ST MARKS, Fla. (WTXL) — It's been more than a decade since Posey's Oyster Bar in St. Marks was torn down. Now, a local businessman is trying to bring it back.
- Bobby Brooks plans on rebuilding the local staple with the same name.
- He hopes to open the renewed restaurant in 2027.
- Watch the video below to hear what neighbors are saying about this new Posey's.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
The original Posey's Oyster Bar in St. Marks was torn down in 2011. Now a local businessman is bringing it back, but it's moving over a couple of dozen feet.
Bobby Brooks, a St Marks local, calls Posey's a classic place to just go and hang out on the weekends. Posey's had been in St Marks from 1929 until its demolition in 2011.
With its demolition, many thought it was a distant memory, but knew Bobby Brooks owned the land it was on.
"Once they knew I owned all the property, they would say, 'You ever going to bring Posey's back?'" explained Brooks. "And I just kept mulling it over for the last couple of years, and John and I talked about it. And he says, 'I'm all for it. You can use the name.'"
Neighbors said that it had a great atmosphere and great live music that made it the staple it was.
Stanley West says he's excited to see it come back, but is concerned about how it'll do, as it won't be the same as it was.
"It'll be a different ball game for them. They're going to be up in the air, a long way up in the air. So it'd be just a different atmosphere," said Stanley West, neighbor. "But Posey's was, we all grew up in Posey's, so it was kind of neat to hear it a little bit, and then I just don't know for them how that is going to work out until they get it done."
Other neighbors shared the same sentiment and even have suggestions to help it succeed.
"You could try to replicate the building. That would that would be a pretty good move for them, and I think a lot of people would accept it," said Richard Lynn, neighbor.
However, Brooks says it won't be the same due to building codes.
"There were some quirky things that can't be either, like in the men's room. Of course, you'd never go to the men's room, but it was a big trough filled with ice, and that was the urinal," said Brooks. "So people have asked me, 'You're going to bring that back?' I said, 'I don't think the health department's going to allow that anymore.'"
Both West and Lynn say that they are interested in seeing how this new Posey's will try to bring back the old Posey's atmosphere. Brooks says that if there's no delay, he hopes it'll be up and running by the end of 2027.
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