Shaggy's at the Harbor
Shaggy's at the Pass harbor is a great place, much like a Jimmy Buffet style bar and eatery --- overlooking the harbor, complete with misting fans...great on any summer night. Live music.
Chef Tom Genin, formerly of Tigre's, serves up Ruby Red shrimp that are delicious. Trout meuniere is a perfect delight.
Shaggy’s
by Dan Ellis
Shaggy’s Bar located at the SW Corner of Second and Market streets, was quite well known during the 30s, 40s, and 50s. Shaggy was the “Town Bully,” and everyone feared him — even the Chief of Police let him alone.
The neighborhood bar had a traditional long bar displaying an ornate back-bar with mirrors and booze racks. Seating was on stools, with a tarnished brass foot rail bordered by unpolished spittoons. There were two pool tables that even teenagers were allowed to play while slugging draft beer. It was always dark and dirty – the kind of darkness and dirtiness that gave atmosphere. If it were cleaned up – somebody was bound to complain. But not too much because the regulars who drank there were all fans of Shaggy and what ever Shaggy wanted – Shaggy got!
There were many who begrudged him but were not up to making an out and out challenge. Most of these were the fishermen who worked all day and didn’t have time to spend at Shaggy’s, but were exposed to his long arm of intimidation.
The Last Shoot Out
An annual party blow-out was held at his place, so he would order large amounts of alcohol and beer. It was Shaggy’s birthday of 1946, and having started celebrating the night before while driving home, he didn’t have consciousness to apply his brakes. About 50 cases of beer had just been dropped off on the sidewalk alongside his bar. In his state of drunken exhaustion he plowed through the rows of stacked beer — like breaking billiard balls at a pool table the cases and bottles scattered all over.
Through the afternoon his buddies consoled him by buying more drinks for each other and for Shaggy. All the while, he was getting meaner and drunker.
Caddy-corner to Shaggy’s was Romero’s Barber Shop. Even though there were a number of so-called “Shoot-Outs” at Shaggy’s, this was one that remained to be talked about for years after.
Romero was a hot-tempered Italian who was dubbed Romeo. It so happened that one of his sons had been slapped by an older boy and Romeo was “damn mad about it.” All day, his patrons egged him on by stating what they would do if they caught the young hooligan. They then filed across the street to grab a drink and tell what they heard at Romeo’s.
Through the evening tempers rose – and there was a cry for a lynching. Before long, there was the lynch-mad crowd and the saner non-lynch crowd. They started arguing with each other. As more drinks were plied and the story got ‘round the town, more of the townsfolk started showing up either to get a drink or just to watch. A riot grew from the wild raucous as fists started swinging and bottles were wildly thrown. The crowd had swelled to several hundred. Many drunk and many quite sober – including a large number of those who hated Shaggy. They took this opportunity to vent their anger and beat the hell out of Shaggy – for all of their years of pent up hatred for him.
While the fighting and the beating was going on, Police Chief Jeff Sims showed up. To quell the crowd, he shot his pistol into the concrete street thinking to make a bigger bang. Chipped cement spewed forth like shrapnel that hit a number of those close by. A half-dozen or so, hit the ground in agony screaming out, “I’ve been shot!”
Shaggy's is shown during the early re-building process at the Harbor.
Photo by Ron Daley