Flora-Bama, post-Ivan

46

From the Mobile (Alabama) Register newspaper:

Legendary Flora-Bama belted, buried, standing

Portions of bar’s walls, roof damaged
Friday, September 17, 2004

By JOE DANBORN

Staff Reporter

The Flora-Bama lives.

In a manner of speaking.

That’s the tentative answer to one of the more earnest questions that people on Alabama’s coastline were asking Thursday: Did the Flora-Bama Lounge & Package store, that Perdido Key paragon, survive Hurricane Ivan?

“I heard the ‘Bama’s totally gone,” an officer said at the Orange Beach police station. A friend of his got that from folks in Florida, he said, raising his eyebrows, pursing his lips and nodding gravely.

Actually, it remains in its rightful place, straddling the state line on Beach Boulevard. But its familiar wood floor is now 3 feet of sand. The structure lost portions of walls and its roof and appeared to have heaved its contents onto Alabama 182.

Among the items left standing were the bar’s marquee and a front window covered by a plywood sheet on which someone had spray-painted, “till we float away.”

Parts of the bar itself and much of what had been inside were strewn across the high way — simple bar stools, aged ice chests, electric beer signs, steel kegs, a wood-handled blade for shucking oysters. An industrial-sized propane tank sat on its side in what would have been the roadway, hissing and smelling of sulfur. Something else reeked of rotting seafood.

And everywhere, there was booze. Stacked neatly on a shelf inside, bottles of champagne and merlot. Cast about in the tempest, flasks of Southern Comfort and Jose Cuervo Gold, 1.75-liter bottles of Jack Daniel’s and Finnish vodka and Puerto Rican rum and several longnecks of Flora-Bama Mullet Head Red, some near-buried in sand, a few broken but most still sealed.

It was as if a pirate ship had run aground.

The Flora-Bama has been a beloved rebel legend. Before Baldwin County eased its blue laws, Alabama drinkers would go there to pick up a six-pack on Sunday. And Alabamians would avoid the authorities’ evacuation orders by shuffling to the Florida side of the bar, and vice versa. Or so the story goes.

Developers built their high-rise condos, pastel and sand-hued, steadily closer to the bar in recent years, to the point that one began to steal some of the beachfront bar’s sunlight. The Flora-Bama and its gritty, graying wood stayed put. Until Ivan.

There’s probably enough of the structure left that the proprietors could bolster a couple of the walls, build around it and insist that the Flora-Bama never fell.

Still, the bar and the few other older buildings took the storm far harder than the more recent structures, especially in the stretch between Alabama Point and the state line. Ivan tore away the walls of several of the shorter condos. Practically every single-family home sustained more severe damage. A few were leveled, their utensils sitting atop the sand hundreds of feet from their kitchens. One house just across the Florida line came to rest more or less intact, squarely in the middle of the sand-covered road.

The hurricane mangled large sections of the highway, which was undriveable at any rate due to a massive crane that fell across it. And the storm flattened the Perdido Key dunes.

At least the Flora-Bama is still there, for now.

Mobile lawyer Braxton Counts was among the handful of souls who managed to make the pilgrimage Thursday. He had come back to assess the damage to a nearby residence he and his wife own, one they had visited just Monday.

But Mrs. Counts didn’t want to make it down to the ‘Bama that night, her husband recalled.

“I tried to get her to come,” he said, “but she wouldn’t do it. I said, We need to go one more time, just in case.'”

46 Comments


  7. Oh my goodness! Incredible article dude! Many thanks, However I am experiencing problems with your RSS. I don’t understand the reason why I cannot join it. Is there anybody having the same RSS issues? Anyone that knows the solution will you kindly respond? Thanx!! http://www.kayswell.com


  12. Hi, Neat post. There is a problem with your site in web explorer, might test this? IE still is the market chief and a large component of other people will leave out your wonderful writing because of this problem. http://www.kayswell.com


  16. Thanks , I’ve just been looking for information approximately this topic for a while and yours is the greatest I’ve found out so far. But, what about the conclusion? Are you certain about the supply? http://www.kayswell.com


  17. Everyday consumption of weight reduction capsules can offer a number of physical benefits, consisting of enhanced cravings guideline and improved metabolic activity. http://www.kayswell.com These effects might add to a lot more efficient fat oxidation and continual energy throughout the day. In addition, some formulas support immune health and wellness and supply antioxidant benefits, which can be valuable during weight decrease efforts,


  20. Have you ever considered about including a little bit more than just your articles? I mean, what you say is fundamental and all. However imagine if you added some great images or video clips to give your posts more, “pop”! Your content is excellent but with images and clips, http://www.kayswell.com this website could undeniably be one of the best in its field.


  22. Thanks for one’s marvelous posting! I truly enjoyed reading it, you are a great author.I will ensure that I bookmark your blog and will often come back in the future. http://www.kayswell.com I want to encourage you to definitely continue your great posts, have a nice day!


  26. I feel this is one of the such a lot important information for me. And i’m satisfied reading your article. But should observation on some normal issues, The site style is perfect, the articles is actually nice : http://www.kayswell.com


  27. I do agree with all of the concepts you’ve introducedon your post. They’re really convincing and will definitely work.Nonetheless, the posts are very brief for newbies.May just you please extend them a bit from subsequent time?Thanks for the post. http://www.ifashionstyles.com


  28. I am really impressed with your writing skills as well as with the layout on your blog. Is this a paid theme or did you modify it yourself? Anyway keep up the nice quality writing, it is rare to see a nice blog like this one nowadays. http://www.kayswell.com


  30. I’m extremely impressed with your writing skills as well as with the layout on your weblog. Is this a paid theme or did you customize it yourself? Anyway keep up the excellent quality writing,it is rare to see a nice blog like this one today. http://www.hairstylesvip.com


  37. Greate article. Keep posting such kind of info on your site. Im really impressed by your site. Hi there, You have done an excellent job. I’ll definitely digg it and individually suggest to my friends. I am sure they will be benefited from this web site. http://www.kayswell.com


  39. Good day! This is my first visit to your blog! We are a group of volunteers and starting a new initiative in a community in the same niche. Your blog provided us useful information to work on. You have done a extraordinary job!


  40. Oh my goodness! an amazing article dude. Thank you However I am experiencing concern with ur rss . Don’t know why Unable to subscribe to it. Is there anyone getting similar rss downside? Anyone who knows kindly respond. Thnkx


  43. Thanks for your tips. One thing I’ve got noticed is that often banks and financial institutions understand the spending patterns of consumers plus understand that the majority of people max out their credit cards around the breaks. They prudently take advantage of this particular fact and start flooding ones inbox in addition to snail-mail box along with hundreds of 0 APR credit card offers soon after the holiday season comes to an end. Knowing that when you are like 98 of the American open public, you’ll hop at the possible opportunity to consolidate credit card debt and shift balances to 0 rate credit cards.


  45. Hey! This is kind of off topic but I need some advice from an established blog. Is it very hard to set up your own blog? I’m not very techincal but I can figure things out pretty fast. I’m thinking about creating my own but I’m not sure where to start. Do you have any points or suggestions? Cheers

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.