Back in business: Pensacola's iconic Gulf Coast Seafood rebounds from fire with food truck

A piece of Pensacola history died when the Gulf Coast Seafood Market and Restaurant caught fire on Halloween, leaving the market and restaurant on 2250 W. Nine Mile Road a total loss.

However, the devastation couldn’t keep Johnathan Patti down for long, as he opened a mobile food truck on the property this month.

Now, even though the physical restaurant still has the words “closed” written across wooden planks boarding off entry, the wafting smell of fried fish says otherwise.

The no-frills food truck has consistently maintained a full lunch rush since opening, with people pouring in wallets open and stomachs ready for a cup of gumbo, a grilled fish basket or golden fried shrimp.

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The meals have all include the comfort sides its patrons are accustomed to, like the cheese grits, fried okra and hushpuppies. They even have dessert options for banana or bread pudding.

Patti said the trailer’s profits have been comparable to inside the regular restaurant, and its makeshift mobile kitchen is not all that different in size either.

Patti's family has run the brick and mortar restaurant for decades, and the recent experience has humbled to him see how loyally customers have returned through the years, regardless of what misfortune strikes.

“We went through Hurricane Sally, we went through the Nine Mile Road expansion where nobody wanted to drive (over here), we had COVID-19,” Patti said. “I’m looking at all these things, I’m just saying, ‘God put people in our path.’”

This place was home for us

Patti remembers in the midst of the calamity, rushing to the restaurant only to see his second home engulfed in the flames.

“You get off the interstate and you can see the smoke in the air. My heart was pounding,” Patti said. “It didn’t feel real until I saw the smoke up in the air when we got here. We tried to open the doors to the place, but the oxygen was being taken out. It was hard to open the doors. We went through the front door, that was the last place the fire was going to, and you couldn’t breathe.”

He later learned that one of the employees stayed back to battle the blaze, only to discover the fire was well out of anyone’s hands, as firefighters spent two hours extinguishing it. When the fire was under control, but his staff were left indefinitely unemployed, they still pitched in to sift through the rummage.

“They all stayed to help, and they knew, ‘Hey, we don’t have a job. But this place was home for us,’” Patti said. “I’m lucky and I’m blessed. A lot of times we take things for granted. When something like this happens, it’s just an eye opener."

Despite the dismal next few months filled with insurance calls and site inspections, it became apparent how loved the Pattis were by their community.

“It’s the greatest feeling to know that we belong in this community and we have the support. I never want to take it for granted. This will be the moment in my life where I always remember how much this community stood up and helped me and my family,” Patti said. “Me and my wife, after the fire when everybody was gone, we cried. Because this was our whole life. We live here more than we lived at our house.”

People began donating whatever they had to offer toward the cause, whether it be a cup of coffee just to talk or a free repair toward the new building.

The Pattis knew they had to keep going and he had two choices: rent a new space in the meantime, or open up something mobile on the property they already owned.

The latter seemed to make the most sense, and after a trip to Georgia, they had a new food trailer pulling behind them in just a single day.

There's a legacy here

Patti has done his best to emulate the restaurant’s regular dining room as he catches up with customers around the picnic table. Above the quality of his fresh catch, the personal interaction is what he hopes his customers remember.

“I just want to be known for being honest, being polite and caring about you as I want to be treated, as if you were going to treat my parents the same way. I hope that we don’t miss that in today’s society,” Patti said.

Employee Michael Tice can testify to Patti’s family-first philosophy, specifically recalling when his dad went into the hospital, taking him out of work for a week.

“He (Patti) said, ‘Don’t worry about it, come back when you’re ready.’ He prayed with me and fed (my family) every day they were at Sacred Heart,” he said. “He is a Godly man and a family man, so that’s why his employees do what they do for him. We all love him.”

When Tice returned to work, he was surprised to see Patti had paid him for the week he was away.

“He takes care of his own and he calls everybody in here family,” Tice said.

Escambia County Deputy Sheriff Ken Simmons, who stopped by for lunch Thursday craving seafood gumbo, noted that the family-friendly environment and hospitable service sets the restaurant apart.

“I’ve been coming here for years, and not just because it’s close by the house, I have to actually drive a little bit to come here, that’s how much this place means to us. There’s a legacy here, the Patti seafood name goes back generations here,” he said. “I’m proud to support a local business man and a guy who has the utmost love for his country, his family and God. I can’t say much more than that.”

The restaurant and market will hopefully reopen within the next six months.

More information on the food truck, such as daily hours of operation, can be found on the Gulf Coast Seafood Restaurant Facebook page.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Gulf Coast Seafood Restaurant launches Nine Mile mobile food truck