Charley Woodsby, restaurateur who opened first Red Lobster, dies at 91

The restaurateur who opened the first Red Lobster in Lakeland and satisfied middle America's appetite for seafood has died.

Charles Edward Woodsby of Lakeland died Sunday at age 91.

In the 1960s, cafeterias and high-end restaurants were the mainstays across the United States, with few eateries catering to middle-class America in the seafood category. Big Boys, Howard Johnson and few others were filling the palates of Americans at the time.

Red Lobster changed that by appealing to middle-class American families with affordably priced seafood made from scratch in an informal setting, his son, Ronald Woodsby, said.

Charley Woodsby was a devoted Christian man born in Spartanburg, South Carolina, to the late Lucy Sanders and William Dan Woodsby, according to his obituary prepared by the family.

“Charley came from a family of nine where everyone had to pitch in to make ends meet,” the family said. “Charley’s parents worked hard to keep a roof over their heads and bellies full during the Depression, which taught him a valuable lesson."

According to his son, Woodsby and William Darden ran the Lakeland restaurant out of a property leased from Lawton Chiles and his law partner, Bill Ellsworth Jr.

In a Sun-Sentinel report about Chiles, who died in 1998, it said the eventual governor of Florida had borrowed about $10,000 from an uncle, his maid and friends to build the restaurant.

"At that time, interest rates were about 4 percent, and I was able to pay her back at 10 percent," Chiles told the Sentinel. The 1994 report also said Chiles was still leasing his properties to Red Lobster, which were valued at $1.3 million at the time.

Chiles and Ellsworth bankrolled the first five Red Lobsters across the Southeast, according to Ronald Woodsby. He said Chiles told the family that the first Lakeland property was the best investment in his life.

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Humble beginnings

Charley Woodsby got his first job at a grocery store when he was 11 years old. Four years later, he enlisted in the Air Force and had lied about his age and joined the service at age 15, said his wife, MaryLou Woodsby.

"He came from a very poor home, there were seven kids," she said, adding that he grew up in a home with an outhouse in the back yard and light bulbs dangled on a single wire in each room. He walked two miles each way to school.

After the service, he attended Cecil Business College, followed by his first foray into food service as a student in The Hotel and Restaurant School of New York City. He majored in hotel and restaurant management.

By age 23, Woodsby bought and operated his first restaurant in 1954 in Atlanta. After selling that establishment, he converted an old grocery store into a 200-seat eatery.

In 1960, he moved to Jacksonville and honed his skills as a restaurateur with the financial backing of William and D.C. Darden. The team purchased the Thunderbird Restaurant and two years in, Woodsby and his partners bought Gary’s Duck Inn in Orlando.

Numerous other restaurants were started by the team in the early 1960s, including The Green Frog in Adel, Georgia, The Coach House in Greenville, South Carolina, the Towne House in Columbia, South Carolina, and the Old South in Jacksonville.

But it was the Orlando seafood restaurant that gave him the vision for an affordable  family oriented seafood eatery. In developing this concept, he applied his three principles of success in the food industry: quality, value and service.

In 1968, Charley and William Darden opened the first Red Lobster in Lakeland. It was an immediate success and within two years, five more Red Lobsters were opened.

Ronald Woodsby said that every day at those restaurants, there were as many as 150 people waiting for a table by 3 p.m.

In 1970, the pair received an offer from General Mills Restaurants Inc. to acquire the business. Charley Woodsby signed a three-year management contract helping the new ownership open 72 Red Lobster locations.

His main responsibilities were to supervise the corporation’s real estate, construction, purchasing and operations departments, and the chain's operations grew at four regional offices in St. Louis, Atlanta, Dallas and Orlando.

At the age of 42, Charley retired from General Mills. But according to his son Ronald, all of his friends were still working so he returned to the business, this time with his son.

"The only people he could find to play tennis with were young people and retirees," Ronald Woodsby said.

The father-son team opened the first Talk of the Town Restaurant in Lakeland, and within five years they opened locations in Winter Haven, Clearwater, St. Petersburg and Orlando.

In 1985, they changed direction and opened a more expensive steakhouse concept, and Charley’s Steak House was created.

Talk of the Town Restaurants encompassed 10 restaurants with five different concepts in Central Florida. They employed nearly 1,500 people.

Man of faith and family

By his 30s, Charley Woodsby had become a devoted Christian, and he made many mission trips with his first and second wives. He was especially interested in getting translations of the Jesus Film Project into as many remote villages as possible across the globe.

In 1998, Charley and his first wife, Jean, also established a private foundation. Through the foundation, they contributed to numerous ministries throughout Central Florida, the United States and globally.

"Some of their most gratifying work was done in Honduras, where they sponsored six children every year, which meant providing health care, clothing, food allowances and tuition for their education," the family said.

"They were most proud of funding the building of four churches in Honduras to promote the Christian faith," they said.

In 2005, Woodsby's first wife died. He married MaryLou Johnson in 2007.

They continued to take the gospel to unreached areas of the world. The Jesus Film Project, a motion picture made in 1979 according to the Gospel of Luke has been translated into more than 2,000 languages around the world.

Charley and MaryLou Woodsby divided their time between Florida and their mountain home in Highlands, North Carolina, until she said they settled in Lakeland nearly two years ago so she could be closer to her children.

Woodsby is survived by his wife; his son Ronald Woodsby, daughters Deborah Woodsby Thrash and Sherry Woodsby Parrish; stepdaughters Jennifer Christine Snell and Kristin Johnson Levy; six grandchildren, six step-grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.

His family are remembering him "as a kind, generous, thoughtful, fun-loving friend to all who had the honor of knowing him," they said.

His motto “has always been quality, value, service and integrity; be honest, be truthful and treat people with respect," his obituary said.

"My faith has also always been very important to me. I believe God guided me in all directions of my life, putting the right opportunities and the right people before me at the right time.” the obituary said.

On Wednesday, there will be a visitation at 10 a.m. celebration of life at 11 a.m. at the Henry Chapel at First Baptist Orlando, 3000 S. John Young Parkway. A reception will follow. There will be a private family burial.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to One More Child, 1015 Sikes Blvd., Lakeland, FL, 33815. www.onemorechild.org.

Paul Nutcher can be reached at pnutcher@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Charles Edward Woodsby dies. He opened the first Lakeland Red Lobster