Bud & Alley's

Can you tell FR&L Readers the History of Bud and Alley’s?
In the fall of 1985 I was 24 years old and I happened to be working as a server at a French Restaurant in Destin called Les Saisons. The Future developer of Seaside, Robert Davis used to eat there. I had become close friends with the Maître d, Scott Witcoski through work and our mutual love of surfing. Robert had inquired with Scott about an opportunity to open a restaurant in an existing restaurant in Seaside (the previous tenants left at the end of the previous season).

Scott and I were headed to Panama City for a day of surfing when Scott mentioned he would like to stop and look at the building Robert had told him about. Because the surf was so good I did not want to stop. The thought never occurred to me Scott would be asking me to be his future partner in an hour. Scott was driving and he talked me into stopping anyway.

Robert shared his vision of Seaside with us and gave us a tour of the restaurant (basically a turn key operation with the tables set and everything ready to go). After Robert left us, Scott and I had a few moments to look out over the Gulf through the back porch window and he asked me if I wanted to open a restaurant with him. It was such a beautiful place and being so impressed Robert’s vision for his future town gave me little pause. Twenty-four hours later I quit college (already enrolled in my last semester) and tossed my bachelors degree in business management and marketing to the side to open a restaurant with Scott. We named it Bud & Alley’s after Robert’s dog, “Bud” and Scott’s cat “Alley.” We wanted to create a restaurant that had great food that was unpretentious and fun. Our motto still is and was from the start: Good Food, Good People & Good Times.

Scott was the founding chef and president, and I ran the front of the house in the VP position of our newly formed corporation. We were great friends and business partners for 20 years as Bud & Alley’s grew and matured along with Seaside. We kept our overhead low and grew in very small steps. Because we were so young we had few financial needs and it did not matter to us that we were not making a lot of money in the early years. We were just happy owning our own business and playing an active role in the town making of Seaside. We closed the restaurant on Tuesdays so we could do laundry and have a day off, and we closed for the month of January so we could take a surf trip every year. We called it our winter “board” meeting. If the waves came up, we would surf before work and between shifts behind the restaurant.

After 20 years Scott wanted to retire to his love of surfing, fishing, photography and art. I happily bought him out five years ago and opened two more successful restaurants in Seaside since then. I was so lucky to have an enduring and mostly positive relationship with Scott and fortunate to grow a business with such a talented person.

We quickly learned that being in Seaside had its benefits. No one could have predicted the success of Seaside. Being on the ground floor of a development that changed the way towns are designed and sparked the New Urbanism movement was an amazing experience. Also, getting to play an active role in town building, creating tradition and being the anchor restaurant in town was incredible. By 1988 national magazines were covering Seaside and we were right in the middle of it all. National magazine and catalog photo shoots in the winter kept us alive, and there were always enthusiastic homeowners, architects and builders to feed. We were only busy in the summer for three months but with so few restaurants we were packed all summer long. In 1994, Hollywood came to town for six months to film the Truman Show with Jim Carrey. I still get residual checks from my five seconds of fame on the big screen.

In the past 25 years I have had the honor of holding a Seaside homeowner’s baby in my arms and 16 years later teaching him or her finer points of running the door as a hostess or bussing a table at Bud & Alley’s. I finally got married 3 years ago and my wife, Carol, and I have a 2-year-old daughter. Now I’m 50 with the first 25 years behind me. I hope I am still around in 16 years to do the same with my own child.

Bud and Alley’s has been a destination for folks visiting 30-A for how many years?
Twenty five years.

Describe your menu concept.
We have not wavered too much from our original concept over the years. The food and menu celebrates the authentic food of our southern coastal region and the bounty of the Gulf of Mexico. Simplicity is the key, keeping the vegetables and accompanying items as close to their natural state as possible. We purchase our regional seafood exclusively from the pristine waters of Florida’s Eastern Gulf, predominately Apalachicola and Destin. We work closely with nearby farmers and growers to obtain the finest locally available vegetables.

How do you keep your menu fresh and interesting to returning guests?
We change the menu seasonally and have several chalkboard items that change daily. The grilled and whole fish change according to what is locally available every day. We use vegetables and fruits in the peak of their season. Since the beginning, many of our customers eat more than one meal at Bud & Alley’s while in town.

