartow, Horne was a Clemson University student working a summer job in the phosphate mines near his home town, when his his father suggested he get a part-time job in the Bradenton area. Horne’s parents had a beach house on Anna Maria Island and thought he might find work in a local restaurant. Soon, Horne was bussing tables. He quickly fell in love with the community and the restaurant business.
With a degree in administration management from Clemson, Horne started a 10-1/2 year association with Ed Porter, owner of Fast Eddie’s restaurant, working four years on the island, and opening five more Fast Eddie’s in the Tampa Bay area.
In 1995, Horne took over the Fast Eddie’s in Bradenton Beach, which became the first Anna Maria Oyster Bar, known as The Pier at 200 Bridge St.
In 1997, he added the Landside restaurant at 6906 14th St. W.; followed by the Cortez location at 6696,Cortez Road W. in 2002, and the Ellenton location at 1525 51st Ave. E.. in 2003.
“We were as busy as we could be from the first day we opened Landside,” Horne recalls.
The community
“Our community supports us and we support them. That’s the way it should be,” he said.
Horne, and his wife, Amanda, are strong supporters of Dive into Reading and Pace Center for Girls.
“Education is our biggest passion,” he said.
Another is veterans. Asked his most memorable day in the restaurant business, he doesn’t hesitate.
It was June 7, 2014, when he treated 84 World War II vets to lunch to commemorate the 70th anniversary of D-Day, the invasion of Normandy.
The memory of that day still brings tears to Horne’s face when he recalled the vets, most in their 90s and not in the best health, wearing their military decorations and sharing stories of their wartime experiences.
“I have a lot of veterans in my family and veterans are so important to our country,” he said.
Horne has also become a leader of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, and is actively campaigning against Amendment 2, which would mandate a $15 minimum wage.
Restaurants have traditionally been a great first job, but a $15 minimum wage would make those unskilled workers too expensive for employers, he said.
The 25th anniversary
Anna Maria Oyster Bar and Motorworks Brewing launched a custom-brewed American Pale Ale (APA) with pineapple flavoring, named “Hala 1493” to honor the hospitality industry as well as celebrate Anna Maria Oyster Bar’s 25th anniversary in September.
The pineapple is the international symbol of the hospitality industry, an industry that has been devastated by COVID-19 pandemic.
Anna Maria Oyster Bar is also introducing a limited-time menu called “Taste of the Tropics” that pairs with Hala 1493 Pineapple APA. Guests can expect all dishes to feature hints of pineapple, and for a unique twist, several of the dishes are presented in a fresh half pineapple that has been cored to form a bowl. The “Taste of the Topics” menu is now available at three of four of the Anna Maria Oyster Bar locations (Cortez, Ellenton, and Landside; but not at Pier).
“Over the past five months, our beloved hospitality industry has been tested and pulled in so many different directions,” Horne said. “It’s time to share a little love with the hospitality industry across the state of Florida. This locally-crafted brew has a fun story behind its name and symbolism, so we hope you’ll join us in a toast to hospitality workers everywhere, wherever you are. Here at AMOB, we’ll ‘Cheers’ you right back in honor of our 25th anniversary — a feat that would not have been achieved but for the dedication and enthusiasm of my 320-plus co-workers at the Anna Maria Oyster Bars. ”
For more information about Anna Maria Oyster Bar visit https://www.oysterbar.net/.
This story was originally published September 20, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
