The House That Jack (West) Built

By: Harry P. Johnson

No, Jack West did not build my house at 901 Captain O’Neal Drive in Daphne which I recently purchased, but his influence and guidance, and what I learned from the late owner of the infamous Judge Roy Bean (1977-2005) is immeasurable. The house at 901 was built 35 years ago by Dick and Beverly Swanson and I was their neighbor at the time… living at 801 Captain O’Neal.

Let me start at the beginning: I had just sold my 50% interest in the wildly popular Fandango Saloon (1975-1983…but that’s another story), the second college bar in Mobile after Thirsties Tavern (1972- 1984). I was not suited for the college bar business despite the perks (fill in your indulgences here) and wanted out.

During my last days at Fandango, I would drive across the Causeway to the deserted beaches of Daphne, a population of about 4,500 at the time, to rest, self-medicate and seek the solace of the Eastern Shore.  As a child growing up in Mobile, I had spent some summer weeks at Battles Wharf, in what then seemed like an hour’s long trip from the Port City.

One day before heading back to Mobile, I saw an old Creole cottage for sale on College Avenue in Daphne, and despite having purchased a house the year before in Mobile; I made an offer on it. The Mobile house on Euclid Avenue was bought for $11,000 and some friends and I painted and sanded it into recognizable form. It was put up for sale when I bought the Daphne house and eventually sold for $19,000, the purchase price of the College Avenue creole.

So I moved to Daphne in the bitterly cold winter of 1976 to a very old house with beaded board walls, gas space heaters, no insulation, old wavy glass single pane windows, and many nights where you could hear the wind howl your name…I think it said …“ Harry, are you crazy??”

On nights that I worked at the “Dango”, I would close up the bar and head home to Daphne in my somewhat famous orange Volkswagen convertible. The commute over that winter did not last long…hence the fire sale of my interest in Fandango that spring and six months and many Pink Pony trips later I was bored/broke and needed a job…enter Jack West (1945-2017).

I do not remember when I first met Jack but I am forever in his debt…there was nothing in Daphne but Manci’s Antique Club (1936-present) and very little in Fairhope in the way of restaurants, bars, entertainment, or even hole-in-the-wall establishments. Someone must have introduced me to Jack and told Jack I had just sold my interest in Fandango Saloon in Mobile, the kind of information that would light Jack up…I later found out why.

Jack was straight out of central casting: an L.L. Bean poster boy with looks, swagger, an incredible personality, and some mysterious and eternal font of energy.  Jack took great interest in everyone he met; he had an unwavering curiosity and he used that trait to learn from others and expand his world. His interest in others was genuine – something which led me to learn so much from him.

Two years before I met Jack, he had bought the former black nightclub, the Embassy Lounge on South Main Street in Daphne, and started and completed renovations for his own place. He had been approved for the ABC liquor license by the city but amazingly, was turned down by the State of Alabama, a very rare move once the local municipality approved it. So Judge Roy Bean (1977-2005 …again another story) Phase One, was built and finished the year before it opened.  Jack modeled the décor after the liner photo in Jerry Jeff Walker’s album “Viva Terlingua“ released in 1973. Eventually, pressure built to grant Jack his license…a license to entertain, party, amuse, teach, grow up (or old), and see the world from the legendary “Bean” during its peak years, 1980-2000, in Baldwin County. 

Jack showed me the bar during his fight to get it open one fall afternoon. As we walked in, I thought I was looking at a movie set: the dark rich red of heart pine, natural wood beaded board walls, beautiful beveled mirrors, ceilings covered in burlap sacks from Baldwin County’s finest potato farms, rustic barn wood, and lighting accents on tables, doorways, and the main bar and placed strategically throughout the small, intimate room.  The only heat, a pot belly stove and for the summer, oddly placed A/C window units. History was about to be made!

I worked at “Judges” opening night and took copious notes (see proof) and worked the first year before starting on my own journey in 1980. I had a front-row seat for Jack’s development of “JRB” and whether as an employee, customer, or friend, what I learned from him was immeasurable.

His talent to create, design, build, market, and SELL his vision of what Judge Roy Bean was to become would not have been believed had he told us in advance.  Volleyball on Sunday afternoons, incredible music from local artists to nationally known groups, fundraising concerts, outrageous Halloween parties, and the ever-present “Buffett Alert”!  He had great food, “Cold Beer” as the sign out front said, an oyster bar, an inviting atmosphere, and dedicated employees. Jack recruited the best, brightest, and hottest of devoted staff that followed his dream for many years and brought in customers by the thousands, sometimes on the same day.

His “Sunday at the Bean” became both legend and folklore…a must-see on Sunday after Sunday that went on year-round. It was the place to find your next love or lose your last one. Jack was the ringmaster and his staff and his customers were the circus…and we all bought tickets and never asked for any money back.

By 1987, during its heyday, he had expanded the property with its three-cornered footprint to include an outdoor amphitheater where some of the biggest names in music in the ’70s performed: Richie Haven, Poco, and J.D. Souther in ’88, Jerry Jeff Walker and Karla Bonoff in ’89, Emmy Lou Harris and John Prine in ’90.  Also in the early ’90s, the Bean hosted the likes of Dr. John, The Marshall Tucker Band, Alabama, and Leon Russell.

In 1980, I opened Winslow’s Café in Fairhope, the first of a dozen restaurants…some memorable, others not so much.  Jack’s impact on their design and marketing helped several succeed, and my aggressive, restless approach helped several fail. Winslow’s (1980-1997, yes, another story) featured much of what I learned from Jack in the way of design:  beaded board wainscot, heart pine bar top, and square-turned posts from area front porches. Winslow’s was the first of many restaurants and each would have Jack’s influence on them…think of Southwood Kitchen today (formerly Rosie’s Grill, 2000-2010) and Busters Brick Oven in Manci’s Antique Club and also Pelican Pointe Grill (1991-2004, yep, another story) was designed to fit the waterfront location as Jack would have done.

Jack leased his iconic bar in the early 2000s and followed one of his true loves to the water as an expert fly fishing guide, teaching others his love of nature and the great outdoors. On February 13, 2005, Judge Roy Bean burned to the ground. How did it ever last so long? Heart pine, barn wood, beaded board, pot belly stoves, and a huge sandstone fireplace… basically a collection of “fat lighter”…how it avoided its fate for 28 years is remarkable.

Forty years after opening Judge Roy Beans, Jack passed away in 2017 after a courageous battle with leukemia. His courage during his sickness and declining health was not surprising after what we had seen him accomplish for all those years. He showed us how to live life to the fullest and die with great grace and dignity. He never complained and always had that ready laugh and smile.

After Jack died, I purchased many items from his daughter Allie, before the property was sold. Jack saved everything in the sheds behind where the “Bean” once stood. I bought two well-placed stacks of five-quarter inch heart pine which were the charred remains of the Bean and two stacks of beaded board which became the frame material for Southern Logo, yet another not-for-profit project of mine.

Jack West, the teacher, sailor, fisherman, personality, music lover, conservationist, architect, and ringmaster is gone. I’ll bet Sundays’ are more fun in heaven now….

Here’s another tribute to Jack that appeared in Mobile Bay Monthly on May 30, 2018, which you may enjoy.