What is your most popular dish?
Sorry, there’s more than one: Our grilled whole fish, the Seaside Shrimp and our sweet potato fries

What is your most popular cocktail?
I’d have to say our top shelf Margarita or “Mo”gartita to highlight our head bartender, Mo Moseley. Mo has been with us for 10 years and his version is famous.

Have you seen the tastes of your guests change over the years?
Yes, of course. The “American food movement” that began with Chef Alice Waters in California began a culinary revolution that changed the way we look at food. As a result, the customers’ tastes have become much more refined since the late 70’s and early 80’s. It was amazing to participate in bringing that new food philosophy to our area. When we first opened we had the opportunity and honor of being culinary pioneers along scenic 30A and in this part of Florida. Chef Frank Stitt of Highlands Bar and Grill and Chef Chris Hastings of Hot & Hot Fish Club, both located in Birmingham, were huge inspirations to us in the early days. Also, a large portion of our customers come from Birmingham, so we were eager to follow the inspiration of these talented regional chefs and create cuisine that best represent and celebrate our own region.

budandalleys.com is a very descriptive web page! A viewer really gets a feel for Bud and Alley’s when looking at it. Do you think it is a big asset to your business? If so,why?
Yes, of course: Our website was designed to tell a visual story of what Bud & Alley’s is all about. The photos really tell it all. We are in one of the best locations for any restaurant in Florida and the idea was to attract new people with beautiful photography. The live 360-degree webcam is a huge draw as well. Also, the website had to be simple and easy to navigate. I credit Cyber Sytes in Panama City with doing an amazing job. The site has won a few ADDY awards for its design. http://www.cysy.com/

In recent years, Bud and Alley’s has expanded its concept to the “Taco Bar” and the “Pizza Bar” all within walking distance. Are you pleased with that business model?
Absolutely, The Taco Bar already was a retail space that backed up to our auxiliary kitchen so it was a “no-brainer” to open. We knocked a hole in the wall and opened it in 8 days. The concept is an authentic border taqueria using freshest ingredients. No yellow cheese or hard taco shells allowed like in the Americanized version of Mexican. I wanted to duplicate the real experience you might feel at a real border taqueria. I travelled to San Diego and ate at over 40 taquerias along the border areas and learned what real Mexican food is all about. It seats about 50 and has a fun, funky atmosphere.

The Pizza Bar again, is all about authenticity. Located about 50 yards from Bud & Alley’s right on the beach, The Pizza Bar is an authentic wood-fired, thin crust pizza restaurant with a broad selection of antipasti, salads and pastas. My wife, Carol and I travelled to Rome, Naples and a nearby island called Ischia to research every aspect of thin crust pizza and the philosophy of leisurely Italian dining. Carol did the interior design which is amazing. There is an outdoor terrace on the Gulf that is so comfortable and inviting and people just don’t want to leave. Leah Mason, our talented gardener and dear friend of 25 years, has duplicated exactly the feel of a restaurant in Ischia we visited. Lemon and fig trees and beautiful flowering potted plants and gardens surround the restaurant. My friend Leo Casas was a very important consultant on both new restaurant projects. Leo is the former Town Architect of Seaside and is originally from San Diego. Leo also went to college and later taught architecture in Rome. He and his wife Tara were our “tour guides” on both trips.

The “Tarpon Club” is one of the best beach bars in Florida. Tell our readers about the “Tarpon Club” concept.
Well, the name is derived from my former partner, Scott’s love of fishing for tarpon. The open-air roof-deck is an elevated stage for the most amazing panoramic views of the Seaside beach, Gulf and the center of the Town of Seaside. It is covered with a canvas roof and seats 90 guests that surround the central bar facing the Gulf. We expanded the roof-deck this spring to add 45 more seats in a stepped down roof dining area that is open to the sky. The “sky deck” is now the most popular place to eat at Bud & Alley’s.

