Blast from the past!

In 1956 my in-laws moved to Ft. Myers! A year later the "Hickory" opened. The Hickory has been a staple here in Southwest Florida every since!

In 1972 when my dad moved us to this area to take a job as a Foreman for my uncles construction company, one of the first places we ate at was the Hickory BBQ. At least once a week until I joined the military we frequented that place. It was wonderful! The BBQ pork and beef in sandwich form with fries or on a plate with fries and slaw with sweet ice tea and corn on the cob were mouth watering!

When Sonja and I got married n 1976 we had our rehearsal dinner at the Hickory. I remember that a whole lot better then saying "I DO". Frankly, Sonja has to remind me a lot that we said I DO but I never have a problem remembering the Hickory of the past! It was in a different building at the time, located where the Ron Daos is now. The room where our rehearsal dinner was held was in the very back of the place, with low ceilings and pretty cramped up, but we felt special being able to be there in one of our favorite spots.

Although Sonja and I moved away from Ft. Myers in pursuit of a career, for 25 years we vacationed here and one of the highlights was returning to the Hickory to see our friends and experience the great food, including Sally's coconut cream pie! I don't even like coconut but boy did that gal know how to make that pie and certainly I ate it with de-lite!

Through the years not much changed. The BBQ was exactly the same. However they did add catfish to the menu eventually and that was a great addition. Even our children became accustomed to visiting the Hickory and became a family member of that tradition. Clara would hug us as we entered after not seeing us for several months and would spend time catching up between her delivering food and taking orders. She graced us by cutting our corn OFF the cob for us. Maybe we were not the only ones then, but we did not see too many people getting it that way. For some reason it tasted better to me that way.

About 6 years ago the Hickory closed its doors. The owners, Bill and Sally, decided enough was enough. At that time we thought it was an end of an era. We were heartbroken. We knew we would never again be able to experience what had become a part of our life, a part of our growing up, being together as a family, loving even such a small part of the South Florida lifestyle we had come accustom to. We took it for granted that it would always be there. Since the doors closed, rumors started spreading that it was gonna open again. But, they never came to fruition. A couple of times a year we would hear them pop up again. Still no Hickory!

Tonight as I sat eating my pork plate with slaw, corn "off the cob", french fries, biscuit and sweet ice tea, I went back through the years, seeing my little ones acting up at the table across the way. Seeing my father-in-law at the head of the table with his silver white hair smiling as the kiddos climbed all over him spilling their drinks and laughing out loud at the things going on around them. The jokes from Ms. Ellie, the friends stopping to say hello, the men in their camo hats and cowboy boots, the ladies with their blue hair, and the old men with their thick glasses, all enjoying their meals. Having all of the family together taking up space, as Clara brought tray after tray of BBQ, corn and sweet ice tea, I almost got a little emotional.

The Hickory is back! What a wonderful day for me and another spectacular South Florida Adventure!

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