Back in 1994, when we originally build the roof-deck I wanted to create a sunset tradition much like they do in Key West with the shooting of the cannon. I searched all over Florida and found an 1888 steam train bell in a thrift shop in Kissimmee. For the past 15 years, townspeople and tourists gather at sunset on the roof-deck for the ringing of the sunset bell. Whoever predicts on a chalkboard the exact time the sun will set wins a free drink. The Tarpon Club offers the perfect setting to dine under the stars, and later it’s a festive atmosphere and a great spot to watch the moon rise over the Gulf. The Tarpon Club is also a popular after-party gathering spot for special events and weddings.

Do you host a lot of special events and weddings?
Yes. The spring and fall are the most popular times of the year for weddings at Bud & Alley’s. The weather is fantastic and the added business really fills in what used to be more of a shoulder season. We do weddings in the summer, but only small ones because we are already so busy.

How do you drive “traffic” to your restaurant for special events?
Being in Seaside has its benefits, and special events and weddings are no exception. Pretty much the traffic comes to us; we don’t have to do any wedding advertising. We held some of the first weddings in any restaurant in the area in the early years. Later, the Seaside Cottage Rental Agency picked up and started doing them as well. It worked out perfectly because I sent them the weddings I could not do, and they sent me the ones they could not do. We supported each other and promoted each other and still do today. As an added bonus, The Sky Deck is the preferred gathering spot for nearly every wedding in town. Outside of Seaside, many other wedding companies have picked up steam as well. A thriving wedding business has blossomed along the Scenic 30-A corridor. There is no lack of romance in an area as beautiful as this.

What is the most important thing you emphasize with staff about your customers?
I encourage my staff to be positive and confident in their abilities and be themselves when interacting with guests. If my staff is not having fun, then my customers won’t either. I’ve never liked being served by robots. I absolutely loved being a server, and I try to find people who love what they do and it shows. That also applies to creating a positive chemistry as a team in the work setting.

What do you think is critical to your employee training?
Leading through empowerment and not fear. Leading by example; role playing and listening carefully to training and philosophy. Having an easy to read and understand employee manual. Keeping a core group of motivated, happy long time staff that effectively trains the summer staff.

How do you eliminate or reduce employee turnover?
The interviewing process is key and having a clearly defined type of staff member you are looking for each position. Leading through empowerment and not fear. I said it again because it is so important. We have all worked in a fear-based environment, and I think it can stifle a company’s success. Regarding turnover, we always have end of summer turnover but our core group has very low turnover. Many of my staff have worked for 5 to 10 years or more. In all three restaurants, we have more than 200 employees in season. In the shoulder season, that number goes down to about 85. That core group of staff is the glue that cements our success in all three operations. Each one is like a mini manager carrying on the tradition, philosophy and chemistry of Bud & Alley’s.

The other key element is my genuine concern for my employees’ well-being and happiness. We cover half the cost of our health insurance plan including dental and vision, for full-time employees.
Regarding my key managers, all 11 of them are on a bonus incentive plan. If they hit their numbers (and they do), I give them quarterly bonuses. They all get two weeks paid vacation in the first year of employment as well. To fight burnout, I don’t want a manager working more than five days in a row, and they all get two days off in a row most every week.

Turnover is low and my managers have a life outside their workplace; a life to enjoy with their families. Less divorce, healthier families equate to happier managers. This all filters down to the happier staff they manage and that projects straight to the customer’s happiness with they’re dining experience.

If I have respect and concern for the managers and they do for the staff, then our customers enjoy the benefit. It’s about balancing their life and work for positivity all around. It costs a little more money on the front-end but the benefits are tenfold.

Also, I manage the managers, I don’t micro-manage the managers or the restaurant. I see an importance in going through the chain of command if I see something that needs doing. I meet weekly with the managers to give them the tools they need to do their job.

We make decisions as a team and I ask them each for their valuable opinions and input about pretty much everything regarding the restaurants. I share financials with them, and we discuss any issues that might affect them or operations.

Finally, whenever possible I promote from within the company. Opportunities for growth build loyalty and longevity.

What is your tip to staying in business for such a long time?
Balance your life and your work so you can stay positive for those you interact with. Recognize you can’t do it all. Surround yourself with people who are more efficient than you and empower them to excel. Embrace, make friends with, and openly support your competition; it can only help you and it takes a lot of unnecessary stress out of your life. Surround yourself with people who are efficient and empower them to excel.